Supermax Prisons: Criticisms Of The Correctional System

By restricting their daily schedule prisoners cannot restore their discipline in maintaining strong foundation to rebuild their mind or help them avoid psychology. Without these proper resources inmates minds will collapse to the point of insanity making the 8th amendment come into effect. To truly uphold justice the prison system main goal must be to focus on rehabilitation for all those in Supermax prisons and especially for those who suffer from mental illness. To be locked away for long durations of time or even life can severely create discord in the system. It is truly mayhem when individuals no longer control their own fates but must listen to the precise system that believes structure is the key to reforming someone, despite their freedom

Close monitoring is where the offender checks in with their probation officer or therapist to ensure they are not committing a crime. Community service the where the offender works in the community for a set amount of hours

Super Max prisons are harsh and rigid. They house individuals who have been convicted of some of the worst, most violent, and most heinous crimes which shock the conscience. Individuals who are incarcerated in Super Max prisons are confined solitarily on a basis of 23/7. For 23 hours per day, 7 days per week they are confined solely to themselves in a small cell with little to no view of the outside world, and only receive one hour per day of recreational time which allows them to exit their cells (Tapley, 2012). Furthermore, this type of confinement is extremely difficult on the mental health of individuals (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015).

Supermax prisons commonly have four characteristics that give them the label “Supermax”. These four characteristics are as follows: Supermax prisons are generally characterized by indefinite, long term housing, usually accompanied by nearly complete isolation and deprivation of environmental stimuli, little to none programmed activities allowed, with prison employees having a wide scope of

Supermax prisons, also known as secure housing units (SHUs) or administrative maximum (ADX) facilities, have been a controversial topic in the criminal justice system for several decades. These facilities are designed to hold the most dangerous and high-risk prisoners, who pose a threat to other inmates or staff members. However, the conditions in these facilities have raised questions about whether they are actually contributing to the mental and physical decline of the prisoners, or if the descriptions of these conditions are exaggerated. Critics of supermax prisons argue that the extreme isolation and sensory deprivation in these facilities can cause mental illness and a variety of physical ailments. It is well-documented that social isolation can have significant impacts on a person's mental health.

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).

Supermax prisons were originally intended for the most violent escape prone prisoners.(Ross, 2007).They are also used for rule breakers, convicted leaders of criminal organizations, serial criminals and political criminals. They have strict lock down policies and isolation techniques and a lack of amenities like watching tv and listening to the radio, they are also not allowed to work or congregate throughout the day. These prisons were created for the worse of the worse in an effort to isolate them from regular prison population and to give them a harsher punishment. (Ross, 2007).They however, were not created for prisoners who are serving short term sentences or individuals who are a likely candidate for rehabilitation. This is not a place

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.

Prisoners that are in supermax prisons are isolated 23 hours out of the day. ADX-Florence Colorado has a law suit against them by fellow inmates. According to the speaker there are mentally ill patients who are not given drugs, counseling, and are held in conditions

Modern day prisons and jails provide righteous security, living conditions and treatment of the prisoners who have committed a crime, compared to the detention facility in Anthem. Today, security in public and private places has played a great role in providing safe environments, especially in prisons and jails. Modern day prisons and jails tend to be isolated and far from cities (especially prisons), making it difficult to escape because the escaped prisoner would have to travel a long distance in discretion, without getting caught. Although there are different levels of prisons such as medium security, close security, maximum security, supermax and federal penitentiaries, they all are watched at all times. Furthermore, advanced technology has prevented inmates from escaping prisons and jails.

In my honest opinion solitary confinement in the U.S. is not justified and only does more harm than good. Not only is it a rash punishment, but it is one of the worst kinds of psychological tortures that could be inflicted upon an inmate. Human beings are undoubtedly social creatures and without the mere contact of another person the mind decays and ultimately leads a person to anger, anxiety, and hopelessness. Psychologists also claim that solitary confinement and isolation in general also cause depression or the loss of ability to have any "feelings", cognitive disturbances, such as confused thought processes and disorientation, perceptual distortions, such as hypersensitivity to noises and smells, distortions of sensations, and hallucinations affecting all five senses, as well as paranoia and psychosis which often times involve schizophrenic type symptoms, and finally, the worst of all symptoms, being self-harm such as self-mutilation, cutting and even suicide attempts.

Those who find themselves sentenced to time in a penitentiary, jail, or prison are at risk of either being broken or strengthened by the time they spend behind bars. There is a great debate of whether or not the prison system in the United States is positive or negative. The following will briefly highlight the positives, negatives, and possible alternatives for our nation's prison system. First, there is a long list of negatives that the prison system in America brings. The prison system is filled with crime, hate, and negativity almost as much as the free world is.

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.

As we look at supermax prisons they are used to house many violent offenders to mainly keep them away from all other prisoners in solitary confinement like cells for a long period of time and most of them will never be released.   The main issue that Schmalleger and Smykla describe is the fact of a mental illness starting due to supermax confinement and where none previously existed in the past (2015).   The issue with that is it could get them out of a supermax prison, which I believe that is completely ridiculous because they were already crazy enough to commit the crime they did to get in there.   The other ways it does effect the person in prison is that it could lead to a bunch of different symptoms and possibly even suicide from being confined

The pros of having a super maximum security prison is the safety for others because these inmates are dangerous. Coupled with the fact that super-max prisons is a corrections management tool used which is cost- effective and achieves outcome that no other approach can. On the contrary, the cons are long term solitary confinement for twenty three hours per day which is un-humane. Moreover this type of confinement harms parts of the brain because the inmates are reminiscing on the crimes committed in the past. Furthermore, this can and has led to suicide and mental illnesses within the inmates because they are kept away from