Not Solitary Confinement: They're "Single-Occupancy Cells"
Saturday's New York Times reported on one of the less-covered issues surrounding Guantanamo: the fact that the infamous prison has become a 'breeding ground for madness' due to extreme conditions of confinement. In response to this charge, a military spokeswoman said that Guantanamo does not have solitary confinement, only 'single-occupancy cells.'
No joke.
Deficient care for the mentally ill was also the subject of hearing yesterday in Michigan, where the ACLU argued that Michigan prisons not meet constitutional standards for medical and mental health care. This problem came to light after a 21-year-old mentally ill prisoner died after being left unattended for four days in full, four-point restraints. The ACLU argued that case, Hadix v. Caruso, in district court yesterday.
CORRECTION: The previous version of this post misidentified the date of the New York Times article. The article was from Saturday, not Monday.
Jun 5th, 2008 at 4:37pm
i bet the hallways and stairwells of the world trade center were "breeding grounds" for madness too on sept. 11, 2001!
Jun 15th, 2008 at 6:51am
I think our justice and "prison system" needs to be investigated in Florida. My 24 year granddaughter (who had violated her probation because of an alleged DUI) had to sit in one of the transport vans with a male inmate who lost control of his bowels. She and the others had to endure the ride with this unpleasant smell. The officers did not even stop to allow this to be cleaned up! Is this not inhumane treatment?? Also, why are not the medications given to those with mental disorders. She is "biopolar" and has not been given her medication in 2 weeks. I really think this needs to be looked into.
Shirley, Daytona Beach, FL
Jul 20th, 2008 at 4:08pm
When a person commits a crime he or she goes to jail,if another person craps his or herself,so sad to bad,had a person truely was DUI smelling poo is alot better than loseing control and killing someone;Furthermore if the courts wernt ran by bleeding hearts and people afraid to offend someone the prisons would almost certainly be empty
Aug 28th, 2008 at 7:57pm
William,
Your are so cold-hearted. Have you NEVER made a mistake?! Oh, forgive me, you must be one of those people who can do no wrong?! I know better than that. How about if we just pretend for a minute that your life had turned out just a little bit different and you were the one forced to endure those circumstances?Would you still have the mean, arrogant attitude you had with this grandmother? I doubt it. Hypothetically speaking this very well could have been you if you had been dealt a different hand in life, right? ABSOLUTELY! Think about that next time before you respond in such a selfish and self serving manner.
Apr 7th, 2009 at 1:41pm
There just was a very well researched article in the March 30 issue of The New Yorker about "maximum security" (solitary confinement) prisons where people are kept in solitary for the entire length of their terms (decades sometimes)--and go insane as a result, unable to adapt to being with people again. This situation is horrific and got me off my butt to renew my ACLU membership. I urge anyone who posts here who cares about this issue to join if you haven't already. We are torturing Americans.
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