TO: Thomas R. Krane, P.h.D., Acting Director of Federal Bureau of Prisons FROM: Roger Rael, Graduate Student University of Colorado-Denver DATE: Tuesday, May 10, 2016 RE: Evaluating the consequences of continued super-max confinement I. Issue The issue is broad and national in scope. Whether the Federal Bureau of Prisons should continue supporting the use of super-max facilities is a matter of extreme societal and legal questions. Solitary confinement, for an extended or indefinite period of time, implicates constitutional rights and questions our morality as a society. The Supreme Court of the United States, in Wilkinson v. Austin, decided more than a decade ago that the state of Ohio 's Super Max facilities did not violate those prisoner 's due process rights long established under precedent. Although the prisoners lost their case, the controversy is very much alive (Lobel 2008). This issue affects every American citizen. Although all citizens will not face confinement in a super-max facility, but a due process analysis in the higher federal courts has serious implications. The American legal system is built …show more content…
Second, the Bureau could prohibit the construction of new super-max facilities and implement alternatives to limit the negative impact of indefinite super-max confinement. Although it is clear that super-max facilities will continue playing some role in American prisons, some adjustments could be made to alleviate the risk of mental harm afflicting inmates. The state could adopt a number of different alternatives. First, the State could disperse or concentrate the most violent and disruptive inmates throughout the system by meticulously planning the best options (Mears 2006). Second, the State could build segregation cells in each prison for each facilities ' most disruptive inmates (Mears 2006). Third, the State could concentrate more resources on staff training. Fourth, the State could offer more rehabilitative services
In today's society more and more violence is occurring each and everyday. With the increase of violence, the inmate population grows and locations of incarcerating inmates are rising as well. In his article, Private prisons, career correctional administrator and academic, Richard P. Seiter argues that the private corrections care about the well being of inmate not about making profit off the enormous populus incarcerated. Richard P. Seiter is a career Correctional Administrator. Mr. Seiter served as a Warden at two federal prisons, Federal Prison Camp in Allenwood, Pennsylvania from 1981 to 1982 and Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville Illinois from 1993 to 1999..
Since early times supermax prisons were used as a deterrence for extended criminal activities. We have seen facilities such as Alcatraz as early examples of supermax facilities which has been around since mid-1900. . There are many interesting points I found out about supermax prisons after reading this week article. The purpose behind super maximum security prisons is to prevent hard criminal from committing further crimes and keep them away from committing more crimes while incarcerated or inflict injuries t themselves therefore they are locked away from the rest of prison population. Supermax prison are not new and have been around for a long times as well as have been used in many different countries throughout the world.
Annotated Bibliography Bower, Alicia. " Constitutionally Crowded: Brown v. Plata and How the Supreme Court Pushed Back to Keep Prison Reform Litigation Alive." Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 45.2 (2012): 555-67. Academic Search Complete. Web.
Supermax inmates are allowed one hour of recreational time by themselves. What can inmates do to work their way out of a supermax facility? Due to inmates limited ability to interact with other inmates, there is limited opportunities to get into trouble; therefore, it is also hard to show an improvement in ones attitude. For an inmate to work their way out of a supermax facility, they more often than not have to flatten their time. Studies conducted on the effects of long term solitary confinement have shown evidence of acute sensory deprivation, paranoid delusional belief system, irrational fears of violence, resentment, inability to control rage, and mental breakdowns (Schmalleger, 2015).
the overcrowding in the prisons has become a real issue considering that they do not place mentally ill inmates in a separate section like they are supposed to. Every prison is required to have separate sections to know how to supervise everyone. There are buildings that are for minimum security, medium, maximum, and medical where most of the mentally ill are located. Those who are not in their separate sections will cause many problems in the overcrowded sections. the absence of privacy adds tension to each and every inmate.
The former director (Morris Thigpen) of the National Institute of Corrections said, “It is imperative that all inmates placed in Supermax be fully aware of how they can work their way out” (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015, p. 458). Remembering these words, I would first ensure all supermax inmates fully understood the behaviors that were acceptable and those that were not. Respect between inmates and staff would be the foundation of the behavior expected. It’s imperative these inmates respect the officers and other staff working in these facilities.
" If you shout or scream, your time in solitary is extended; if you hurt yourself by refusing to eat or mutilating your body, your time in solitary is extended; if you complain to officers or say anything menacing or inappropriate, your time in solitary is extended. " They overuse their power; they take their job way too personally. To close, prisoner abuse and the disregard for human dignity described in Just Mercy highlight how the urgent need for reform within the correction system is very wrong for those who are in positions of power to prioritize their responsibilities over personal
The world will always have criminals, some of whom continue to be defiant towards humanity-these people will have to be punished, however, it is unambiguous that solitary confinement is an inhumane way of dealing with a difficult person. Now, what Hard Rock went through was horrid and the good news is nobody has to be tortured the way he was. The bad news is that people are continuing to be tortured with solitary confinement. The fact that solitary confinement is still legal is baffling.
Topic: Prison overcrowding General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to identify and describe the key reasons and issues of prison overcrowding. Introduction Attention Getter Imagine being locked up in a confined space with little to no air conditioning, concrete walls, concrete floors, poor sanitation, rowdy peers, no soft comforts of a home, and a lack of the everyday basic needs.
Some might argue that solitary confinement is actually effective and has its benefits, however this is not the case since this punishment only seems to make criminals much more dangerous when they leave prison than they were before and research shows that inmates who left solitary confinement experience increased anger and end up committing the kind of criminality that society is looking to prevent by using this method of punishment. Thus, solitary confinement ultimately fails as a rehabilitative measure, and as a way to "settle down" problematic
Since, such correctional residential facilities are run by programs that can support their system this is a key element that Lobuglio and Piehl has stated in this article. As well as, any other key point, in this article, the finally statement that is held very accountable towards is that in order for this process to thrive it “will require a large expensive, and politically challenging investment…throughout the country.” Besides, it isn’t easy to unwind such development of mass
A rhetorical analysis simply “breaks down” the text from the “whole” into “pieces” in order to understand how the authors write and what rhetorical patterns they adopt to achieve their goals – that is, usually, to convey a main idea or a message to the audience. This paper will help the reader have a deeper look and understanding of a famous New York Times article “My night in solitary” by Rick Raemisch by analyzing in detail his effective use of rhetorical elements, including subject, thesis, purpose, audience, persona, ethos, authoritative testimony and analogy. The subject of this essay is obviously about solitary confinement, a horrible form of punishment for inmates, which is also a highly controversial issue in the United States over
Supermax prisons are generally designed to house the most misbehaved inmates, and these inmates are generally locked away in solitary confinement for a majority of their stay (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Mears (2015) mentions that supermax prisons are designed for punishment and seclusion, but these inmates can be released from supermax prisons. Two common ways to get released from supermax are through good behavior and being released from a prison term. Most supermax inmates have proven they cannot conduct themselves as model prisoners, but they are given another chance through showing good behavior in adverse conditions. If the prisoners are unable to change their behavior, they may complete their sentence in the supermax prison.
Maximum Security prison is a enormous building with large society of inmates. They offer solid security, high fences, as well as thick tall walls, and tight secure cells. They are very closely watched regarding every moment they are detain/hold there (Schmalleger, 2011).
Pages 17-64. Revised 2010 Edition. Zyl Smit, Dirk van. ? Crime and Justice, Regulation of Prison Conditions", 39 Crime & Just.