Isolation Becoming Cruel: The Mind on Lockdown

The 8th Amendment protects people from cruel and unusual punishment. This protection is meant to ensure that no person is overly punished for the crimes they were sentenced for. But in all actuality, what determines a punishment to be cruel? Is there some way to ensure that a person is not being given overly harsh repercussions? Shaun Gallagher investigates this question in his article, “The Cruel and Unusual Phenomenology of Solitary Confinement” (2014).

He explains how the use of solitary confinement in prisons, where a person is alone in a small cell for approximately 23 hours a day, can impact mental health through the loss of human interaction.

Gallagher argues that humans develop a sense of self through typical interactions with others. Even infants need human interaction and can become very distressed when they lack their mothers' attention. Intersubjectivity, the ability to form human connections and understand each other, has two parts. The first is primary intersubjectivity, in which babies experience interaction through eye contact, facial expressions, and touch. Secondary intersubjectivity is the stage when children begin to form bonds through shared interactions, such as playtime. Forming these bonds is how humans develop a sense of self from a young age. The inability to form these bonds can lead to a form of induced autism, in which children who lack human contact have difficulty recognizing emotions or communicating with others.

Adults who have experienced solitary confinement are not exactly like those with induced autism, but they do share some overlapping characteristics. A lack of social interaction can lead to difficulties with focus or with speaking while in solitude. On the more severe end, people can even experience paranoia or psychosis. A 2003 study of California’s Pelican Bay Supermax Prison found that 91% of inmates experienced anxiety, 70% experienced emotional breakdowns, and 77% experienced chronic depression. Gallagher describes this as a form of depersonalization and argues that the loss of social connections can lead to a loss of self, leaving a person unsure of what is real and what is not.

This has much to do with the Eighth Amendment because the cruelty of the prison system is not only physical but also emotional and mental. Solitary confinement can push a person into a state of fear and numbness to the point that they may no longer know what is real or not. When human contact and interaction are removed, it can have a lasting and damaging effect on a person’s life. Gallagher’s article demonstrates how solitary confinement can cause this harm, suggesting that it may violate the Eighth Amendment. Is solitary confinement still considered a form of justice if it destroys the inner self?