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Blog #3: Solutions and Alternatives

5 years ago

505 words

       Solutions to solitary confinement are unseen or ignored since this inhumane punishment is still alive and well. However, we are moving in the right direction because there have been improvements made. In general, SC has no benefits for prisoners and is costly. We should focus on methods of punishment that may be more humane and cost-effective. Some solutions that would replace solitary confinement are programming and therapy. If abolishing SC doesn’t work out, there still needs to be changes done to fix the restrictions. A significant goal for the issue with SC is change for the better.  

            Offering programs would turn this cruel punishment into an effective form of learning. There could be programs that focus on science, math, reading, drawing, or health. Even though they are prisoners doesn’t mean they don’t have passions. Many prisoners read books as a form of escape from the cell they are trapped in. There could be a book club that prisoners join and come together to make the time in prison go by a little bit faster. There could be programs that give them hope and want to be able to accomplish something. For instance, certain levels of a math program. Their minds need to be focused on positive things because if not they will turn more to violence and problems since all they got is time to serve. Another idea is therapy and this will be helpful because they could learn more of each other and their stories. In addition, the prisoners know that they aren’t alone. Many of them have emotional scars that are held within and being in therapy might alleviate the pain. Talking and being able to express yourself releases stress so it is important that prisoners are able to do. Being locked up in a cold cell, looking at nothing but walls for time that feels like an eternity enhances mental and emotional problems. If SC isn’t abolished, the conditions need to be improved. For example, prisoners should be given more out-of-cell time. Inmates in SC don’t see the light of day for more than one or two hours. They are trapped in a cell all day without socializing. Many of them harm themselves in order to try to escape the hell they are in. Their emotional health deteriorates if they are not strong enough to sustain the stress. Another solution would be lessen the amount of time spent in SC. It is cruel to hold people in SC for years, even decades. The suffering and emotional stress is hard enough to deal with for a few days in SC let alone years. 

            Overall, there are many solutions to consider for SC. Programming and therapy are good options if SC is abolished. They are better forms of rehabilitation by socializing with others. If SC stays, the restrictions should be changed. SC is cruel and inhumane punishment and the conditions need to be altered. There should be ways to punish people in a more humane and therapeutic way.

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