Theoretical and empirical limits of Scandinavian Exceptionalism: Isolation and normalization in Danish prisons

Drawing on interviews with 76 prisoners, 47 prison staff, and 14 experts, we document lived experiences of punishment in the Danish prison context. We argue that, regardless of “humanizing” elements of normalization and humanity, prisoners and staff may experience the power of the carceral state in Denmark in ways similar to those under more obviously harsh confinement regimes, as exist in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in the United Kingdom. Ultimately, macro-level theories like Scandinavian Exceptionalism serve as a rhetorical tool, implying that harsher prison systems are fixable, but fail to reflect the micro-level realities of incarceration

The Origins of and Need to Control Supermax Prisons

Supermaxes are prisons designed to impose long-term solitary confinement. Supermax prisoners spend 23 h or more per day in windowless cells. Technology, like centrally controlled automated cell doors and fluorescent lights that are never turned off, allows prisoners to be under constant surveillance, while minimizing all human contact. California built two of the first and largest supermaxes in 1988 and 1989. Corcoran State Prison and Pelican Bay State Prison, which together house more than 3000 prisoners in supermax conditions, were two of 23 new prisons built in California during the late twentieth century era of rapidly increasing incarceration rates and prison capacities. This article will address three stages of supermax operation in California: (1) the early, tumultuous years of total administrative discretion and egregious abuses; (2) the middle years of controlled expansion and entrenchment of supermax use; and (3) the recent events and reforms initiated following a hunger strike in California’s segregation units in the summer of 2011. The history of California’s use of supermax prisons reveals both the role of administrative discretion in shaping the initial design and day-to-day operation of the institutions, as well as the perverse  ncentives that made these institutions increasingly invisible and decreasingly governable.Supermaxes, then, serve as an important piece of the story of mass incarceration in California, a microcosm of the larger trends in administration, law, and politics, which have created the social and economic behemoth of a state prison system facing Californians today

The Body in Isolation: The Physical Health Impacts of Incarceration in Solitary Confinement

We examine how solitary confinement correlates with self-reported adverse physical health outcomes, and how such outcomes extend the understanding of the health disparities associated with incarceration. Using a mixed methods approach, we find that solitary confinement is associated not just with mental, but also with physical health problems. Given the disproportionate use of solitary among incarcerated people of color, these symptoms are most likely to affect those populations. Drawing from a random sample of prisoners (n = 106) in long-term solitary confinement in the Washington State Department of Corrections in 2017, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) assessments; and systematic reviews of medical and disciplinary files for these subjects. We also conducted a paper survey of the entire long-term solitary confinement population (n = 225 respondents) and analyzed administrative data for the entire population of prisoners in the state in 2017 (n = 17,943). Results reflect qualitative content and descriptive statistical analysis. BPRS scores reflect clinically significant somatic concerns in 15% of sample. Objective specification of medical conditions is generally elusive, but that, itself, is a highly informative finding. Using subjective reports, we specify and analyze a range of physical symptoms experienced in solitary confinement: (1) skin irritations and weight fluctuation associated with the restrictive conditions of solitary confinement; (2) un-treated and mis-treated chronic conditions associated with the restrictive policies of solitary confinement; (3) musculoskeletal pain exacerbated by both restrictive conditions and policies. Administrative data analyses reveal disproportionate rates of racial/ethnic minorities in solitary confinement. This analysis raises the stakes for future studies to evaluate comparative prevalence of objective medical diagnoses and potential causal mechanisms for the physical symptoms specified here, and for understanding differential use of solitary confinement and its medically harmful sequelae

The International Persistence and Resilience of Solitary Confinement

Drawing on a combination of legal analysis and fieldwork conducted with prisoners and administrators in both Denmark and the United States, this article interrogates how solitary confinement has been defined and constrained &ndash; or not &ndash; in the context of U.S., European, and international law over time. Solitary confinement has existed consistently in prisons across the world, since the first prisons opened. Solitary has been surprisingly predictable over its long history: resilient to criticism, subject to ongoing debates about just how detrimental it is, and repeatedly producing instances of extreme and de-humanizing brutality. This consistency and predictability suggests substantial limitations inherent in the newest barrage of critiques leveled by courts, scholars, international human rights bodies, and professional associations against the practice of solitary confinement. Indeed, this reveals that many critiques of solitary confinement have failed because they have promoted reformist rather than non-reformist (or abolition) agendas &ndash; a distinction articulated by Mathiesen (1974/2014). Partiendo de una combinaci&oacute;n de an&aacute;lisis de leyes y trabajo de campo, este art&iacute;culo investiga c&oacute;mo se ha definido y limitado -o no- el r&eacute;gimen de aislamiento en los c&oacute;digos legales. El aislamiento carcelario ha sido una constante en todo el mundo, produciendo ejemplos de brutalidad extrema, suscitando discusiones sobre su impacto psicol&oacute;gico y eludiendo las cr&iacute;ticas fundadas en pruebas. La ininterrupci&oacute;n y predecibilidad del aislamiento carcelario indican que hay limitaciones sustanciales en la nueva ola de cr&iacute;ticas por parte de juzgados, acad&eacute;micos, organizaciones de derechos humanos y asociaciones profesionales. Lo cierto es que muchas de las cr&iacute;ticas han errado porque han promovido la reforma en lugar de la abolici&oacute;n, distinci&oacute;n explicada por Mathiesen (1974/2014).DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=3098835</a

The Origins of and Need to Control Supermax Prisons

Supermaxes are prisons designed to impose long-term solitary confinement.&nbsp;Supermax prisoners spend 23 h or more per day in windowless cells.&nbsp;Technology, like centrally controlled automated cell doors and fluorescent lights&nbsp;that are never turned off, allows prisoners to be under constant surveillance,&nbsp;while minimizing all human contact. California built two of the first and largest&nbsp;supermaxes in 1988 and 1989. Corcoran State Prison and Pelican Bay State Prison,&nbsp;which together house more than 3000 prisoners in supermax conditions, were&nbsp;two of 23 new prisons built in California during the late twentieth century era&nbsp;of rapidly increasing incarceration rates and prison capacities. This article will&nbsp;address three stages of supermax operation in California: (1) the early, tumultuous&nbsp;years of total administrative discretion and egregious abuses; (2) the middle years&nbsp;of controlled expansion and entrenchment of supermax use; and (3) the recent&nbsp;events and reforms initiated following a hunger strike in California’s segregation&nbsp;units in the summer of 2011. The history of California’s use of supermax prisons&nbsp;reveals both the role of administrative discretion in shaping the initial design&nbsp;and day-to-day operation of the institutions, as well as the perverse &nbsp;ncentives&nbsp;that made these institutions increasingly invisible and decreasingly governable.Supermaxes, then, serve as an important piece of the story of mass incarceration&nbsp;in California, a microcosm of the larger trends in administration, law, and&nbsp;politics, which have created the social and economic behemoth of a state prison&nbsp;system facing Californians today