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Why Solitary Confinement Should Be Banned

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A popular punishment technique used by parents known as time-out is also being used in various prisons around the world. Inmates are sent to solitary confinement as a consequence of acting out, which is comparable to how a child is put in time-out when misbehaving. Solitary confinement is a method of imprisonment used to isolate troubled inmates from the rest of the prison. Despite this method being extremely effective in keeping inmates out of conflicts with others, the conditions they are held in are harmful to their health. Solitary confinement should be permanently banned from all prisons because of the life-threatening psychological and physiological effects it has on inmates, it’s unconstitutional, and the living conditions within the …show more content…

The eighth Amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (“The Eighth Amendment”). By all means, locking someone in a tiny room for 23 hours a day, with no human interaction, and little to no physical activity is a cruel and unusual punishment. However, dangerous inmates or inmates that act out do deserve to be punished for their behaviors, but the punishment should be aimed less towards torture and more towards helping them grow and mature as a person. An alternative to solitary confinement could be to still put the inmate in isolation, but instead of it being complete isolation for 23 hours, they will have more human interaction and exercise throughout the day. For example, the prison could provide counselors for the inmates, so they have an easier time coping with the stress of being locked in a cell, and it would be a good opportunity for them to have human interaction. The counselors could meet with the inmates once a day, and for the more dangerous inmates they would need to put guards in the room to protect the counselor, but this would reduce the psychological impact isolation has on the inmates. As far as exercise goes, inmates could be given two hours in the courtyard that are spaced out in the day. Instead of going to the courtyard once a day, inmates will go twice and have an hour in each session, which will decrease the physiological issues, such as back pain. The prison could also provide an education system that solitary confinement inmates go through at the end of their sentence to help them be prepared for the real world again. These are just a few ideas of how solitary confinement could be equally as effective as far as keeping inmates out of conflicts with others, and

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