This investigative report, "Boxed In: The True Cost of Extreme Isolation in New York's Prisons," was put together by the New York Civil Liberties Union (more here). .

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Putting An End to It

Solitary confinement fails as a rehabilitative measure, and as a way to "settle down" problematic prisoners. The practice actually backfires, causing prisoners to lose their ability to control their anger, which can result in a longer stint in solitary. And as the devastating laundry list of psychological disorders can attest, it needs to be called out for what it is: torture.

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The United Nations agrees. Back in 2011 it issued a report claiming that long-term solitary isolation is a form of torture — a cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment prohibited by international law. The report made special reference to the United States' use of supermax prisons as a violation.

"Segregation, isolation, separation, cellular, lockdown, Supermax, the hole, Secure Housing Unit… whatever the name, solitary confinement should be banned by States as a punishment or extortion technique," noted the UN's Juan E. Méndez. "Social isolation is one of the harmful elements of solitary confinement and its main objective. It reduces meaningful social contact to an absolute minimum."

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In the US, a number of groups are now railing against the practice, including the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Human Rights Watch. Two years ago, the US Senate held its first-ever hearings on solitary confinement, concluding that the practice is ineffective and a costly human-rights violation. In fact, it's the most expensive form of incarceration, costing up to three times as much as general prisoner population housing.

And as Alexis Agathocleous from the Center for Constitutional Rights has aptly noted:

We know that keeping someone in solitary confinement puts them at very serious risk of descending into irreversible mental illness. That's not tolerable in a society that values the dignity and humanity of all people, no matter whether they are incarcerated or not.

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Sources: Wired | 99% Invisible | ADPSR | United Nations (2)

Top image: Orange is the New Black

Follow me on Twitter: @dvorsky