What To Do With the Survivors? Coping With the Long-Term Effects of Isolated Confinement

• Author: Terry A. Kupers
• Published date: 01 August 2008
• Date: 01 August 2008
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0093854808318591
• Subject Matter: Articles

WHAT TO DO WITH THE SURVIVORS?

Coping With the Long-Term

Effects of Isolated Confinement

TERRY A. KUPERS

Wright Institute, Berkeley, California

As a growing number of individuals suffering from serious mental illness are consigned to prison and selectively relegated to

long-term isolated confinement, there is a newly expanded subpopulation of prisoners approaching their release from prison

while exhibiting signs of mental illness and repeatedly violating rules. An attribution error and various forms of obfuscation

divert attention from a cycle of longer stints in isolation and more rule-breaking behavior,until the time arrives to release the

“disturbed/disruptive” prisoner. Since this subpopulation of prisoners is deemed dangerous, there is a crisis in the criminal

justice system. There are attempts to solve the crisis by convicting the prisoner of additional crimes to extend prison tenure

or by activating postincarceration civil commitment to a psychiatric hospital. These trends are examined, and the question is

raised whether they address the core problems in the criminal justice system that result in more prisoners nearing their release

dates essentially out of control behaviorally.

Keywords: prison; supermaximum security; disturbed/disruptive inmates; serious mental illness; correctional mental health;

rehabilitation

There is a growing number of “disturbed/disruptive” prisoners (Toch, 1982) who, toward

the end of their determinate prison sentences, remain in segregation or in intensive,

high-security mental health units, where the staff are disinclined to grant them much time

out of their cells or in congregate activities on account of safety concerns. These prisoners

suffer from serious mental illness, and they have serious behavior problems, including rule

violations and assaults. They are considered unpredictable and dangerous. These prisoners

pose a difficult challenge to custody and mental health staff (Toch & Kupers, 2007). Given

the fact that more than 93% of prisoners leave prison eventually, society faces a huge prob-

lem of resocializing individuals who, in prison, suffered from serious mental illness and

spent an inordinate time in segregation. Sadly, many will not be successfully resocialized

and will return to prison or be locked up on back wards of post-deinstitutionalization asy-

lums (state psychiatric hospitals that are increasingly filled with forensic patients).

Some proponents of prison segregation claim we lack credible research proving there are

lasting harmful effects when prisoners are consigned to isolated confinement for long peri-

ods of time (Metzner & Dvoskin, 2006). The research is not lacking. Rather, it is very clear

from the research that has been done (Grassian & Friedman, 1986; Haney, 2003; Lovell,

Johnson, & Cain, 2007; Rhodes, 2004; Toch, 1992)—as well as from the court-reported

investigations of experts called on to assess the psychiatric effects of long-term supermax-

imum security confinement in the course of litigation (Kupers, 2006a, 2006b)—that for just

1005

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 35 No. 8,August 2008 1005-1016

DOI: 10.1177/0093854808318591

© 2008 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology