Nicole IvguiCriminologyMs. Kovat13 December 2013Is solitary confinement unconstitutional?Solitary confinement is the isolation of a prisoner in a separate cell as punishment. Aside from the death penalty, imprisonment is the most extreme punishment to which a prisoner can be sentenced. Prisoners deserve to maintain their human rights while incarcerated as much as any ordinary citizen in the United States. Solitary confinement is unconstitutional because it violates prisoners' fundamental rights by physically and socially isolating them, which potentially inflicts serious long-term harm on adolescents. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) has deemed solitary confinement to be an unconstitutional form of punishment. He expresses that solitary confinement should be classified as torture because it inflicts potential physical and mental harm on detainees. Being confined to a cell for over 22 hours a day without any human contact is an inhumane practice and may not be beneficial enough to overcome the consequences a prisoner faces upon release. Solitary confinement clearly violates the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment.” Isolation is the emblem of torture. Inmates often recall being unable to distinguish the time spent in confinement; the hours feel like days and the days feel like months. Some prisons use solitary confinement differently than others. The Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit (SHU) is known as the “most restrictive prison in California.” It is one of the toughest “supermaximum” prisons in the country, meaning inmates can be subjected to solitary confinement for a set period of time or an indefinite duration. This is known as "supe... middle of paper..." in solitary confinement because they cannot handle solitary confinement. When a human being is confined to a small, windowless room, in complete isolation from other human beings, the results can only be negative. Communication is the key to survival, people feed each other to survive. Furthermore, when a human being is deprived of communication and is forced to be alone, it is an unfamiliar experience for him. Nothing in life can prepare someone for this sick excuse of a punishment: the degree of isolation one is expected to endure in solitary confinement is inhumane. Young people are much more vulnerable than adults; therefore the physical and mental effects of isolation have a greater impact on adolescents than on adults. It is not only illegal, but also unforgiving to subject any human being, much less a teenager, to such a merciless form of "discipline"’.