Thursday, March 16, 2023
Solitary Confinement Rate In US Prisons Many Times The Global Average
Posted by Peter Quennell
Overview
The US has four percent of the world’s population - and over 20% of all prisoners in the world.
Right now it has locked up 664 per hundred thousand. The closest any other western country comes is 129 in the UK. The rate in Italy is 89.
While this is finally being pushed down a bit, not least for cost, the total in solitary confinement in recent years has gone spiraling through the roof. Over 80,000 right now.
Any prison superintendent can order it; in almost all other countries it requires the Minister of Justice (as in Italy) or at minimum some senior judge.
A couple of cases we’ve paid attention to are now shaking up public awareness of this.
- One was Alex Murdaugh in South Carolina, just convicted of killing his wife and son, who might “for his own protection” be in solitary for the rest of his life.
- The other is Bryan Kohberger in Idaho, suspected killer of four students now awaiting trial, who “for his own protection” probably faces the same.
Solitary in the US not only means zero interaction with any other human being. It also means no TV, no books, and lights on at all times.
As the BBC video explains, American prisoners might face staring at the walls for 30-40 years, and a complete mental breakdown more likely than not.
Posted by Peter Quennell on 03/16/23 at 01:41 PM in Hoaxes Sollecito etc