A Cell Smaller Than a Dorm Room

When thinking of mental health, criminals might not be the first thing you think of. Or maybe you do, if you know how crime and mental illness can go hand in hand, or how prison life affects inmates every day. As a criminology major, crime, criminals, and the criminal justice system is my (future) life. Part of that is looking at crime from the other side. Last semester, in one of my crim classes, we watched a documentary about the Maine State Prison solitary confinement, and it shocked me to my core. I am usually someone that can handle gory or disturbing images, but this was another level. I won't share any of the details because of the content, but it opened my eyes to the issues within the prison systems, and how mental health is a constant.

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                                     One of the prisoners in the documentary that started off feeling ok, 
                                            but eventually the solitary confinement affected him in horrible ways. 

Mental health is a huge factor in crime, as many criminals have extreme mental health issues, ranging from personality disorder to schizophrenia. These topics may seem more relevant for criminals like Ted Bundy and Charles Manson, but many less violent criminals with mental illness struggle in prison. Prisoners with anxiety, antisocial personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and many others, are put into the prison system instead of a mental institution, where they can get better help. This can be for a multitude of reasons, like lack of funding or just the justice system at play. While no one is denying that these men and women have committed extreme crimes to end up in prison, there are many arguments concerning the procedures within a prison.

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                                                             Solitary confinement cell

Many prisoners may be ok once entering prison, and may continue to be okay for some of their stay, but something may trigger anxiety or depression. One of the biggest causes of these issues is solitary confinement. Prisoners are put into solitary for misbehaving, or being a danger to themselves and other inmates. The effects of solitary confinement are shocking; not only does it take a psychological toll, but a physiological one. Solitary confinement is complete isolation, from guards and other inmates, visitors and supervisors, in a six feet by nine feet cell (or smaller), for usually 23 hours a day with one hour for isolated exercise. This restricts social contact, which is vital to humans. This isolation also leads to panic, anxiety, depression, claustrophobia, and aggression, and it is not uncommon for inmates to experience thoughts and actions of self harm and suicide. Physically, the inmate can experience insomnia, indigestion, sweaty palms, headaches, lack of appetite, and trembling. The list of possible effects goes on and on. The solution to this issue is difficult; while some prisoners may have made a mistake to get in solitary, others are too dangerous to be around other inmates, so the cycle continues.

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Many prisons around the country have gotten rid of solitary, or are trying to. The evidence against it is staggering, and it is obvious that it should never be a solution unless absolutely dire. While prison may just seem like a place to hold people accountable for their actions, many of them will be released eventually, and some of them will be released after being in solitary. This means many of them will be physically and mentally changed forever, and entering the world in this state is dangerous. The more we do to rehabilitate the inmates, rather than deteriorate them, will only be good for everyone. If you are interested in learning more about solitary confinement from a prisoner's point of view, here is the link to the documentary.

Maine State Prison documentary
http://www.pbs.org/video/2365229709/