Solitary Confinement Use Should be Reduced and Elimanted

My proposal is to first reduce the amount of use, while also making the conditions less harmful, and then eliminating the practice in the future. (I am thinking many years, between 5 and 10.) These negative psychological effects can occur in as little as ten days, though some sources have suggested it can be even sooner than this. (See previous round for source on ten day mark) "To summarize, there is not a single published study of solitary or supermax-like confinement in which nonvoluntary confinement lasting for longer than 10 days, where participants were unable to terminate their isola- tion at will, that failed to result in negative psychological effects. The damag- ing effects ranged in severity and included such clinically significant symp- toms as hypertension, uncontrollable anger, hallucinations, emotional breakdowns, chronic depression, and suicidal thoughts and behavior." (Haney, 2003) And I do agree that these conditions and methods are meant to punish the inmate, however what I am proposing is that it is more harmful to society than helpful. The point of punishing these individuals is to lessen the chance of recidivism, or to deter further offenses from other inmates. However, I have shown, with research to back my statements, that SC does not reduce recidivism and could possibly increase recidivism. (See previous rounds) There is also no evidence to suggest that it has any effect on future offenses by other individuals. I agree that offenders should hold responsibility for their actions, however that is suggesting that all offenders are in SC for crimes. Some are in their for their own safety, some are in their for violating prison rules (some as small as not making their bed.) (My previous example of someone in SC for 16 years is an example of this.) Even some are thrown in there from the start of their prison sentence only to be proven innocent later. Also prisoners are not usually placed in SC for violent or "heinous crimes."In some jurisdictions, the majority of people in disciplinary segregation do not pose a threat to staff or other prisoners, but are placed in segregation for minor rule infractions." (Coud, 2015) I propose that we find a different punishment for offenders that are found guilty of an offense, other than SC. SC holds no benefits for society and punishing an offender for vengeance alone is a waste of time and money. "According to figures compiled by the ACLU of Colorado, in 2010 it cost $14,933 to $21,485 more per inmate, per year to hold someone in administrative segregation in the state’s supermax prisons than in a regular maximum security prison ($42,642-$48,403 vs. $26,918 to $27,709). With 1,400 prisoners in administrative segregation statewide, the additional annual cost of solitary confinement in Colorado that year exceeded $20 million. " (Solitary Watch) Simply saying that they should follow the law is a true statement, however it doesn't change the fact that SC is inefficient, ineffective, and harmful to society as well as the individual. Concluding Statement:My opponent has suggested that Solitary Confinement fulfills its purpose of punishing offenders and also suggests that this will cause the offender to be less likely to offend in the future. However I have provided evidence that this is a failed argument. SC is more likey to cause recidivism than it is to prevent it. It is also more likely to cause violence in prisons, (Gordon, 2014,) and cause or exacerbate mental illness in the prisoner that is put into SC. Solitary confinement is causing more problems than it is solving in our society and we cannot keep it simply as a punitive or vengeful measure. This is why I propose that we began phasing out SC in a controlled manner before eventually eliminating it from prisons in the United States.I would like to thank my opponent for having a reasonable, strong argument and providing sources when it was necessary. Thank you for this debate and I appreciate your viewpoints and am glad to have heard them. Have a good day. www.solitarywatch.com (not sure where on the website, I got the PDF from a database) Mental Health Issues in Long-Term Solitary and "Supermax" Confinement, Craig Haney, 2003, Crime and Delinquency, January