Juvenile Justice: Mental Health and Solitary Confinement Kalief Browder was only sixteen years old when he was taken to the precinct in New York for allegedly stealing a backpack. He was detained at Rikers Island hoping to eventual return home soon. Little did Kalief know that he would not be returning home anytime soon. Instead of being home, he was often times kept in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement is likely to increase mental health issues such as anxiety, paranoia, depression and ultimately suicide ideations. Not only does Solitary Confinement increase mental illness but also it is also unconstitutional due to the fact it violates human decency and rights. While some Institutions are moving away and eliminating solitary confinement
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In other words, Browder was born into the system. Furthermore, he grew up in Bronx, New York. He lived in a high-risked and impoverished community that lack resources. Like Browder, there are many other youth who enter the juvenile justice who may identify as high-risk and underprivileged youth. According to … “The Rikers youth population comes from disenfranchised, marginalized, low-income communities of color that lack political power and resources” (Johnson, 2016, pp. 51). These youth constantly faced the unfair punishment and stigmatization of a system that currently views not only the community but that also view the youth as undeserving. These youth come across a system that would criticize, accuse and exclude them from society. Needless to say, because these youth are disadvantage, it is “easy for politicians and officials to ignore the abuses they experience” (Johnson, 2016, pp. 51). Instead, institutions throw these youth in Solitary Confinement that demolish their mental …show more content…
“Solitary confinement is a practice that has been associated with adverse health consequences to those placed in these settings” (Iowa-Kollisch, Kaba, Waters, Leung, Ford, & Venters, 2016, pp. 3). While solitary confinement is enough to fracture a grown man… it can shatter a juvenile. Adolescents can really be psychological damaged when in solitary confinement because their brains are still actively developing, especially in their frontal lobe. The frontal lobe is responsible for cognitive processing. Due to the process of their brain still developing, it will be a challenge for them to rationalize and even cope effectively. As a result, they may respond with anti-social or aggressive behaviors. These youth may experience symptoms such as paranoia, anxiety and depression after very short periods of isolation, meaning lengthy stays in segregation can be particularly damaging (Puckett, 2016, pp. 65). Kalief Browder spent 800 days in confinement (Bennett, 2016, pp. 296). Browder states, “The long-term solitary confinement of prisoners causes fundamentally debilitative psychological damage. This violence, inherent to the socio-spatial organization of solitary confinement, diminishes prisoners’ capacity to function as human beings” (Bennett, 2016, pp.
In other words, Browder was born into the system. Furthermore, he grew up in Bronx, New York. He lived in a high-risked and impoverished community that lack resources. Like Browder, there are many other youth who enter the juvenile justice who may identify as high-risk and underprivileged youth. According to … “The Rikers youth population comes from disenfranchised, marginalized, low-income communities of color that lack political power and resources” (Johnson, 2016, pp. 51). These youth constantly faced the unfair punishment and stigmatization of a system that currently views not only the community but that also view the youth as undeserving. These youth come across a system that would criticize, accuse and exclude them from society. Needless to say, because these youth are disadvantage, it is “easy for politicians and officials to ignore the abuses they experience” (Johnson, 2016, pp. 51). Instead, institutions throw these youth in Solitary Confinement that demolish their mental …show more content…
“Solitary confinement is a practice that has been associated with adverse health consequences to those placed in these settings” (Iowa-Kollisch, Kaba, Waters, Leung, Ford, & Venters, 2016, pp. 3). While solitary confinement is enough to fracture a grown man… it can shatter a juvenile. Adolescents can really be psychological damaged when in solitary confinement because their brains are still actively developing, especially in their frontal lobe. The frontal lobe is responsible for cognitive processing. Due to the process of their brain still developing, it will be a challenge for them to rationalize and even cope effectively. As a result, they may respond with anti-social or aggressive behaviors. These youth may experience symptoms such as paranoia, anxiety and depression after very short periods of isolation, meaning lengthy stays in segregation can be particularly damaging (Puckett, 2016, pp. 65). Kalief Browder spent 800 days in confinement (Bennett, 2016, pp. 296). Browder states, “The long-term solitary confinement of prisoners causes fundamentally debilitative psychological damage. This violence, inherent to the socio-spatial organization of solitary confinement, diminishes prisoners’ capacity to function as human beings” (Bennett, 2016, pp.