Solitary Confinement Essays

Solitary Confinement Essays Solitary Confinement Essay Solitary Confinement Essay Throughout the United States, many of the standard regulations for juveniles that are held in solitary confinement are the same, but not all states have been direct about how some of them are treating their inmates. In recent years, Ohio has become one of the numerous states in America that has significantly reduced and eventually will restrict the use of solitary confinement on Juveniles In the youth prison systems (Richards, 2014). This is because, while under investigation by the united States Justice Department, the state of Ohio was found to be using solitary confinement in inappropriate ways that violated the Juveniles constitutional rights. Mike, Just one of the hundreds of youths incarcerated in Ohios youth prisons, has experienced the harsh and cruel treatment (Richards, 2014). Before being incarcerated, Mike had grown up In thirty-seven different foster homes. With having gone through an unstable childhood, Mike feared that for the rest of his life, he would be neglected and rejected by all of his peers (Richards 2014). The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being data shows that more than half of Juveniles with reports of neglect or rejection are at risk of committing some type of delinquent act ( C. W. I. G. 2014). Shortly after being placed in a new foster home, Mike found himself participating In illegal activities. When he was arrested, Mike was sentenced to serve five years In Shows correctional system for a felony conviction. Mike stated The longest time I spent In solitary confinement was eighteen weeks (Richards, 2014). In those eighteen weeks, restricted of any outside activity, guards would only check on IM to make sure that he was still alive. His room consisted of Just a toilet, sink, shower, bed, and a small window that was about two inches wide. Mike was left in his room with no pencil or books for most of his remaining time at the facility and was only allowed to leave his cell once a month for ten minutes. Many of the youth Inmates that were held In these facilities had either been previously diagnosed with a mental illness or later diagnosed with a mental illness after serving their time in solitary confinement. Joanne Richards, a reporter for WASP in Cleveland, states that Starting September first, punishment for all youth offenders from the age of ten to twenty-one will be limited to four hours (Richards, 2014). Many more changes are being made In Shows Juvenile Justice systems such as closely monitoring the safety of employ for the U. S. Justice Departments Civil Rights Division, sued Ohios Juvenile correction system for the violations against the youth offenders held in their facilities. Hill states We need to make sure that incarceration of young people is used to rehabilitate them, not Just to warehouse and forget them and certainly not damage hem in ways that make them less and less able to participate in our communities in a positive way (Richards, 2014). As this case had been further investigated by the Justice Department, they began to find out that being locked down behind bars for a month strait with a ten minute psychiatrist appointment was only affecting the youth offenders mental health negatively. Kim Parallel with the Ohio Department of Youth Services says that they plan on adjusting their strategies of rehabilitating the youth instead of locking them up for twenty four hours a day (Richards, 2014). There will be more prevention programs that reflect on the inmates to help them with their behavioral and violence problems in order to keep them from refunding and ending up incarcerated again. Pennsylvania is one of the many states that still sentences Juveniles to solitary confinement. Solitary confinement in Pennsylvania is considered as a time out (Natal 2014). During a Juveniles time in solitary confinement, each individual is locked in a room or cell. Majority of their days consist of sitting in their cell with minimal or no contact with other people besides the staff f the corrections facility. Juveniles are locked down in their cells for twenty-two to twenty-three hours a day with nothing but a bed and a toilet. Pennsylvania says that it is used as a form of discipline in order to try and prevent the young offenders from being re-incarcerated. Pennsylvania makes sure that all of their youth offenders are safe and that youths that are confined for more than twenty-three hours a day must be evaluated by a mental health professional (Natal, 2014). Solitary confinement, a harsh and cruel punishment, provides many reasons to be banned in the Juvenile recreational system. Punishing children by locking them up for twenty-three hours a day is eliminating the opportunity for them to grasp where they went wrong and how to prevent further crimes. Children that commit crimes at a young age need to be taught and guided into the right direction so that their illegal activities of choice will not be committed again. Focusing on rehabilitation for these Juveniles should be the number one priority of the Juvenile Justice system, in order to lower the rate of youth offenders in detention. Juvenile solitary confinement is not only affecting a childs opportunity to grow, but can also discourage him mentally and physically. Examples of eventual and immediate psychological harms are anxiety, rage, insomnia, self harm, suicidal thoughts, and struggling with mental disabilities Jackson, 2012). The negative physical effects that solitary confinement has on Juveniles are lack of adequate exercise, stunted growth, social and developmental harm, and denial of family contact Jackson, 2012). Because of these negative consequences of solitary confinement, there must be other, more effective types of treatment of Juvenile delinquents. Psychology and psychiatry are two alternative methods to solitary confinement. Working through and talking about problems with a psychologist could potentially treat and rehabilitate a child by allowing him to discuss and explain his issues rather than keeping them bottled up with rage. Psychiatry could provide a solution to a problem that the child does not even know he has. Seeing a specialist juvenile than locking him in a cell to deal with things on his own. The previously mentioned Pennsylvania law about youths confined for over twenty-three hours should be instituted in more states. Another alternative treatment method could be allowing the child to discuss his problems with his peers. This option gives the opportunity for the adolescent to grow with others, realize what led him to crime, and how to build relationships with people who can help rather than harm. Isolation and cruel punishment does not have to be the answer. At this point in time, minimal efforts are happening in America to end the harsh treatment of Juveniles in solitary confinement. Although states like Ohio and Pennsylvania have drawn minor attention to the youth offenders spending all of their time alone, there is still cruel treatment nonetheless.