Solitary Confinement
Angela Schedler
Fordham University
Graduate School of Social Service
New York, New York
Forensic Social Work
T. Maschi
Presentation Overview
 Critical
Analysis of Solitary
Confinement

Critical Assessment

Prevention and Intervention Strategies
Critical Assessment
Solitary Confinment
 Does
solitary confinement do more
harm than good? What is solitary
confinement’s ultimate purpose and
is it actually being used correctly
within the prison system?
History of Solitary Confinement
 First
began in 1829
 1934
Alcatraz was opened
 1983
Supermax Prisons were opened
 1989
Pelican Bay was built to solely
house inmates in isolation
Case Vignette
 Sarah
 410
Shourd
days in solitary confinement
 Experienced
hallucinations, insomnia,
violent panic attacks
 Has
continued to have effects even
after being released.
 Cannot
long
be around people for very
United Nations Document
 Article
5 under the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
 The
Eighth Amendment protects
individuals in the United States from
“cruel and unusual punishment
Federal and State Policy
 The
main tools used to challenge
solitary confinement are the eighth
and the fourteenth amendment of
the constitution
 As
of 2011, no court has found that
solitary confinement violates the
eighth amendment.
Prevention and
Intervention Strategies
Promising Practice
 Rehabilitation
 Britain
has provided more resources
and opportunities for inmates that
were in solitary confinement.
Levels of Oppression
 Britain
gave the oppressed
population (inmates in solitary
confinement) more power.
 This
has helped reduce violence and
provide change within the prisons of
Britain and Europe.
Recommendations
 More
research needs to be done
regarding solitary confinement.
 More
research needs to be conducted
in regards to effects of solitary
confinement once released.
 Although
there continues to be a lot
of research regarding the negative
effects, more advocacy needs to be
done for change.
Final Reflection
What Did I Learn?
 Solitary
Confinement continues to
remain a large issue within the
prison system.
 Not
enough has been done to
promote change.
 The
effects of Solitary Confinement
are life long.
Resources
Helpful Resources

Solitary Watch

Human Rights Watch

American Friends Service Committee
References

American Friends Service Committee. Solitary Confinement Facts. Retrieved May 6, 2014,
http://solitarywatch.com/facts/faq/

Gawande, A. (2009, March 30). Hellhole. The New Yorker.

Shourd, S. (2013, July 17). Solitary Confinement. . Retrieved May 2, 2014, from
https://www.aclu.org/blog/prisoners-rights/iranian-government-locked-me-solitary-confinement410-days-today-my-thoughts

Smith, P. S. (2006). The effects of solitary confinement on prison inmates: A brief history and
review of the literature. Crime and Justice, 34(1), 441-528. doi: 10.1086/500626

Solitary Watch (2012). Solitary Watch News from a Nation in Lockdown. Retrieved from
http://solitarywatch.com/facts/faq/

Sullivan, L. (2006, July 26). Timeline: Solitary Confinement in the U.S Prison. Retrieved May 2,
2014, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5579901

US: Look Critically at Widespread Use of Solitary Confinement. (2012, June 18). Retrieved May 2,
2014, from http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/06/18/us-look-critically-widespread-use-solitaryconfinement

Vasiliades, E. Solitary Confinement and International Human Rights: Why the U.S Prison System
Fails Global Standards. Law Journal Library, 21, 77-78. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from
http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/amuilr21&div=13&g_sent=1&collection=journ
als#90

Weir, K. Alone in 'the hole'. American Psychological Association, 43, 54. Retrieved May 2, 2014,
from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/05/solitary.aspx