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Vanessa S. Chequer
Mr. Rogers
Government 1
14 October 2016
An End To Solitary Confinement
Solitary confinement is the confinement of a prisoner alone in a cell for all, or nearly all,
of the day with minimal environmental stimulation and minimal opportunity for social
interaction (Grassian).The use of solitary confinement in federal prisons has been a national
debate for years. Some say it is a total deprivation of liberty and rights due to the Universal
Declaration of human rights, and others say it is necessary to keep prisons safe. Solitary
Confinement is often referred to as the SHU (Security Housing Units), it is given its name due
to their living conditions; inmates are locked in a windowless cell for as long as 23 hours,
however often way longer than a simple day, often up to many years, they have no interaction
with anyone simply the guard who delivers food, and they have no activities outside of the
confined cell. The bill to ban solitary confinement should be put into place because it is a
violation of liberty, causes unnecessary mental health issues, and is unconstitutional.
Solitary confinement is a complete deprivation of human liberty. In the declaration of
Independence it states that all men are given unalienable rights such as life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness (Congress). Liberty by the definition Thomas Jefferson gave us is the right
to exercise human rights in any manner a person chooses as long as it does not interfere with the
exercise of the rights of others (Paul) This being said, by the Declaration of Independence every
human has the right to life, and given that solitary confinement often leads to suicide tendencies
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(Tonry), prisons are therefore not following the definition of liberty and taking away the right to
life of many inmates. Not only has it just lead to suicide tendencies, however it has been found
that seventy percent of all prison suicides occur in solitary confinement, that is way over half
(Thomson). However suicide is not the only effect of solitary confinement.
Scientists have done multiple experiments on the effects solitary confinement has on
inmates. One study found that those in solitary confinement developed psychopathologies at
higher rates than those in general prison population. This rate was twenty-eight percent in
solitary confinement vs. the fifteen percent in regular prison population (Emmingsen). There
wouldnt have to be a higher rate if solitary confinement was banished. Even shorts amount of
time in solitary confinement can have major effects on the mental health of an inmate. Isolated
inmates often report symptoms similar to those of hypertension, such as chronic headaches,
trembling, sweaty palms, extreme dizziness and heart palpitations; along with trouble sleeping
such as insomnia (Corcoran). These psychological effects are unnecessary, given inmates are
already in prison serving their time, adding on an extra punishment is cruel. Even president
Obama himself in July of 2015 came up with strategies to safely reduce the use of solitary
confinement such as ensuring proper meal items and times (Earnest). However there are way
more health effects inmates receive from solitary confinement such as: urinary problems,
diaphoresis, migraine headaches, heart palpitations, back and other joint pains, and deterioration
of eyesight (Shalev).All of these mental and physical effects solitary confinement gives to human
beings is simply cruel.

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Most people define solitary confinement as cruel and unusual punishment. Given this,
that would be dishonoring the eighth amendment our founding fathers put in place. The eighth

amendment states that excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel
and unusual punishments inflicted(Eighth). Several rulings have been done in courts discussing
whether or not solitary confinement is considered unconstitutional under the eighth amendment,
and multiple times it has been found unconstitutional given its lead to multiple mental health
illnesses (Bersot).The courts have developed three interrelated tests to establish the boundaries of
cruel and unusual punishment, one of these being that the punishment may not be of excessive
length (Cole). This therefore shows that given inmates may be in solitary confinement for over
twenty-four hours.
Few people however may argue that solitary confinement is not cruel, simply necessary
to ensure prison safety and reform for inmates. They may say one beneficial use of solitary
confinement is to place youth who are charged as adults in protective custody in order to
separate them from adults who can pose grave physical and emotional threats to youth (Gordon).
However the youth are more prone to physical and mental stress due to them maturing and
growing (Mental). Another pro argument some may have is that it is a beneficial way to reform
inmates so that they behave better and get along better with other inmates. Even Correctional
Officers such as Donn Rowe explained that solitary confinement is a mean to utilize a productive
environment for staff, however it is not a reformative device (Bianchi). This being said, if it is
not a use of reform it is simply punishment which is going against the eighth amendment.

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The eighth amendment has also been brought to light in the discussion over death
penalty. However death penalty may seem as if it is to a larger extreme given it is ending
someone's life, however solitary confinement is an infinitely more serious topic. Instead of
ending someones life quick and easy, solitary confinement forever changes someones mental

stability, making living their life more difficult. However everyone can take action and make a
change by being aware of what solitary confinement is doing to human beings and raise
awareness around you. Passing this bill will not only end mental health issues increasing within
prisons, it will help keep the definition of liberty true, and we will follow the constitution our
founding fathers put into place.

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Works Cited
Bersot, Heather Y. "Inmate Mental Health And Cruel And Unusual Punishment." Journal of
Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology 1 (2010): 1-82. Core. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
Bianchi, Jonathon I. "In the Hole: Is Solitary Confinement Justifiable?" Team Kenan at the
Kenan Institute for Ethics. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

Cole, Keneth M., III. "Constitutional Status of Solitary Confinement." Law.cornell.edu. N.p., 3
Feb. 1972. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
Congress, U. S. "Declaration of independence." Available in: http://memory. loc. gov/cgibin/ampage (1776).
Corcoran, Mary M. "Department of Applied Psychology." Effects of Solitary Confinement on the
Well Being of Prison Inmates. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
Earnest, Josh. "FACT SHEET: Department of Justice Review of Solitary Confinement." The
White House. The White House, 25 Jan. 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
Eighth Amendment." LII / Legal Information Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Emmingsen, R. R., & Kramp, P. P. (2000), A Longitudinal Study of Prisoners on Remand:
Psychiatric Prevalence, Incidence and Psychopathology in Solitary vs.Non-Solitary
Confinement. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 102(1), 19.
Gordon, Shira E. "Solitary Confinement, Public Safety, and Recidivism." Repository Law. N.p.,
2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

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Grassian, Stuart, and Nancy Friedman. "Effects of Sensory Deprivation in Psychiatric Seclusion
and Solitary Confinement." International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 8.1 (1986): 4965. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
"Mental Health." Youth.gov. N.p., 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Paul, Ron. Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom. New York: Grand
Central Pub., 2011. Print.

Rienzi, Greg. "Thousands of American Prisoners Spend 23 Hours a Day in Solitary

Confinement." The Hub. N.p., 05 Mar. 2015. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
Shalev, Sharon. "Solitary Confinement." PsycEXTRA Dataset (n.d.): n. pag.Solitary Confinement
as a Prison Health Issue. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Thompson, Don (2006), Convict Suicides in State Prison Hit Record High. Associated Press,
January 3. 10. Hayes, L. & Rowan, J. (1988)
Tonry, Michael H. Crime and Justice: A Review of Research. Chicago, IL: U of Chicago, 2006.
Print.