Thoughts on solitary confinement?

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

And so? It's not branding somebody, putting them up against hot coals, setting them on fire, shocking their nuts, or worse, which we have done in the past. I think solitary confinement is absolutely justified for some people I've read of in human history. That said, they are outliers, granted, and far and few in between so as to, in an ideal world, make solitary confinement merely for them alone and not common petty criminals, of which the system of power is so rife for abuse, as I'd noted above, a guy who mispaid his parking tickets might be hit with it. Sadly, I could see this form of punishment (I refuse to call it torture unless it is in excess, which I've already noted) as well as the death penalty going the way of the dinosaur someday. Just gotta keep pampering those mass murderers and serial rapists, eh?

It's not really for you to personally determine what type of punishment is suitable. That's determined by the state. If the state did deem solitary confinement as appropriate punishment, then it would do so itself. It is the case that the state does not go so far as to inflict such type of punishment. It's also not a matter of the prisons to determine what is suitable punishment for a prisoner's crimes. It's only job is to house and detain them. Solitary confinement isn't a measurement of punishment for crimes someone has committed, it's often a means of prison conduct control as is commonly depicted at least.

A big part of what this person is protesting is the prisons employing it on any people in the prison which includes people you're talking about that shouldn't receive it.

Also whether you personally consider it torture is questionable and insubstantial to the reported psychological effects on its subjects.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

They are NOT my people are never will be! My people are NOT those who mutilate, maim, rape, murder, torture, and just descend to such other depths of gross bestiality.

This starts to go off into tangential subjects that I don't think Rocketboy ever posited, but referring to this right there, your people is in no way synonymous with our people. The very nature of how you express this undercuts very practical notions of democracy, which you commonly seem to neglect.

[Yukaphile]

My overall sentiment is just exasperated disdain for some people who make excuses for monsters, and others who victim-blame those they hurt. For whatever trivial reasons. Or worse, interject an agenda in there or misrepresent the victimizer or victim. That's dangerous. And the idea of rehabilitation opens up the sadly seemingly "bleeding heart" notion these people are NOT monsters, they were just betrayed by the system or something, and if they had help, they could easily have a fresh start. Problem is, do you really want to in some cases? What he suggested is that prisons are built for rehabilitation. If anything, that's a more recent, modern concept. They go back thousands of years. I would say it's an attempt to sanitize something important. Now granted, for a repeat drug offender who is brutalized in the jail, and gets out worse, and keeps coming back, that dude needs rehabilitation, no question. What about repeat offenders to violent, deeply personal, intimate crimes? I listed a few before. I can't see those people being rehabilitated, and if it is possible, they STILL do not deserve it! Victim-blaming culture encourages monsters and silences victims, while some people think monsters who have stepped so far over the line they might as well have flown to Alpha Centauri, can be brought back. Really. If possible, I don't think they deserve to.

[ProfessorDetective]

Time to pull out the Adam Ruins clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2wTjWC45kA

[Yukaphile]

Here is another issue. I've read in some jails, they actually give 'em TVs in the cell. What the hell? If it was up to me, they'd have only books (way more educational), and that's it. Past that, exercise. And if you don't like it, good. Because this is why I harped on solitary confinement. With the way our bleeding heart population feels, oh we gotta coddle these mass murderers and serial rapists who don't deserve it, that's gonna be banned soon. As probably will be the death penalty in ALL 50 states... and it strikes me as too humanitarian, if that makes sense. You can sincerely still punish somebody without descending to barbarism. Yet some think prisons are a place for reform, really? That was NEVER their intent thousands of years ago! It was to contain dangerous people. Or as punishment for defying the system. No, I don't like the idea of pampering such hardened, psychotic people, and any attempts they make to claim to have redeemed themselves, for the absolute psychopaths, I genuinely doubt that. Like Adam Lanza. Let's say he had been locked up. If he came out 20 years later, I would doubt he'd changed. It takes a special breed of sadistic twisting fucking monstrous freak to shred 20 unarmed babies into meat. No, we don't have to sink to their level. But SOME kind punishment should be enacted. "Oh, but it's too mea -!" Shut up, you bleeding hearts!

[Nealithi]

Yuka, please define this solitary confinement.

I ask this because it is a very sterile term that seems to cover a large swath of conditions.
If you gave me three meals a day. A bed and my own toilet and books to read. I would be happy for years. Paper and pencil to write or draw and I would not wish to leave.

But I have also heard of solitary being a 3x3 cell with no furnishings and just a drain in the floor. The walls and ceiling leak and it is either oven hot or freezer cold. That kind of cell is considered torture. And I would definitely be against that. If you feel this is acceptable, please recall that assignment to these is not done by some fair graph. but by the will of those running the place. And as prone to racism and other prejudice as anyone else.

[Yukaphile]

I would define it as a very small space, with lighting, of course, a bathroom, but no more. Three meals a day, and time outside every so often. That's my view on it.

[AlucardNoir]

I would define it as a very small space, with lighting, of course, a bathroom, but no more. Three meals a day, and time outside every so often. That's my view on it.

Then you don't really know what solitary is.

[Nealithi]

I would define it as a very small space, with lighting, of course, a bathroom, but no more. Three meals a day, and time outside every so often. That's my view on it.

Then you don't really know what solitary is.

Can you shed some light for us? As I said to Yuka, the term seems awfully broad. And in case this seems baiting, I am not. I would like to know so the discussion can have a common frame of reference.

[Yukaphile]

Well, that is what I'd be in favor of. To any critics, I'd say, "It's a jail, not a Hilton!" Being isolated in the dark, like some other places do, doesn't sit right with me. Or any other extreme measures. But I'd also reserve it for the MOST hardcore cases of prison crimes. Rape, or murder, or beatings, and the person or gang failed to listen.