ADVERTISEMENTAbout 100,000 prisoners are housed in solitary confinement across the U.S., spending 23 to 24 hours per day alone in an 8-foot-by-10-foot cell. Solitary confinement is a common practice in U.S. prisons, but one that raises significant ethical concerns. Isolation can be psychologically harmful, and research has shown typical effects of solitary confinement include anxiety, depression, an inability to think clearly, obsessive thoughts, paranoia and psychosis. HBO Red Onion State Prison is a "supermax" correctional facility in Virginia that houses roughly 800 prisoners in solitary confinement. A 2011 U.N. report denounced prolonged solitary confinement as amounting to torture.

Source: Huffington Post February 06, 2017 20:37 UTC