Managing Prisons Through Extended Solitary Confinement: A Necessary Approach or a Signal of Prison System Failure?

In contemporary American corrections, extended solitary confinement (ESM) as a management tool has emerged as a strategy for avowedly controlling the most violent individuals and, in so doing, creating a safer prison system. We theorize that the emergence of this unique form of housing may also be v...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Mears, Daniel P. 1966- (Author) ; Aranda-Hughes, Vivian (Author) ; Pesta, George B. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2024
In: International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology
Year: 2024, Volume: 68, Issue: 1, Pages: 62-84
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Systems
Order
Inmates
Solitary Confinement
Prisons
Description
Summary:In contemporary American corrections, extended solitary confinement (ESM) as a management tool has emerged as a strategy for avowedly controlling the most violent individuals and, in so doing, creating a safer prison system. We theorize that the emergence of this unique form of housing may also be viewed as a signal of prison system failure. To advance this argument, we identify how different theoretical perspectives can be used to anticipate the effects of ESM on prison system violence and order and then investigate the plausibility of this account by grounding it in analysis of qualitative data from a study of one state’s prison system. The analysis suggests theoretical and empirical warrant for both views of ESM—as an effective tool and as a symptom of system failure. Implications of the study research and policy are discussed.
ISSN:1552-6933
DOI:10.1177/0306624X211058948