Solitary Confinement

       This weekend I noticed a story in the New York Times about a subject we have discussed in class, the U.S. prison system. The article is about the use and history of the practice of solitary confinement, in which troublesome or dangerous prisoners are imprisoned in cells isolated from almost any human contact. The practice poses many ethical questions, as it is damaging to the mental health of prisoners, and as the article discusses, both expensive and overused.
       The piece is a pretty moving description of problems at the edge of the criminal justice system; at the margins of the margins of our society. It's definitely not a part of America we think about often, and it was startling to read about how bad things can get that far from the core of society. It's also encouraging to hear about efforts being made to improve the situation. Many of the problems we have discussed in class are fixable, and it's important to remember there are people working to improve our country.
       In addition to the discussion about solitary confinement, the article touches on the causes of the prison boom, and the increased harshness of the prison system that accompanied it. We haven't discussed causes in class, but the root of the prison boom is the crime wave of the 1980's and early 1990s (A really good story about that part of U.S. history is Freakonomics). The story behind the rise of the prison system is an interesting cause-effect relationship, and a good example of how much public opinion and perception can shape American culture.
       On a personal level, I made a connection between the conditions described and the portrayal of  in many prison movies. In "The Shawshank Redemption" especially, the main character is thrown into a solitary cell for months as punishment for questioning his guilt. His condition in the cell was terrible, alone in the dark with occasional food deliveries as his only contact with the outside. It was one of the most emotional portions of the movie, and the memory of it was why I paid so much attention to the story in the first place.

Prisons Rethink Isolation, Saving Money, Lives and Sanity