3 ms·

It's pretty disgusting that solitary -- considered to "cause such severe psychological damage that it is tantamount to torture" -- isn't torturous enough for yo

by Frondo 6y ago

It's pretty disgusting that solitary -- considered to "cause such severe psychological damage that it is tantamount to torture" -- isn't torturous enough for you, in the "waterboard or toenail removal" sense: "Solitary confinement is so egregious a punishment that in 2011, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment condemned its use, except in exceptional circumstances and for as short a time as possible, and banned the practice completely for people with mental illnesses and for juveniles." [0] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/almost-addicted/201801/solitary-confinement-torture-pure-and-simple https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/almost-addicted/2018...

learc83 6y ago
1. There is a difference between complete deprivation of human contact for months to years (which could be a form of torture) and spending 23 hours a day in a single occupancy cell with an hour outside for exercise with guards and healthcare workers regularly attempting to engage you in conversation (in an attempt to evaluate your mental state). Chelsea Manning's guard's stated they tried to engage her in conversation regularly, but she wasn't responsive. That doesn't sound like purposeful lack of human contact for the purposes of psychological torture. 2. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture is a lawyer in a political position, not a psychiatrist. 3. The studies linked in his report and the article failed were horribly flawed. They examined general population prisoners and prisoners subjected to solitary confinement without taking into account the selection biases that lead to differences between those populations, i.e., prisoners who have behavioral problems are more likely to be selected for solitary confinement. I think that charging prisoners exorbitant fees to call their family is horrible. I think that not allowing books on programming in prison because the warden is concerned with "hacking" is wrong. Hell I think giving prisoners beds that are less comfortable than what you'd expect guards to sleep on is terrible. But I don't think those things should be described as torture because they diminish the meaning of the word.

by Frondo 6y ago

learc83 6y ago

1. There is a difference between complete deprivation of human contact for months to years (which could be a form of torture) and spending 23 hours a day in a single occupancy cell with an hour outside for exercise with guards and healthcare workers regularly attempting to engage you in conversation (in an attempt to evaluate your mental state). Chelsea Manning's guard's stated they tried to engage her in conversation regularly, but she wasn't responsive. That doesn't sound like purposeful lack of human contact for the purposes of psychological torture. 2. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture is a lawyer in a political position, not a psychiatrist. 3. The studies linked in his report and the article failed were horribly flawed. They examined general population prisoners and prisoners subjected to solitary confinement without taking into account the selection biases that lead to differences between those populations, i.e., prisoners who have behavioral problems are more likely to be selected for solitary confinement. I think that charging prisoners exorbitant fees to call their family is horrible. I think that not allowing books on programming in prison because the warden is concerned with "hacking" is wrong. Hell I think giving prisoners beds that are less comfortable than what you'd expect guards to sleep on is terrible. But I don't think those things should be described as torture because they diminish the meaning of the word.