SOLITARY NATION: THE PUNISHMENT
Thomas DePaola
University of Advancing Technology
Solitary Nation: The Punishment
Locked Up In America: Solitary Nation a documentary of the controversial practice of segregation of inmates as punishment and the causes and effects it has on the population, staff and inmates was aired on April 22nd 2014 on PBS Frontline. In the documentary segregation of inmates due to punishment and safety was evaluated and the inmate’s perspective were presented. The inmates complained of a laundry list of injustice and struggled with isolation. The struggle with isolation led to drastic decreases in the mental health of the inmates which led to even more drastic behavior. Learned tactics were practiced by the inmates in order to manipulate their situations for their benefit usually at a pretty high cost. The idea that this practice of isolation will lead to a correction in the inmate’s personality or actions seems to be a failing ideology as the practice of isolation is a punishment not a reform.
Solitary Confinement Facts by American Friends Service Committee identifies a number of points that outline segregation as inhumane and that they are not monitored properly to ensure the safety and mental health of the inmates they house. Points against the idea of segregation in this article point out that a larger majority of inmates who are in isolation are mentally ill. The article even goes further to highlight that inmates who are not mentally ill that spend a long time in segregated housing units often get released directly into the public which can cause a public safety issue.
During the documentary the most relevant and difficult issue that the facility and staff faced was the assessment of the inmate’s rehabilitation and mental state. The prisoners were only allowed a small view and limitless loop holes in communication to one another but learned tactics of self-mutilation became a normal behavior once the inmates conceived that they could be transferred to a medical ward rather than the isolation chamber they currently inhabited. This and other “learned behaviors” became a common trait making it difficult for staff to assess who needed mental help and who did not. Any form of “self-harm” was treated as a punishable offense and typically associated with a longer segregation stay. The “learned behaviors” although maybe false were used as a venue for the inmate’s insecurities and anger towards control. Inmates would do what they feel they needed to do to alter their current circumstances. This was evident in the case of Peter Gibbs where he blatantly stated he would “assault or murder whoever he had to in order to obtain a transfer”.
The news story, Prison Chief spends time in solitary confinement to speed reforms, by Maddie Garrett on February 21, 2014 describes the perspective a Director of Correction experience while being confined in isolation in order to help the system reform. The prison chief describes the event but the reason behind his experiment is to reform the system in order to help the inmates who are not deemed too violent for general population. He states he is aware of the ramifications to mental illness that the practice produces and believes it to be cruel. The prison chief identifies that 97% of these inmates find themselves back on the streets of the public and he believes the system should be enabling them with skills and rehabilitation to become productive members of society.
Officials like the Prison Chief have openly admitted that the practice is cruel punishment. There is no rehabilitation for these inmates and that becomes concerning for the public and creates a system of repeat offenses. The story printed also describes the Chiefs predecessor who was murdered by a former inmate who was placed in segregation that goes to show that the process currently performed does not only forfeit rehabilitation but also worsens characteristics.
Peter Gibbs did not seem to be in a state of mental instability he was a violent criminal who consistently stated his intent to manipulate situations to his favor using physical harm. During his statement to the warden he did mention his “need for medication to make him more sociable”. If he needed the medicine and the warden warranted a possibility of that happening then that would mean he did not meet with a psychologist to properly diagnose the inmate. The mental health unit was implemented in Maine to assist in reforming inmates who were deemed mentally unstable rather than to punish them. The selection process of who was mentally
unstable led to an environment of anger amongst the inmates who believed it to be unfair. A simple evaluation would have halted this belief but was not pursued.
The Position Statement on Segregation of Prisoners with Mental Illness that was released by the American Psychiatric Association in December of 2012 gives explicit guidelines to the handling and placement of mentally ill inmates. The statement released states the ramifications of placing a mentally ill person in isolation while also describing the difficulties these people have with conforming to prison itself. “Prisoners who have been diagnosed with mental illnesses have an increased number of infractions to the rules in prison which leads to an increase in segregation time. “ When placed in isolation the inmates condition tends to deteriorate or not progress.
This position clearly identifies conditions that can cause additional problems for inmates, staff, and the public itself. Mentally unstable inmates being exposed to situations that worsen their conditions are not being helped to prevent harming themselves and increase likelihoods of unruly and dangerous actions.
Upon the assessment of an inmate the facility makes arrangements for the mentally ill however, in some cases treatment is delivered and then the inmate must resume his punishment in isolation. The documentary identified this as being an essential step as the mental state of the inmates was not the only ones at stake but the mental state of the staff was as well. If the staff viewed an assault on an officer was deemed admissible if the inmate was mentally unstable the staff may have second thoughts about their safety. The documentary noted that solitary confinement in the United Sates was an “abandoned practice due to the fact that it did not reform”; segregation was re-implemented in the 80’s.
Maine’s facility is making leaps and bounds in the treatment and reform of inmate’s with different methods. There has been a reduction in segregated inmates by 50% in 2011. There are “80,000 inmates” across the U.S. in segregation which is “more than any western country”. The amount of inmates in segregation in the U.S. is alarming and expensive. In 2014 an inmate was released from segregation and as soon as stepping foot in general population killed another inmate. The attack showed that there is no reform in segregation and the need to carry out punishments on mentally ill inmates in order to maintain proper moral and peace of mind amongst staff shows that isolation is a punishment in all angles.
References
Edge, D. & Jones, E. C. (Producers), Edge, D. (Director) (April 22, 2014) Locked up in America. United States of America: PBS. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/locked-up-in-america/
Position Statement on Segregation of Prisoners with Mental Illness December 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
1. Metzner JL: Guidelines for psychiatric services in prisons. Crim
Behav Ment Health 3:252–67, 1993
2. Morrissey JP, Swanson JW, Goldstrom I, Rudolph L,
Manderscheid RW: Overview of Mental Health Services by State
Adult Correctional Facilities: United States, 1988. Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, publication
(SMA)93-1993, 1993, pp 1–13)
3. Metzner JL, Fellner J: Solitary Confinement and Mental Illness in
U.S. Prisons: A Challenge for Medical Ethics. J Am Acad
Psychiatry Law 38:104–8, 2010
4. American Psychiatric Association. Psychiatric Services in Jails
and Prisons, 2nd Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric
Association, 2000
5. National Commission on Correctional Health: Standards for
Mental Health Services in Correctional Facilities. Pages 60 – 61,
2008
6. Work Group on Schizophrenia: American Psychiatric Association
practice guidelines: practice guideline for the treatment of patients
with schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 154(suppl):1–63, 1997
7. Morgan DW, Edwards AC, Faulkner LR: The adaptation to prison
by individuals with schizophrenia. Bulletin of the American
Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 21, 427-433, 1993
8. Lovell D, Jemelka R: When inmates misbehave: The costs of
discipline. The Prison Journal, 76, 165-179, 1996
9. Lovell D, Jemelka R: Coping with mental illness in prison. Family
& Community Health, 21, 54-66, 1998
10. Metzner JL, Dvoskin JA: An Overview of Correctional Psychiatry.
Psychiatric Clinics N Am , 29: 761-772, 2006
Solitary confinement facts. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2014.
https://afsc.org/resource/solitary-confinement-facts
Prison Chief spends time in solitary confinement to speed reforms. February 212014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
http://www.koaa.com/news/prison-chief-spends-time-in-solitary-confinement-to-speed-reforms/
thaosin 