Solitary confinement

[Elysian]

How do ppl survive, and how long does it usually last? I am curious because normally ppl are restless and can't be still for a few minutes. So how do they manage solitary confinement?

[Os Cangaceiros]

They can stick you in there for decades if they want to. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola_Three I'm not sure what the average time period in solitary is, though.

A lot of people survive by losing their minds a little bit.

[Princess Luna]

The fact the US supreme court hasn't ruled Solitary confinement a "Cruel and usual punishment" shows how fucked up the US legal system is. 500 years ago SC was used as a form of torture, just like the thumb screw and the rack. Sadly while the enlightenment slowly did away with most barbaric torture, Solitary confinement survives even in places where the death penalty has been abolished.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Solitary is definitely torture ... it's psychologically destructive to those who are subjected to it.

If I remember correctly, Mumia Abu-Jamal has been in solitary confinement for the last 29-30 years...

[Elysian]

Solitary is definitely torture ... it's psychologically destructive to those who are subjected to it.

If I remember correctly, Mumia Abu-Jamal has been in solitary confinement for the last 29-30 years...

Is it solitary in the literal sense, that you'll be confined to a small space, given no books or anything to keep you company?

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Is it solitary in the literal sense, that you'll be confined to a small space, given no books or anything to keep you company?
Specific policies vary between prisons, although if I remember correctly, Mumia is given a rubber pen and some paper, a few envelopes, an hour of exercise a week, and one visitor a week behind bulletproof glass.

[RGacky3]

I don't see why you would ask that here, thats a medical question.

[danyboy27]

Solitary confinement is not necessarly a punishement, its all depend of the condition and how much it last.

You can put someone in isolation to help him/her to cool down for a day or two, there is nothing inhumane if the room is well lit, have a bed, running water and a book.
But personally, anything longer than 3 day is just fucking excessive unless the person require it for some reason.

[Sasha]

the italian radical playwright dario fo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dario_Fo) made a heartwrenching monologue about solitairy confinement written from the viewpoint of ulrike meinhoff when she was held in stanheim called "i'm ulrike - screaming", well worth reading if you ever can get your hands on it.
(in the same bundle of plays there is also a even more harowing short play called "the rape" which turns out be written by Fo's wife Franca Rame and being a description of her kidnapping, torture and rape by a fascist gang send by the italian police, absolutly one of the most schoking and intense piece of dramatic work i have ever read)

[Elysian]

Does it have a nice bed, tv, and books? Then wouldn't sc be a blessing for introverts?:confused:

[danyboy27]

Does it have a nice bed, tv, and books? Then wouldn't sc be a blessing for introverts?:confused:

Even introvet could not stand solitary confinement for a week, let alone a month and enjoying it.

[Franz Fanonipants]

its torture and people in sc for long periods of time have a very real tendency to die

[danyboy27]

its torture and people in sc for long periods of time have a very real tendency to die

i am against SC for long period, but what can you do when you got a real dangerous sociopath in jail and you dont want him to kill other inmates?

Its a dilema i have been struggling with for a while now.

[Franz Fanonipants]

i am against SC for long period, but what can you do when you got a real dangerous sociopath in jail and you dont want him to kill other inmates?

Its a dilema i have been struggling with for a while now.

there's a difference between isolation and solitary confinement

[danyboy27]

there's a difference between isolation and solitary confinement

good point But still, keeping a psychopath in isolation permanently does not seem verry human.

[Franz Fanonipants]

i'm not so sure. if someone has that much of a problem with other people, keeping them in a non-solitary confinement isolation setting, where they are allowed to seek rehabilitation and treatment with people who theoretically have both as their main interests is nothing but good.