After spending over five years in solitary confinement, I have finally come to realize that solitary confinement is known torture — and the prisoners aren’t the only ones who know this. There have been extensive studies that have shown that lengthy periods of isolation can cause a number of mental and psychological setbacks.
In a report concerning CIA torture, expert of sensory deprivation, Dr. Albert Biderman, reported: “the effect of isolation on the brain function of the prisoner is much like that which occurs if he is beaten, starved, or deprived of sleep.” Dr. Biderman also noted that the effects of sensory deprivation were similar to, if not worse than, physical torture.
Also noted in a study by Dr. Craig Haney at the University of California Santa Cruz on the effects of solitary confinement: “To summarize, there is not a single published study of solitary or supermax-like confinement in which non-voluntary confinement, lasting for longer than 10 days where participants were unable to terminate their isolation at will, failed to result in negative psychological effects.” The damaging effects ranged in severity and included such clinically significant symptoms as hypertension, uncontrollable anger, hallucinations, emotional breakdowns, chronic breakdowns and suicidal thoughts and behavior.
Dr. Craig Haney, Expert on the psychological effects of Solitary Confinement:
Direct studies of prison isolation have documented an extremely broad range of harmful psychological reactions. These effects include increases in the following potentially damaging symptoms and problematic behaviors: negative attitudes and affect, insomnia, anxiety, panic, withdrawal, hypersensitivity, ruminations, cognitive dysfunction, hallucinations, loss of control, irritability, aggression, and rage, paranoia, hopelessness, lethargy, depression, a sense of impending emotional breakdown, self-mutilation, and suicidal ideation and behavior.”
What’s sad about the whole ordeal is the fact that these researchers are only doing a study that has a range and time limit of observation. Just imagine what I’m going through and what I’ve observed in the past five years being around the same individuals day in and day out?
One case amongst several that I want to point out is a prisoner I will call “Poo-poo.” This particular inmate has been locked up for over three decades, with two of them being spent in solitary confinement. The effects of what has happened to him are obviously permanent and only getting worse as the days tick away.
This individual (when awake) spends his days hollering, kicking, banging, pacing and ranting and raving. All it takes is for him to conjecture that something being said or done is against him and the results are: several hours long of indecent and vulgar name calling to no one in particular, since what or who he thinks is against him is nothing more than schizoid and psychotic auditory hallucinations. Due to his dysfunctional behavior, staff and inmates alike have developed hatred towards him and, as a cause of punishment for his uncontrollable behavior, staff had maintenance remove his electrical outlets to prevent him from doing anything other than being disruptive. Since he has no way of utilizing his power, he can’t listen to the radio or use his fan to ward off the summer heat, so his thoughts of everybody being out to get him are partially true, which intensifies his rage and opens up a Pandora’s box for future events.
Another case I want to elaborate on is that of an inmate I will call “Turbo.” This inmate doesn’t kick, scream or disrupt the environment. He keeps quiet, stays in the dark and, at times of extreme stress, will cut deep gashes in his neck, arms and temple and will quietly bleed to death if a spectating inmate doesn’t bring it to the staff’s attention. I’ve bared witness to his cutting charade three times and each time staff and medical just put him on suicide watch status for several days and then send him back to a cell on the same pod.
This inmate, just like Poo-poo, has spent 10+ years in solitary confinement and has no outside support or support from staff and inmates. These two cases are different but they are both examples of how solitary confinement has more than one way to suck a victim into its vacuum of ill-fated pandemonium.
Staff and the administration alike have found ways to try and suppress or fabricate the reality of the harmful effects caused by solitary confinement. The most common notion of monomania, that these inmates behave like this to get attention, is absurd and illogical. Due to humans being naturally social, it would take a fool to believe that being restricted from direct and constant contact with sounds and common themes that are essential to one’s social development and mental stimuli won’t have a dramatic affect if they are stripped against one’s will.
More precisely, the torturous effects of solitary confinement were given scientific study by the CIA and military in efforts to refine its application as a deliberate torture technique. This was exposed by Alfred McCoy in an exhaustive exposé following, and in response to, the 2004 military CIA torture scandal. McCoy revealed that this method of torture was studied and refined as part of a $1 billion a year CIA torture research and development project spanning from 1950 to 1962.
One of the earlier experiments was conducted under CIA contract by Dr. Donald Hebb at McGill University, where he found that hallucinations and severe mental breakdown could be consistently induced within 48 hours by cutting a person off from external sensory stimulation which is, in effect, what solitary confinement does.
In a 1951 study, Dr. Donald Hebb tested his theory that sensory deprivation could break a person in a matter of days. He hoped to observe his subjects [paid male university students] for six weeks, but the majority of them lasted no more than a few days in isolation—and none more than a week.
From Hebb’s study: “Prolonged exposure to a monotonous environment, then, has definitely deleterious effects. The individual’s thinking is impaired; he shows childish emotional responses; his visual perception becomes disturbed; he suffers from hallucinations; his brain-wave pattern changes.”
Not only is this 100% true, but the entire solitary confinement area plays in effect to this. Just by one inmate screaming, kicking and being disruptive day-in-and-day-out for years can drive the most sane inmate crazy, if he is forced to bear witness to such insensible doldrums without a way to block it out.
Due to the fact that the administration and the government are aware of the effects of isolation and still refuse to acknowledge it goes to show that solitary is torture.
Jason Walker is serving 18 years in Texas for Aggravated Burglary.
Jason Walker #1532092
Clements Unit
9601 Spur 591
Amarillo TX 79107
[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
The Special Rapporteur for Human Rights at the United Nations declared that more than 15 days of solitary confinement constituted ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ and, in the U.S. everyday, more than 80,000 people wake up in solitary confinement. The U.S leads the world by leaps and bounds in this atrocious category.
Nice job, Jason. I have a loved one where you are and he currently is serving a long stretch in ad seg. He has been in there for many years straight and I know it is only by the grace of God that he still has his mind, heart and wits intact. He is a wonderful person who committed a horrific crime years ago that changed his life forever. For specific reasons (NOT behavioral), he is in solitary for 23 (sometimes 24) hours a day. We write often and I am so glad that he has loving support from family and a few friends. I know not everyone has that. However, my eyes are just being opened to the long lasting and devestating effects that extensive solitary confinement can have. He hasn’t seen the sun in more than 10 years and has no phone privileges. I get that this is a punishment, but I often have wondered why we use the terms “cruel and unusual” as a “what to avoid” catch phrase only to see our loved ones subjected to years of isolation with little to no hope of literally ever seeing the light of day. Thank you for your work. I am a writer by education and trade, and you did a great job here. God bless you!
Ed that is bullshit. Inmates are placed in solitary for “their own protection” like my husband was because he refused to do a hit for a gang member. He got the living hell beat outta him cause he refused to fight back so he didnt get even more time and had to be away from me and our daughter, and for that he got placed in solitary for 3 weeks to “protect him” so they could move him to a different facility. Obviously the person that attacked him got punished but he sure as hell shouldn’t have had to be in the hole for “his protection”. The whole system is corrupt. Just like you are, Ed.
Question# 1-why are inmates ln”solitary confinement? What actions lead to the decision for placement?
Question# 2-define”solitary confinement. Over my 35+ year career in corrections I have NEVER witnessed a single case of true solitary confinement. Only placement in one man celles . Because of their proximity inmates could carry on conversations. At leaset weekly they were given reading material.
It was my experience their behaviour resulted in one man cells and they were reviewed at least every 6 months for a chance in status by independent review teams who did not report to the individual institutional administration.
Bottom line an inmate’s behaviour determined this housing status.
I have never worked at a federal supermax facility, but again the inmate’s own behaviour necessitated the placement. Only then as a last resort.