Solitary confinement, post-release effects and social bonds: an exploratory, auto/biographical analysis

Abstract

Solitary confinement is a method of punishment where prisoners stay alone in
a cell for 22 to 24 hours, with no human contact. In the USA, thousands of people
are isolated under this method every year, with some ‘supermax’ prisons containing
nothing but solitary confinement cells. Literature on the impact of isolation on an
individual has identified depression, hallucination and delirium as some of the
consequences of solitary confinement, but little is known about the impact on
prisoners after they have been released. Considering the importance of social
bonds, this dissertation explores the potential effects of solitary confinement on the
process of re-entry and eventual desistance from crime. It does so by analysing a
series of autobiographies, collected in the book ‘Hell is a Very Small Place: Voices
from Solitary Confinement’, by Jean Casella, James Ridgeway and Sarah Shourd.
Specifically, the dissertation focuses on six narratives from former solitary
confinement prisoners that address the relationship between the effects of isolation
and its impacts on social bonds. The findings tentatively suggest that the postrelease
effects of solitary confinement are easier to overcome for those supported
by encouraging relationships, in comparison to those without social support, making
the process of re-entry a more successful one.