Critical Thinking Paper

Caroline Liu

CAP 9

Blue Group

March 19, 2018

In 1965, Harry Harlow conducted a study on monkeys who were deprived of social

interaction. The experiment concluded that these isolated monkeys became either more

aggressive or more fearful and reached a “social-emotional level in which the primary social

responsiveness is fear” (Harlow 96). Humans aren’t much different. Inmates who are kept in

solitary confinement are similarly impacted and often develop anxiety or hypersensitivity to

external stimuli (“Solitary Confinement Facts”). According to Merriam-Webster, solitary

confinement is “the state of being kept alone in a prison cell away from other prisoners”. People

who support solitary confinement claim that this isolation is important for “the protection and

safety of inmates, prison staff and the general public” (McManus). They believe that inmates

placed in solitary are dangerous and putting them into solitary is resolving the danger. Yet

solitary confinement is both harmful physically and psychologically leading to high rates of

self-mutilation, anxiety, and paranoia (Curley). Not only is it harmful, it is also expensive and

dangerous for the public, after the inmates are released. It costs more to house an inmate in

solitary than it costs to house an inmate in general and once the prisoner is released from solitary

confinement, they are more likely to reoffend and pose as a threat to the community. The Federal

Bureau of Prisons must ban solitary confinement because it causes psychological and physical

harm to the inmates, it takes more money to house an inmate, and it increases the probability of

the inmate being arrested again.

“debilitating symptoms” that “can pose a formidable public safety and community health

problem” (Solitary Confinement Facts). These symptoms include “depression, apathy,

hallucinations, panic attacks, paranoia and hypersensitivity to external stimuli” (McManus).

Solitary confinement causes psychological harm, such as hypersensitivity to external stimuli,

hallucinations, and panic attacks. These problems have been long recognized by professional

psychologists working with prison inmates. A film by PBS documents the journey to end solitary

confinement in the Maine State Prison over the course of three years. When Adam Brulotte first

went into solitary confinement, he claimed that he liked it and it gave him time to relax without

worrying about hurting other inmates (Edge). Over the course of five months, his mental state

progressively got worse. He claims that “[his] mind races all night” and he has “hardcore ADD”

that he doesn’t get medication for. When he relaxes and starts thinking, his mind is just “just

‘Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang’ all at once” (Edge). Many inmates in solitary confinement state

that their mental health gets worse “slowly but surely” and that solitary “would do it to anybody”

(Edge). Dr. Stuart Grassian, a psychiatrist working at the Maine prison, also explained that it is

“toxic to mental function” (Edge). Not only is it harmful during the inmates’ time in solitary, the

psychological damage often impacts the lives of the inmates after they are released from solitary.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the “anxiety, paranoia and hallucinations” from solitary

can possibly “continue long after prisoners return to our neighborhoods.” Solitary confinement

poses as a risk to the inmates’ mental stability as well as the public and the community these

released inmates end up living in.

solitary confinement causes physical harm to the inmates. In the PBS documentary about the

Maine Prison, inmates in solitary flood their cells for various reasons, one of them being they

have nothing to do in the cells and are bored. Flooding the cells is an extremely mild response to

being in solitary confinement. Other inmates turn to violence and self-harm. Sgt. Michael Burns

from the Maine State Prison states in the documentary that inmates in solitary “bang their heads,

punch the doors with their fists and break their hands” or “resort to razor blades” for

self-mutilation (Edge). Sometimes prisoners know that the only way to escape their cell is to

pose as a dangerous risk to their own safety, prompting the officers to extract them from their

cells (Edge). Around 250,000 New York City prisoner medical records show that from 2010 to

2013 “53.3 percent of inmates held in lockdown committed acts of self-harm and 45 percent

committed acts of potentially fatal self-harm” (McManus). Though solitary confinement was

originally used to protect general housing inmates from from more violent or dangerous inmates,

it in turn is causing harm to the inmates placed in isolation. Prisoners in solitary confinement are

locked in their cells for 23 hours a day. The only time they are allowed to be out of the cell is to

exercise outside in a small secured area. The cells are cramped and it can be difficult to stay in

shape during an inmate’s time in solitary confinement. Lack of time and space to exercise and

complete social isolation cause physical and psychological harm to the inmates.

It costs more to house an inmate in solitary confinement than it costs to house an inmate

in general housing. According to the Vera Institute of Justice, the average cost per inmate for

general prison housing is $33,274. On the other hand, the “cost of housing a prisoner in solitary

confinement is 2-3 times that of housing a prisoner in general population” (“Paying the Price”).
That’s around $70,000 per inmate in solitary confinement. This money is coming from taxpayers

and according to the Los Angeles Times, it is estimated that the taxpayers “would save $28

million this year” by reducing the inmates in solitary confinement. Solitary facilities could be

more expensive for multiple reasons. First of all, construction of the solitary confinement units

costs more (Casella). The “single cells and enhanced security technology” are more expensive

than normal cells in general housing (Curley). Not only is solitary confinement more expensive

to construct, it also cost more to maintain. The prisoners need multiple officers to escort them

when they leave their cells. Also the work that would be done by prisoners in regular facilities

need to be done by paid staff since the inmates can't leave their cells. Finally, the staff “takes

more time to perform regular searches on prisoners” for extra security (Curley). The high costs

of construction and additional security causes solitary confinement to be more expensive than

general housing.

Lastly, solitary confinement also increases the chance for inmates to reoffend and return

to jail, which can pose as a threat to the public. The Texas Legislative Budget Board has found in

a study that while only 49 percent of all prison releases resulted in the recidivism of the inmates,

“60 percent of state prisoners released from solitary were rearrested within three years”

(Thompson). Texas isn’t the only state that has a high rate of inmates released from solitary

being arrested again. Washington and California also completed studies showing that the

recidivism rates of prisoners leaving solitary were “as much as 35 percent higher than those

leaving the general” (Thompson). Also, in Connecticut, 2001 data shows that while 66 percent of

general housing inmates would be rearrested within three years, inmates released from solitary

confinement had a much higher recidivism rate at 92 percent (Tsui). Being released directly from
solitary confinement can be hard to readjust and this could lead to the high rates of prisoners

leaving solitary reoffending. One prisoner from the Maine State Prison that was held in solitary

confinement states that he sometimes wished he wasn’t being released because “the anxiety’s so

bad” and after being isolated for so long, “it’s easier to say, ‘All right, I’m going back to prison

for however many years’” (Edge). He “went from the most restrictive place [he’s] ever been to

no restrictions at all” and he ended up going back to jail for shooting someone (Edge). Another

inmate tried to “find a sense of normalcy” by dating and getting a job, but wound up back in jail

(Tsui). These inmates, like many others, tried, but struggled to readjust to life outside of solitary

confinement.

While solitary confinement is used to keep inmates safe from other violent inmates, it is

also harmful. It harms the physical and mental health of the prisoners housed in solitary

confinement. The inmates don’t have enough time or space to exercise and because of the time

they spend alone they often turn their minds to self-harm. Not only that, but solitary confinement

is expensive to build and maintain. The staff and security is excessive and costs taxpayers more.

Lastly, inmates released from solitary confinement pose as a threat to society and are more likely

to reoffend than inmates released from general housing. They struggle to adjust to life outside of

solitary after the physical and psychological impacts of isolation. Because solitary confinement

is harmful, expensive, and dangerous to society, the Federal Bureau of Prisons must put a ban on

solitary confinement.
 Works Cited

Casella, Jean, and Sal Rodriguez. “What Is Solitary Confinement?” ​The Guardian​,

Guardian News and Media, 27 Apr. 2016,

www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/27/what-is-solitary-confinement.

Curley, Caitlin. “Solitary Confinement Is a Moral and Financial Disaster.” , 2 Apr. 2016,

www.genfkd.org/solitary-confinement-moral-financial-disaster.

Edge, Dan, and Lauren Mucciolo, producers. "Last Days of Solidarity." ​Frontline​, season

33, episode 19, PBS, 18 Apr. 2017. ​PBS​, Public Broadcasting Service,

www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/last-days-of-solitary/. Accessed 13 Mar. 2018.

Gupta, Samarth. “From Solitary to Society.” ​Harvard Political Review​, 7 Feb. 2016,

harvardpolitics.com/united-states/solitary-society/.

Harlow, Harry F., et al. "Total social isolation in monkeys." ​Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences of the United States of America​, July 1965, pp. 90-97. ​Proceedings of the

National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America​,

www.pnas.org/content/54/1/90.short. Accessed 15 Mar. 2018.

McManus, Melanie Radzicki. “How Solitary Confinement Works.” ​HowStuffWorks​, 28

Feb. 2017, people.howstuffworks.com/solitary-confinement2.htm.

“9 Pros and Cons of Solitary Confinement.” ​Flow Psychology​, 2017,

flowpsychology.com/9-pros-and-cons-of-solitary-confinement/.

"Paying the Price for Solitary Confinement, ACLU Factsheet, 2015." ​Prison Legal News​,

www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/publications/paying-price-solitary-confinement-aclu-factsheet-2

015/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2018.

www.vera.org/publications/price-of-prisons-2015-state-spending-trends/price-of-prisons-2015-st

ate-spending-trends/price-of-prisons-2015-state-spending-trends-prison-spending.

Reiter, Keramet. “How to Fix Solitary Confinement in American Prisons.” ​Los Angeles

Times​, 17 Oct. 2016,

www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-reiter-solitary-confinement-20161017-snap-story.html.

"Solitary Confinement." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 17 Mar.

2018.

“Solitary Confinement Facts.” ​American Friends Service Committee,

http://www.afsc.org/resource/solitary-confinement-facts.

Thompson, Christie. “From Solitary to the Street.” ​The Marshall Project​, 11 June 2015,

www.themarshallproject.org/2015/06/11/from-solitary-to-the-street.

Tsui, Anjali. “Does Solitary Confinement Make Inmates More Likely To Reoffend?”

PBS​, Public Broadcasting Service, 18 Apr. 2017,

www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/does-solitary-confinement-make-inmates-more-likely-to-reo

ffend/.
 Annotated Bibliography

Casella, Jean, and Sal Rodriguez. “What Is Solitary Confinement?” ​The Guardian​,

Guardian News and Media, 27 Apr. 2016,

www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/27/what-is-solitary-confinement. This article touches on

all aspects of solitary confinement. It talks about who is put in, how many people are put in, and

what it does to them. This article is helpful for background information as well as the facts it

provides about the costs of solitary confinement.

Curley, Caitlin. “Solitary Confinement Is a Moral and Financial Disaster.” , 2 Apr. 2016,

www.genfkd.org/solitary-confinement-moral-financial-disaster. This website article argues that

solitary confinement is morally and financially a bad decision. It uses logistics to support the

argument that solitary confinement is expensive. This can be used to form and support my third

argument, which is that solitary is more expensive than the general population prison.

Edge, Dan, and Lauren Mucciolo, producers. "Last Days of Solidarity." ​Frontline​, season

33, episode 19, PBS, 18 Apr. 2017. ​PBS​, Public Broadcasting Service,

www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/last-days-of-solitary/. Accessed 13 Mar. 2018. This

documentary details the journey of multiple inmates held in solitary confinement over the course

of multiple years. It talks about why solitary confinement is used, why it's good, and why it's

bad. It really emphasized the mental struggle the inmates went through during solitary

confinement. It also portrayed how the inmates were able to behave better through reform

programs. This is useful for my first argument and my call for action.

Harlow, Harry F., et al. "Total social isolation in monkeys." ​Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences of the United States of America​, July 1965, pp. 90-97. ​Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America​,

www.pnas.org/content/54/1/90.short. Accessed 15 Mar. 2018. This study studies the behavior of

monkeys as they are deprived of social interaction. The monkeys are seen to become hostile and

fearful, affecting their mental and emotional health. This is usedful for my paper even though my

paper will touch more on human response to social depreivation.

McManus, Melanie Radzicki. “How Solitary Confinement Works.” ​HowStuffWorks​, 28

Feb. 2017, people.howstuffworks.com/solitary-confinement2.htm. This website gives a very

basic rundown of what solitary confinement is used for. It explains that it is used as punishment

and it explains how it works. Then it talks about the psychological effects of solitary

confinement. This is useful for my first argument about the mental health of the inmates.

"Paying the Price for Solitary Confinement, ACLU Factsheet, 2015." ​Prison Legal News​,

www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/publications/paying-price-solitary-confinement-aclu-factsheet-2

015/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2018. This article has statistics on the cost of solitary in several states.

This is useful for comparing the cost of solitary and the cost of general housing in prisons for my

third argument.

“Prison Spending in 2015.” ​Vera Institute of Justice​, 2018,

www.vera.org/publications/price-of-prisons-2015-state-spending-trends/price-of-prisons-2015-st

ate-spending-trends/price-of-prisons-2015-state-spending-trends-prison-spending. This website

gives statistics about the average cost of housing an inmate in prison. This is useful information

for my third argument because my third argument compares the price of housing an inmate in

general housing rather than in solitary confinement.

Times​, 17 Oct. 2016,

www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-reiter-solitary-confinement-20161017-snap-story.html.

This article gave many reasons why solitary confinement was in need of reform. It also brought

up the issue of how expensive solitary confinement is. This information is curcial for my third

argument in my paper.

"Solitary Confinement." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 17 Mar.

2018. This definition of solitary confinement is useful for providing a definition for people who

don't know what solitary confinement is, or even just making sure everyone is on the same page

about how I'm defining it.

“Solitary Confinement Facts.” ​American Friends Service Committee,

http://www.afsc.org/resource/solitary-confinement-facts. This website included a list of

psychological effects solitary confinement has on the inmates. This list of specific effects gives

me background knowledge and information I can include in my paper. This website also talks

about what has been done to combat solitary confinement. It talks about reform policies that are

being pushed for the US Federal Bureau of Prisons to pass and in my paper my call for action if

for the Federal Bureau of Prisons to ban solitary confinement.

Thompson, Christie. “From Solitary to the Street.” ​The Marshall Project​, 11 June 2015,

www.themarshallproject.org/2015/06/11/from-solitary-to-the-street. This website gives data

about how many prisoners are rearrested after being released. This information will be useful for

my final argument about solitary increasing the chance to be rearrested.

PBS​, Public Broadcasting Service, 18 Apr. 2017,

www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/does-solitary-confinement-make-inmates-more-likely-to-reo

ffend/. This article is all about the statistics of inmates being rearrested after release. It suggests

that there is a correlation between inmates being released from solitary confinement and

reoffending after release. This is extremely helpful for supporting my final argument.