A look at the prison system and how it is to be part the system

An engaging read and quite intense, I cannot imagine how it feels to be locked up for 23/ 7 

Interesting and fascinating in equal measures but I wanted more

This is a book this takes a look at the term solitary confinement of prisoners in the state of California and throughout the U.S. The author gives some back ground on the prison system and the reason behind building a prison named Pelican Bay. He also refers a lot in the back to a 1970’s incident with an Inmate George Jackson, his attempted escape from San Quinten and the death of three prison guards and then months later the riot at Attica Prison in new York as one of the many reasons for the building of these new prisons in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I felt that the author continually blamed officers or as he put it guards for most or all of the problems going on, that really gangs do not exist accept as something that is made up. One of the inmates that he interviewed for the book had numerous swastikas tattoo on his body. I don’t think this individual could walk down the street in south central Los Angeles or any other inner city and not draw negative attention to himself, he also most likely would not sit down with people of another race to have dinner with them, for these tattoos are symbols of hatred. This is just one example. Not saying that there are not problems but when the government in the 80’s closed down mental health facilities where were people supposed to go for help. Now the author points out that only 4% of the population have mental health problems, but in prison and jails this is higher. Well it is if he would have looked into the departments guidelines of what is defined as mental health issues and that of let’s say the county jail of L.A. he would see that they are not the same as on the outside. If a person as a child was taken ridilin for ADHD for example, that person has to go through a series of exams, tests. There are many other example but the author only looked at one issue. He did not look at the programs that were discontinued like auto mechanics, and auto body, sheet metal work, wood working, even cooking, and baking to just name a few. For the author to believe that the only violence in the prisons are caused by the guards, or officers is short sighted on his end, and just as in his profession there are good individuals and not so good. Would have be nice if he would have talked to people that had actually worked inside the walls and maybe got a little different view. I think there are problems with every system but I do not want people to commit crimes once they are released because there is nothing for them on the outside except crime. The author said he would want to have dinner with one of the men he interviewed but would he really want to bring him into his home? That is the question.

I couldn't read the book, to emotional for me. I'm sorry.

Solitary confinement. Isolation. Supermax prisons. No matter what you call it, it’s inhumane to keep someone in total isolation for months, years, and decades with little or no human contact. This book provides a detailed history of how solitary confinement has progressed through the years to the deplorable conditions that exist today.

I am an opponent of capital punishment. I’ve always believed that someone losing their freedom was punishment enough. As one prison warden said, prison is meant to be punishment for a crime. It’s not meant to give additional punishment once an inmate gets there. Kearmet Reiter’s new book looks at the misconceptions and harsh realities of solitary confinement.

In the past, prisoners given solitary confinement still had access to exercise yards, natural light, gardens, and activities to keep their mind occupied. The length of time an inmate might have to spend in solitary confinement was usually not more than a few weeks. Unfortunately, solitary confinement today has devolved to the point where inmates are routinely placed in isolation with little or no stimulation for decades. What is that like? Try locking yourself in your bathroom for twenty-three hours a day with nothing to do but look at the walls. Then do that for ten years. Twenty years. Thirty years.

The author’s focus is on California’s Supermax prison Pelican Bay, where seventy-eight prisoners have lived in isolation for more than twenty years. Across the United States, some 20,000 prisoners live in similar conditions. Author Kearmet Reiter examines the history of Pelican Bay and the impact on those unfortunate soles caught up in the prison bureaucracy that allows this state-sanctioned torture to continue. Along the way she covers topics such as mass incarceration, indeterminate sentencing, prisoner hunger strikes, the lack of mental health care for prisoners, and the misuse of the label “worst of the worst.” She also describes the negative physiological effects of lengthy solitary confinement as well as the difficulties prisoners have adapting to life on the outside once released.

This is a well-researched book that should be required reading for anyone in the criminal justice system and anyone who cares for human decency. This review is based on a pre-release copy of the book.