Harsh punishment is counterproductive  Punishment for its own sake achieves nothing practical. When putting people in prison we need to look to the future, not to the past. However, harsher prison conditions can act in a way that makes individuals more likely to reoffend [1] . This is because those who have suffered harsh conditions do not become prepared for life outside; they do not learn the necessary skills that would bring them a job when released. Harsher prison conditions also breed mental health problems; isolation in supermax prisons has been observed to cause anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations, and self mutilation – one study has found isolation in a secure housing unit caused 88% of prisoners to suffer from irrational anger and 91% anxiety. [2] It is notable that the opposite is also the case the Bastøy prison in Norway, derided by some for its supposedly “soft” conditions, has a reoffending rate less than a quarter of that of the European average [3] .  [1] Chen, 2007  [2] Haney, Craig, ‘Mental Health Issues in Long-Term Solitary and “Supermax” Confinement’, Crime &amp; Delinquency, Vol.49, No.1, January 2003,  , pp.133-4  [3] James, Erwin, ‘Bastoy: The Norwegian prision that works’, The Guardian, 4 September 2013,