NCJ Number
191242
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 81 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 376-388
Date Published
September 2001
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article critiques the conditions and effects of supermax prisons and suggests how their detrimental impacts on inmates can be remedied.
Abstract
Supermaxes may differ to some degree, but all are repositories of an antihumanistic technology. The prisoners in a supermax are dealt with by machines orchestrated through computerized consoles. Human communications consist of muffled voices through impermeable partitions, and they are intrusively surveilled. Supermax residents tend to sleep a great deal, especially when no activities are afforded them, but restful regenerative sleep is never attainable. During rare respites from isolation, supermax residents are loaded down with hardware that circumscribes movement. Refusal to come out of one's cell, which is a common symptom of a mentally ill person, brings a phalanx of intruders in riot gear to subdue the prisoner by force. Most supermax regimes feature gradations of "levels" that offer calibrated increments in amenities. The lowest level consists of a condition of drastic understimulation, enforced inactivity, and sensory deprivation, thus making it likely that the prisoner will be ill-equipped to develop the positive behaviors required to move to the next level of amenities. Supermax institutions are thus vulnerable to charges that they impair the mental health of prisoners and make violent men more dangerous. Further, some supermax assignment procedures appear arbitrary and unfair. Programming could be the core of a supermax regime. Diversification of programming in supermaxes could enrich the lives of staff as well as those of inmates. The direct participation of supermax officers in program planning and classification could go a long way in reducing any evolving alienation. Supermax residents must be given avenues that can help them explore their conduct and develop less destructive behavior patterns. 11 references