Inhumanities of Supermax Prisons
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
The Inhumanities of "Super Maximum Prisons
Super Maximum security or "Super Max" is one of the fastest growing types of prison being constructed in America. By the end of the year 2000, more than 16,000 inmates could be living in solitary confinement according to a front- page feature in USA Today. "American Prisons" USA Today. 8 Aug. 1997.
Prisons have always had the "hole" a cell or group of cells where prisoners could be locked away in solitary confinement as punishment for breaking the rules; a form of punishment that dates back to the 19th Century. However, a more intense form of maximum security came into being at a federal prison near San Francisco, California called Alcatraz or "the rock". Although this prison housed all types of prisoners, there was a basic form of super maximum security in place, within this facility. What is being built today in Texas, Indiana and several other states are no longer prisons for all, but they are separate, free-standing facilities designed to house a more unruly group of inmates. This group of inmates is in a solitary setting for much longer periods of time than when the "hole" originated...