Prisons in the United States should discontinue solitary confinement. The main reason being that it's incredibly cruel. According to a survey done by Yale University, 4,000+ prisoners that are placed in solitary confinement are reported to be mentally ill. According to a article by Psychology Today, solitary confinement can leave a prisoner with long lasting psychological effects.
>The psychological effects of isolation last long after individuals are removed from isolation. Indeed, years after their release, many who experienced solitary confinement in Pelican Bay had difficulty integrating into society, felt emotionally numb, experienced anxiety and depression, and preferred to remain in confined spaces.
And sometimes, messing with their mental health like this can often lead to the prisoners taking their own lives.
>Solitary confinement often exacerbates existing psychiatric conditions and not infrequently leads to suicide. In Texas, for example, suicides rates for those in solitary confinement are five times higher than that of the general prison community. Given that the U.S. has 10 times as many people with mental illnesses in jails than in state hospitals, the use of isolation for people with mental illnesses is beyond troubling.
Sometimes, even minors are placed into solitary as well.
>Mental health issues are also widely prevalent in youth within correctional facilities, and placing youth in solitary, often as a form of punishment or simply because prisons are understaffed to engage with these children, is psychologically damaging and outright cruel. Dr. Louis J. Kraus, a child, adolescent and forensic psychiatrist, also spoke at the Harvard conference, and explained that locking children up in isolation worsens their mood symptoms, worsens trauma-based pathology, increases anxiety symptoms, compromises these children’s trust, and increases the risk of suicide.
Solitary confinement is torture, as the article from Psychology Today stated, s
... keep reading on reddit ➡Introduced: Sponsor: Rep. Tony Cárdenas [D-CA29]
This bill was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary which will consider it before sending it to the House floor for consideration.
1 cosponsor is on that committee.
In 1995, I was sentenced to death on charges related to the 1993 prison uprising at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, even though there was no physical or forensic evidence linking me to the murders that occurred during the uprising. In fact, prosecutors actually withheld critical evidence (confessions, indictments, etc.) in the case that could have proven that I was innocent of the charges brought against me.
I recently wrote a book titled, Condemned, that gives my account of what happened during and after the Lucasville Uprising: http://www.amazon.com/Condemned-whole-story-Keith-LaMar/dp/1483961710/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390788087&sr=8-1&keywords=condemned%3A+the+whole+story
Here is a website that helps to explain my situation: http://keithlamar.org/
My supporters are also trying to produce a documentary that will tell my story, and they are fundraising for it here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/justice-for-keith-lamar-a-short-documentary
Proof: http://i.imgur.com/eA5uppm.jpg
Edit: We are ending now. Thanks for your time. I have to give the phone back soon, so we're finishing up now. I really want to take the time to thank you all for sending me your questions. I'm very impressed and humbled by the fact that there are so many people that care. It's my hope that you guys will take the time to read my book, to learn more about my story, and join me in my fight to stay alive. I have no idea how or when all this madness will end, but I'm grateful to be alive and to still be on this side of reality. If any of you are discouraged by where you are in your own life, I really want to encourage you to believe that the best possible things are still possible, and that even in the worst situations, that there is something inside of us that can help us rise to the occasion. Never give up.
