“For most of history, imprisoning has not been a punishment in itself, but rather a way to confine criminals until corporal or capital punishment was administered.”
Prisons were created as correctional institutions for those who were convicted of crime. The notion of prisoners incarcerated has been seen as part of their deserving punishment. Prisons were created as “rehabilitation” centers for prisoner. A place where prisoner would be educated, re-socialized, and in return they would become better members of society. This idea of prison has long surpassed us, now on the radio, in the news, and to people it has become common knowledge that prison is far from being a place where anyone would want to see themselves or that it no longer serves the purpose it was once was inclined produce. However, prisons have served the greater purpose of keeping people disciplined— the idea of controlling movement and the operation of body, usually at an individual level. Discipline is seen throughout all prison. What is thought of as a deserved punishment does not only mean dehumanized the criminal but also causing a reign of fear in those who are now seen as more susceptible to incarceration. All these acts happens as people turn their backs on to what really occurs in prisons, how prisoners are un-socialized in prison and how the dehumanization of prisoners has become normal and common to all.
There are many things that we can imagine and know that occur behind prison walls. Some people are aware that individuals who do get out of prison sometimes leave in worse physical and psychological condition. Take the example of Tamms Supermax Prison in Tamms Illinois 2012. The reason behind the building of Tamms would be to jail the worse of the worse, those who have committed crimes within a prison and are seen as threat. However the torture of its prisoners became public. Prisoners were known to have been in solitary confinement for weeks straight. Following is a short section I selected from an article on the Huffington Post on Juan Mendex a UN Special Rapporteur on Torture who reported the following when he was investigating if what was happening in Tamms would meet the UN’s definition of torture.
“In a recent report, Mendez concluded that prolonged solitary confinement "can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and even torture." In the same report, Mendez found that forced Isolation often causes depression, paranoia, hallucination, self-mutilation and suicide, and that after a period of 15 days, "some of the harmful psychological effects of isolation can become irreversible."
However, my feelings are that this attention and the successful closing of Tamms is not due to the attention brought to the public on the torture prisoners endured in Tamms. Rather I would have to argue that people found this prison a financial burden as it was costing 64,000 dollar to keep a prisoner there. The torture of prisoner was not new but as soon as it is talked about a financial burden many people become concerned member of society. But, when torture in another prison outside the United States by the United States personnel, then prisoner’s torture becomes the actual concern.
In 2004 there were reports of torture in prison overseas involving the United States. In Abu Ghraib, a prison in Iraq, American soldiers were accused of violating the human right of the detainees in that prison. Pictures of soldiers giving thumbs up to a pile of naked men, a soldier whom has a leash on a detainee who lies dead, reports of sexual abuse, and torture all become clear in what evolved into a huge scandal in the United States. The question here is not why this got so much attention because it is clear to anyone that no matter what you have done this is not fair treatment. What we do need to ask ourselves is why is this such a scandal when this very thing is happening everyday inside the prison of the United States. Throughout time it seems that people have adapted to the idea that these act violating all human right are in some way, shape, or form normal.
Prisoners are treated and talked about as if they were a different species. They are often referred to as “dangerous others” or not being like “us”--whatever that might mean. It is common that every day in our prisons a person who has been sentenced (wrongfully or righteously) is being beaten, a women/man raped, or put in solitary confinement until they are driven crazy because of the lack of socialization (as in Tamms). Yet, it is not unusual to have these which are also crimes go unheard of. Instead this idea of prisoner getting what they deserve has been instilled in the minds of so many people without the consideration that some are serving long sentences for petty crime while those who have committed murder or rape are more often set free or just make up a small number of the prison poplation. How are the prisoner here any different than those of Abu Ghraib, why don’t our prisoners deserve to be treated as human beings?
Acting as if what happens in prison only makes you a contributor to the idea that crime is punished with crime. This has become a consumptive habitus—socialized norms that are guiding our behaviors which in this instance is like a disease one person turns their back and it becomes contagious because it is the easy path to take. However these acts of crime in prisons towards prisoner are being endorsed by the willingness of people to be blinded. This way nothing will be accomplished. There are already more people in prison because of petty crime than there are prisoners who have committed rape or murder. It is hard to talk about prisons as it tends to become complicated. As questions arise on your stance on individual criminals and crimes are asked. However, this cannot and should not become the reason we go on to think that what is happening in prison is just part of our organized knowledge about what goes on in prison and that these acts are in any way justified. This prison discourse has changed with time and can continue to change as long as people are unified and active.
Anti-prison activist have for a long time worked hard to bring these topics into light. By seeing what is going on in the world we do not live in we might be able to learn something new and help people, in this case the prisoners, become voice in society. Anti-prison activist have shown that they can change and that they those voices are heard and can produce a change. Knowledge can influence other people who will all together become a force and have the power to influence change. The more that is known about prisons the more one might able to form a position on prisoners and their wrongful treatment. Regardless of crime people cannot turn their backs on to what really is occuring in prisons. Prisoners (wrongfully or rightrously) are unsocialized and dehumanized in prisons this cannot remain normal or part of our prison discourse.
Prisons were created as correctional institutions for those who were convicted of crime. The notion of prisoners incarcerated has been seen as part of their deserving punishment. Prisons were created as “rehabilitation” centers for prisoner. A place where prisoner would be educated, re-socialized, and in return they would become better members of society. This idea of prison has long surpassed us, now on the radio, in the news, and to people it has become common knowledge that prison is far from being a place where anyone would want to see themselves or that it no longer serves the purpose it was once was inclined produce. However, prisons have served the greater purpose of keeping people disciplined— the idea of controlling movement and the operation of body, usually at an individual level. Discipline is seen throughout all prison. What is thought of as a deserved punishment does not only mean dehumanized the criminal but also causing a reign of fear in those who are now seen as more susceptible to incarceration. All these acts happens as people turn their backs on to what really occurs in prisons, how prisoners are un-socialized in prison and how the dehumanization of prisoners has become normal and common to all.
There are many things that we can imagine and know that occur behind prison walls. Some people are aware that individuals who do get out of prison sometimes leave in worse physical and psychological condition. Take the example of Tamms Supermax Prison in Tamms Illinois 2012. The reason behind the building of Tamms would be to jail the worse of the worse, those who have committed crimes within a prison and are seen as threat. However the torture of its prisoners became public. Prisoners were known to have been in solitary confinement for weeks straight. Following is a short section I selected from an article on the Huffington Post on Juan Mendex a UN Special Rapporteur on Torture who reported the following when he was investigating if what was happening in Tamms would meet the UN’s definition of torture.
“In a recent report, Mendez concluded that prolonged solitary confinement "can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and even torture." In the same report, Mendez found that forced Isolation often causes depression, paranoia, hallucination, self-mutilation and suicide, and that after a period of 15 days, "some of the harmful psychological effects of isolation can become irreversible."
However, my feelings are that this attention and the successful closing of Tamms is not due to the attention brought to the public on the torture prisoners endured in Tamms. Rather I would have to argue that people found this prison a financial burden as it was costing 64,000 dollar to keep a prisoner there. The torture of prisoner was not new but as soon as it is talked about a financial burden many people become concerned member of society. But, when torture in another prison outside the United States by the United States personnel, then prisoner’s torture becomes the actual concern.
In 2004 there were reports of torture in prison overseas involving the United States. In Abu Ghraib, a prison in Iraq, American soldiers were accused of violating the human right of the detainees in that prison. Pictures of soldiers giving thumbs up to a pile of naked men, a soldier whom has a leash on a detainee who lies dead, reports of sexual abuse, and torture all become clear in what evolved into a huge scandal in the United States. The question here is not why this got so much attention because it is clear to anyone that no matter what you have done this is not fair treatment. What we do need to ask ourselves is why is this such a scandal when this very thing is happening everyday inside the prison of the United States. Throughout time it seems that people have adapted to the idea that these act violating all human right are in some way, shape, or form normal.
Prisoners are treated and talked about as if they were a different species. They are often referred to as “dangerous others” or not being like “us”--whatever that might mean. It is common that every day in our prisons a person who has been sentenced (wrongfully or righteously) is being beaten, a women/man raped, or put in solitary confinement until they are driven crazy because of the lack of socialization (as in Tamms). Yet, it is not unusual to have these which are also crimes go unheard of. Instead this idea of prisoner getting what they deserve has been instilled in the minds of so many people without the consideration that some are serving long sentences for petty crime while those who have committed murder or rape are more often set free or just make up a small number of the prison poplation. How are the prisoner here any different than those of Abu Ghraib, why don’t our prisoners deserve to be treated as human beings?
Acting as if what happens in prison only makes you a contributor to the idea that crime is punished with crime. This has become a consumptive habitus—socialized norms that are guiding our behaviors which in this instance is like a disease one person turns their back and it becomes contagious because it is the easy path to take. However these acts of crime in prisons towards prisoner are being endorsed by the willingness of people to be blinded. This way nothing will be accomplished. There are already more people in prison because of petty crime than there are prisoners who have committed rape or murder. It is hard to talk about prisons as it tends to become complicated. As questions arise on your stance on individual criminals and crimes are asked. However, this cannot and should not become the reason we go on to think that what is happening in prison is just part of our organized knowledge about what goes on in prison and that these acts are in any way justified. This prison discourse has changed with time and can continue to change as long as people are unified and active.
Anti-prison activist have for a long time worked hard to bring these topics into light. By seeing what is going on in the world we do not live in we might be able to learn something new and help people, in this case the prisoners, become voice in society. Anti-prison activist have shown that they can change and that they those voices are heard and can produce a change. Knowledge can influence other people who will all together become a force and have the power to influence change. The more that is known about prisons the more one might able to form a position on prisoners and their wrongful treatment. Regardless of crime people cannot turn their backs on to what really is occuring in prisons. Prisoners (wrongfully or rightrously) are unsocialized and dehumanized in prisons this cannot remain normal or part of our prison discourse.