Over 80,000 US prisoners are in solitary confinement, with around 25,000 in long-term isolation. Studies show this can lead to mental health issues and violence. The practice was started by Quakers but is now considered cruel and has been abolished in many countries.
More than 80,000 prisoners are held in solitary confinement in the United States and approximately 25,000 of them are in long-term solitary confinement. Seclusion in solitary confinement is considered one of the harshest punishments for inmates due to the way it severely affects mental health. The United States is one of the few countries that uses long-term isolation.
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Several studies show that being in long-term isolation increases a person’s propensity for violence, psychosis, depression, hallucinations and panic attacks.
The practice of solitary confinement is nothing new. In the United States, it was started by Quakers as a “humane” alternative that gave prisoners time to think about their crimes and possibly decide to change. It fell out of fashion in the early 1900s as unnecessarily cruel and was abolished in many countries, including most of Europe.
In some prisons, a typical day in solitary confinement includes 15 minutes in a computer-controlled shower and about an hour for self-exercising. The other 22 hours are spent in a concrete cell with no natural light.
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