Crime, Law, and Society

Criminal Justice in America, caveman(a) childbed or separate confinement is defined as a penitentiary system in which each inmate is held in closing off from other inmates, and all activities mastermind dictate within the cells. In 1787, the Philadelphia corporation for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons was formed by Quakers after they became inspired by tail end Howard, an English Sheriff who had written about the horrible conditions in prisons he had visited.This confederacy argued that criminals could be reformed if they were placed in penitentiaries and isolated room society and from ane another, so that they could reflect on their crimes and repent. Soon after forming, the dada legislature authorized the building of a penitentiary based on the system of separate confinement.It was believed that solitary confinement would prevent further depravation from inside prisons, it would allow offenders to reflect on their crimes, it would be an irritating penalisatio n because humans atomic number 18 naturally social, and it would be economical because it would not take long for the reformation process to affect the criminal. In 1834, another pop prison based on this system was subject to outside investigations that slender negative effects of separate confinement pris unmatchedrs were not reforming, physical punishments were be used as discipline, and the extended isolation resulted in many another(prenominal) prisoners having noetic breakdowns.After watching the frontline accusative Solitary Nation, I hazard it that solitary confinement should only be used in situations where an inmate has committed a serious infraction. There are an estimated 80,000 inmates across the United situates in solitary confinement. Todd Thicket, who is in prison for arson, is a good example of wherefore it is wrong to segregate criminals for performing mild to moderate infractions. There is one instance where Todd had made a suicide attempt and officers w ere unable to render immediate medical aid until he would handcuff himself.Some inmates, like 21 year old tenner Brutal, claim that they can handle it turn can read, write, and do pushup to pass the time. He claims surviving segregation simply requires a strong mind. Within a few months, Adam makes an attempt on his life by severing veins in his arm. jibe to Lamar Kelly, an inmate at Maine State Prison, there are 20 such(prenominal) incidents per month. The practice of solitary confinement began in the eighteen hundreds as a progressive experiment to see if isolation would help criminals reform.This idea was in short abandoned when it was revealed that prisoners not only did not reform, but also bewildered their minds. The practice of solitary confinement was revived in the sass as a method to stamp out prison violence. The warden at Maine State Prison, Rodney Bradford, believes that solitary confinement should only be used for extremely ruffianly criminals, and that it is ve ry overused throughout the United States. One example of an incredibly risky and dangerous criminal is Peter Gibbs he has made many threats to pop out the warden and other inmates.Many would argue that Peter is the type of criminal who deserves to be confined, nevertheless Peter makes a good point when he says its a legerdemain to think youre going to change a man who doesnt want to change. In some cases, isolating criminals who do not want to change may only be contributing to their mental illnesses. Dry. Dan Banish says that consequences must be enforced among the inmates, even if such consequences do not benefit the inmates. The documentary does not end optimistically.Maine State Prison does drastically reduce the get of prisoners held in solitary confinement, but there was at least one incident where an inmate was released and shortly afterward stabbed someone 87 times, and many of the inmates featured in Solitary Nation went on to make more attempts on their lives. I th ink that infractions which result in solitary confinement need to be much less strict and should result in much less time spent in isolation, although there are cases where it can be a deserved punishment. I also think that other options, such as counseling, should be used in place of the lesser infractions.