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Should we ban solitary confinement

Should we ban solitary confinement?

  • yes

    Votes: 12 37.5%

  • yes but only for juveniles

    Votes: 2 6.3%

  • no

    Votes: 15 46.9%

  • not sure

    Votes: 3 9.4%
  • Total voters
    32
Captain Adverse said:
Should we ban solitary confinement?



Not IMO.

I believe that prison should not be a way-station for criminals. Currently it is a place where they can become organized into gangs, trained by peers in criminal techniques, and sometimes abused in terrible ways before being released back into society.

I am a firm supporter of the old Pennsylvania System...:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_United_States_prison_systems#The_Pennsylvania_system

...only modified so that each prisoner does have human contact; but only with guards, social workers, education and training staff, clergy of their choice, and family visitation. Absolutely NO contact of ANY kind with other prisoners.

Prison should be a place someone wants to avoid at all costs when they get out, not a place to go take a break between criminality while reacquainting themselves with other "peers."

It should also be a safe place to live while serving one's sentence.

This should be coupled with vocational training programs at half-way houses after incarceration, and the right not to have to declare a criminal record after completing a sentence when applying for work.
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The bottom part especially, Not sure if it is a good idea for juveniles though. When I was 17 I was in confinement for 90 days.

I have not been arrested since 2005 and completed that sentence (incarceration/probation) in 2008. Not one bit of trouble since. Served my debt to society but the deck remains stacked in terms of employability, none the less. After 3 years or so with no trouble, the record should (in fairness) be wiped.

With the exception of pedophiles and rapist.
 
Masterhawk said:
Solitary confinement is when a person is isolated on his own. This may be for misconduct during one's sentence or it may be the full sentence. Many studies show that solitary confinement has a negative effect on the prisoner's psychology. Some organizations such as the ACLU have criticized its use on juveniles. The effectiveness of this method has also been questioned; according to one study, 24.2 percent of the prisoners held in solitary confinement were reconvicted of a violent crime compared to 20.5 percent of prisoners held in population.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solitary_confinement#History_in_the_United_States

American Public Health Association (APHA) publications

"Solitary Confinement, Public Safety, and Recdivism" by Shira E. Gordon
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There's a part of me that believes ALL prisoners should be in solitary. Individual cells. Not things like total darkness, that's IS cruel, but alone. All the books they want to read. They can write, subject to censor. They can take written correspondence courses. I'm always for continuing education. Just... alone. Escorted one-by-one for showers. Prisoners never interact with other prisoners. Ever.
 
Masterhawk said:
Solitary confinement is when a person is isolated on his own. This may be for misconduct during one's sentence or it may be the full sentence. Many studies show that solitary confinement has a negative effect on the prisoner's psychology. Some organizations such as the ACLU have criticized its use on juveniles. The effectiveness of this method has also been questioned; according to one study, 24.2 percent of the prisoners held in solitary confinement were reconvicted of a violent crime compared to 20.5 percent of prisoners held in population.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solitary_confinement#History_in_the_United_States

American Public Health Association (APHA) publications

"Solitary Confinement, Public Safety, and Recdivism" by Shira E. Gordon
Click to expand...

I think we should lock up that 20 - 25% permanently so we can eliminate our police forces, saving mega money in the process, and everyone can live in peace. It's just stupid to let the same people out again and again and again to keep on victimizing all of us. I don't give a **** if we have the highest incarceration rate in the world and if we have to put 25 prisoners to a cell then do it.
 
radcen said:
There's a part of me that believes ALL prisoners should be in solitary. Individual cells. Not things like total darkness, that's IS cruel, but alone. All the books they want to read. They can write, subject to censor. They can take written correspondence courses. I'm always for continuing education. Just... alone. Escorted one-by-one for showers. Prisoners never interact with other prisoners. Ever.
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Do you have any idea how much that would cost? Most prisons these days are open bay dorms, since we warehouse so many, to build cells for each would cost a kings ransom.
 
Moderate Right said:
I think we should lock up that 20 - 25% permanently so we can eliminate our police forces, saving mega money in the process, and everyone can live in peace. It's just stupid to let the same people out again and again and again to keep on victimizing all of us. I don't give a **** if we have the highest incarceration rate in the world and if we have to put 25 prisoners to a cell then do it.
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That is what enhanced sentencing guidlines for repeat offenders, is all about.
 
Slingshot Bob said:
Do you have any idea how much that would cost? Most prisons these days are open bay dorms, since we warehouse so many, to build cells for each would cost a kings ransom.
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The only reason we have so many prisoners is because we keep passing laws making trivial **** illegal. Fix that, focus on the truly meaningful stuff, and that problem is solved.
 
Kal'Stang said:
Except of course for the fact that our prison system is not designed or setup to be rehabilitative.
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Well it's sure as hell not setup to be proportionate to the crime

It amazes that the US is the most brutal place on earth towards crime/alleged crime and even victimless crime, and the worst outcomes, and yet it's STILL not vindictive enough for many here

Kind of like we have the worst social welfare system (except for banks) in the developed world and yet so many still whine about 'handouts'
 
radcen said:
The only reason we have so many prisoners is because we keep passing laws making trivial **** illegal. Fix that, focus on the truly meaningful stuff, and that problem is solved.
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Right. There's people doing life for pot.
Mandatory minimum sentences, three-strikes, all that stuff too.
 
It should be used sparingly, but whereas there is a good need for solitary confinement, there is no justification for keeping people like trapped animals in cells with 6, 10 or gym halls with dozens upon dozens of people.

Two or three per cell seems the most optimal for non problematic prisoners but not more than 4. I think over crowding is a much bigger issue than solitary confinement (if used as a punishment or because a prisoner is so dangerous that they cannot be allowed to have contact with other prisoners and guarded contact with others).
 
Peter King said:
It should be used sparingly, but whereas there is a good need for solitary confinement, there is no justification for keeping people like trapped animals in cells with 6, 10 or gym halls with dozens upon dozens of people.

Two or three per cell seems the most optimal for non problematic prisoners but not more than 4. I think over crowding is a much bigger issue than solitary confinement (if used as a punishment or because a prisoner is so dangerous that they cannot be allowed to have contact with other prisoners and guarded contact with others).
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I would tend to agree with that.
 
Definitely -- Supermax is a cruel and usual form of punishment and torture used in USA. Canada and Scandinavia have genuinely humane justice systems.
 
Reinstate the death penalty for multi witnessed convicted murderers, and then you can eliminate solitary confinement for the most part.
 
radcen said:
The only reason we have so many prisoners is because we keep passing laws making trivial **** illegal. Fix that, focus on the truly meaningful stuff, and that problem is solved.
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Hmm...so your constitution was about making trivial **** illegal? Fix the constitution?

"The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from imposing cruel and unusual punishment for federal crimes. The amendment states, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.""

Unfortunately this does not fall into the "unusual" category, but definitely the "cruel" - given what we have learned over the years about the psychological impacts of solitary confinement. Not to mention, how does this fit into the context of rehabilitation? Yes, let's lock them away, and isolate them, so when they get out in 20 years they are full psycho!! lol... ya, that logic of the Right strikes again..................................................................
 
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