In Durkheim’s book, Le Suicide, written in 1897, he presents a case study of suicide and what he believes the various different types of suicide are. He categorizes suicide into 4 different types based on the different levels of imbalance in ones life, and the factors that contribute to their suicide. However for this paper, I chose to focus solely on Fatalistic Suicide and to compare this theory to suicide in correctional facilities.
Fatalistic suicide is due to over regulation. It is the belief that when someone’s life and social world is excessively controlled and regulated, they will begin to feel trapped in their own skin. Essentially, losing control of their own lives and ability to make their own decisions. Usually due to the control or influence of a higher power dictating a persons every move. Fatalism and over regulation is something that Durkheim feels very strongly about. One of his main points was that society needs to have a healthy balance of control; not to much regulation, and not to much freedom. People do need to have a fair amount of rules or regulations in place to steer them down the right path. In addition, they need freedom to make some life decisions on their own as well.
Suicide or suicide attempts are highly common in correctional facilities or prisons. People, some not always guilty, are thrown into a foreign lifestyle in which they must survive and maintain their own sanity under unfamiliar conditions. All the while, not being able to make decisions about their own daily lives themselves. Every moment of their day is planned out for them; from their activities, to mealtime, work, etc. They lose complete freedom within their own daily lives. Not only are they at a loss for freedom, but they are also very poorly treated and disrespected. Not just by police/ guards, but by fellow inmates as well. While these are all grounds to drive someone to take their own life, many prison suicides actually happen within the first week of being admitted. This is especially common for more serious cases. Due to the severity of some crimes, inmates are well aware that the only options they have left are life in prison, or taking their own life. With the more severe cases, inmates are also aware of the way people will treat them behind bars. Regardless of the crimes their peers have committed, when someone commits an obscene enough crime, such as raping a child for example, inmates and correctional officers take special initiative to guarantee that their stay will always be an unpleasant one. All of these things can contribute to their thoughts on suicide, because they know they simply have no other options to chose from that would be in their own control. Suicide is their only option they can dictate for themselves, and a shockingly high majority of inmates will take that route or at least attempt to do so.
The true question is, how can you make an inmate aspire to survive when they live under such devastating disciplinary rule that simply makes them actually want to die? Not only do they face a long future of over-regulation, they are constantly living in fear of their surroundings: fear of making the wrong move, fear of never seeing a world outside of the prison, and fearing for their own life on a daily basis. It’s no mystery why an inmate would have the desire to take their own life. Under the circumstance they are in, suicide starts to seem like the most ideal option; oddly enough.
Having no freedom to choose for themselves can drive them to do out of the ordinary things, such as suicide; which is the point that Durkheim wanted to display. Durkheim aspired to promote the “middle ground” or state of stability between over-regulation and an excess of freedom that societies should seek to embody. Simply just to provide a healthier and moderately regulated state of living. There is no solution to the issue, and majority of the time, its no one but the inmates own fault that they are in the predicaments they are in. Unlike a truly over-regulated society, prison is meant to be a punishment and most definitely should be over-regulated. However, prison life is still a good example of a over-regulated “society” and shows the detrimental effects of over-regulation in a particular society.
Fatalistic suicide is due to over regulation. It is the belief that when someone’s life and social world is excessively controlled and regulated, they will begin to feel trapped in their own skin. Essentially, losing control of their own lives and ability to make their own decisions. Usually due to the control or influence of a higher power dictating a persons every move. Fatalism and over regulation is something that Durkheim feels very strongly about. One of his main points was that society needs to have a healthy balance of control; not to much regulation, and not to much freedom. People do need to have a fair amount of rules or regulations in place to steer them down the right path. In addition, they need freedom to make some life decisions on their own as well.
Suicide or suicide attempts are highly common in correctional facilities or prisons. People, some not always guilty, are thrown into a foreign lifestyle in which they must survive and maintain their own sanity under unfamiliar conditions. All the while, not being able to make decisions about their own daily lives themselves. Every moment of their day is planned out for them; from their activities, to mealtime, work, etc. They lose complete freedom within their own daily lives. Not only are they at a loss for freedom, but they are also very poorly treated and disrespected. Not just by police/ guards, but by fellow inmates as well. While these are all grounds to drive someone to take their own life, many prison suicides actually happen within the first week of being admitted. This is especially common for more serious cases. Due to the severity of some crimes, inmates are well aware that the only options they have left are life in prison, or taking their own life. With the more severe cases, inmates are also aware of the way people will treat them behind bars. Regardless of the crimes their peers have committed, when someone commits an obscene enough crime, such as raping a child for example, inmates and correctional officers take special initiative to guarantee that their stay will always be an unpleasant one. All of these things can contribute to their thoughts on suicide, because they know they simply have no other options to chose from that would be in their own control. Suicide is their only option they can dictate for themselves, and a shockingly high majority of inmates will take that route or at least attempt to do so.
The true question is, how can you make an inmate aspire to survive when they live under such devastating disciplinary rule that simply makes them actually want to die? Not only do they face a long future of over-regulation, they are constantly living in fear of their surroundings: fear of making the wrong move, fear of never seeing a world outside of the prison, and fearing for their own life on a daily basis. It’s no mystery why an inmate would have the desire to take their own life. Under the circumstance they are in, suicide starts to seem like the most ideal option; oddly enough.
Having no freedom to choose for themselves can drive them to do out of the ordinary things, such as suicide; which is the point that Durkheim wanted to display. Durkheim aspired to promote the “middle ground” or state of stability between over-regulation and an excess of freedom that societies should seek to embody. Simply just to provide a healthier and moderately regulated state of living. There is no solution to the issue, and majority of the time, its no one but the inmates own fault that they are in the predicaments they are in. Unlike a truly over-regulated society, prison is meant to be a punishment and most definitely should be over-regulated. However, prison life is still a good example of a over-regulated “society” and shows the detrimental effects of over-regulation in a particular society.