ethics sites/cites

DeMartini, Alayna. "Long Terms in Solitary Can Warp Minds, Critics Say." Columbus Dispatch Sept 2007. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 7 Dec 2008 http://www.sirs.com.

Alayna DeMartini is a reporter for The Dispatch which is a respected newspaper. In the article, she quotes a director of Human Rights Watch: "For the mentally ill, it can be torture," Fellner said. "You cannot just be locked up with your own mind because it can be very scary and damaging." This suggests the idea that solitary confinement, at least at great length, is neither healthy, nor productive, as, she argues, it can make violent teens even more so. The other end of the arguement is brought up as well, quoting Brian Lane from the Marion County prison, "the confinement teaches youths to change their behavior. They seldom return to the unit." The general ideas the article leaves you with about solitary confinement are that it can be good to calm a person down for a few hours, but at great lengths, it is not good for the prisoner, or society when the person is returned to it, because of the estrangement and isolation and what it does to the human mind, especially when said mind already has emotional issues.

Laughlin, Meg. "Does Seperation Equal Suffereing?" St. Petersburg Times Dec 2006. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 7 Dec 2008 http://www.sirs.com.

Meg Laughlin is a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times. She brings up many good arguements towards solitary confinement being cruel, focusing on one prisoner, Ian Manuel, who was 14 when first imprisoned, and even after appologizing to the victim, and her forgiving him and wanting to help him get educated, was not allowed any rehabilitation, because of his solitary confinement. She brings up the fact that "cutting and watching the blood flow is how hundreds of inmates 'relieve the boredom and stress of isolation.' " This quote was from Don Gibs, a psychiatrist for the Department of Corrections, who also states that "It takes from two to six months for inmates in solitary to start exhibiting signs of mental illness, if they are not already mentally ill." So not only is it a cruel experience for the prisoners, the fact that they receive no rehabilitation and have a good chance of becoming mentally ill bodes poorly for society as a whole when they have served their time.