Supermax prisons are high-security facilities that isolate inmates with minimal contact with the outside world. Some argue that the sensory deprivation is abusive and unconstitutional. Some US prisons have downgraded security features, but some still exist due to opposing views on the purpose of the prison system. Some believe harsh punishment is necessary to reduce recidivism and control violence, while others argue that imprisonment shouldn’t be cruel and unusual punishment.
A supermax prison can refer to a prison that offers maximum security measures or imposes the strictest standards of detention on prisoners who are extremely violent offenders or potential or proven terrorists. A prison that has a section with maximum security may also be called a supermax prison or a supermax unit, an abbreviation of the term supermax. Such facilities, existing alone or within a prison, usually minimize contact between inmates with 23-hour isolation and a number of automated systems (such as cell doors and locks) to also limit the contact with the guards.
Other features of a supermax prison include things like no windows and no views into the prison, such as through bars. People are allowed to eat, use the toilet and sleep in individual cells with very little contact of any kind with the outside world. While some prisons offer solitary confinement in supermax prison areas, most prisons allow well-behaved people to work, learn skills, get regular exercise, and have access to things like prison libraries. People confined to supermax prisons or maximum-security units don’t have those options, and some advocates of fair treatment of inmates suggest that the sheer amount of sensory deprivation is, in itself, abusive and unconstitutional.
In recent years, some US prisons have tended to downgrade rather than upgrade stringent security features, and have converted some prisons to average rather than super-maximum standards. However, even low-security prisons may have a supermax prison unit, as there is a potential for violence within the prison, and many believe there must be a way to punish those who continue to act violently while incarcerated .
This shift in attitude may be due in part to the existence and allegations against several supermax prisons that have been notorious for prisoner abuse, as demonstrated in litigation by former inmates. In particular, the state of Wallens Ridge in Virginia and Boscobel in Wisconsin, to name a few, had a long list of complaints filed by prisoners for cruel and unusual punishments due not only to their supermax nature, but also to the treatment of prisoners by part of the security guards . However, although maximum security federal prisons are no longer as common, there are a number of maximum security state prisons that are in the process of being built or have been built. Pelican Bay in California is an example of a current supermax prison.
Perhaps the existence of supermax prisons, while other prisons are lowering security, is best explained by opposing views on the purpose of the prison system. It is noted that even in these maximum security prisons gangs continue to proliferate, but there is less capacity for violent actions than a group of prisoners because they are less frequent in groups. Some believe, however, that imprisonment shouldn’t be a cruel and unusual punishment, and that the harshness of supermaximum security is just that. Others argue that the only way to reduce recidivism and control violence within a prison is to make sure inmates know that violence towards others will result in extreme punishment.
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