Solitary Confinement In Prisons
Solitary confinement has been defined as being isolated of a prisoner alone in a separated cell as a punishment with very little environment stimulation and limited social interaction (Grassian, 1993). According to the Dangerous Overuse of Solitary Confinement in the United States in 2014, the purpose of solitary confinement is used to isolate or punish those considered as dangerous and who have violated the rules. Many prisoners were sent to solitary confinement are not violent criminals, instead many are suffer from severe mental illness or cognitive disabled who has difficulties functioning in prison setting (Dangerous Overuse of Solitary Confinement, 2014). Researchers have found approximately 30% of prisoners who have suffered from mental
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Even among inmates who do not develop undiagnosed psychiatric illness, yet being confinement in the solitary can impose significant psychological pain during isolated period (Grassian, 1993). Grassian identified some symptoms such as panic attack, fear of suffocation, paranoid and aggressive thinking while isolated. For example, one inmate has difficulties in describing the reasons, thought or feeling on several days’ event of his wrist slashing. Moreover, one third of the prisoners suffer from hallucination such as often hear some frightening whispers (Grassian, 1993). Difficulties with concentration and confusion are also commonly found in prisoner, which can lead to acute psychotic and confusion states. For example, one inmate has cut his wrists when he is in a confusion and disoriented state (Grassian, 1993). Similarly, Brodsky and Scogin (1988) has studied 45 prisoners from a protective custody and reported to have negative physiological and psychological symptoms such as nervous, confuse, unreasonable anger, insomnia, headaches and talk to oneself. Furthermore, Haney (1993) has researched on 100 randomly selected prisoners from a California’s prisons and reported to have very high prevalence of symptoms of psychological trauma which included 91% of the prisoners suffered from anxiety and nervousness, 80% suffered from headaches and trouble of sleeping, 77% suffered from chronic depression and 41% suffered from
Even among inmates who do not develop undiagnosed psychiatric illness, yet being confinement in the solitary can impose significant psychological pain during isolated period (Grassian, 1993). Grassian identified some symptoms such as panic attack, fear of suffocation, paranoid and aggressive thinking while isolated. For example, one inmate has difficulties in describing the reasons, thought or feeling on several days’ event of his wrist slashing. Moreover, one third of the prisoners suffer from hallucination such as often hear some frightening whispers (Grassian, 1993). Difficulties with concentration and confusion are also commonly found in prisoner, which can lead to acute psychotic and confusion states. For example, one inmate has cut his wrists when he is in a confusion and disoriented state (Grassian, 1993). Similarly, Brodsky and Scogin (1988) has studied 45 prisoners from a protective custody and reported to have negative physiological and psychological symptoms such as nervous, confuse, unreasonable anger, insomnia, headaches and talk to oneself. Furthermore, Haney (1993) has researched on 100 randomly selected prisoners from a California’s prisons and reported to have very high prevalence of symptoms of psychological trauma which included 91% of the prisoners suffered from anxiety and nervousness, 80% suffered from headaches and trouble of sleeping, 77% suffered from chronic depression and 41% suffered from