(Synthesis) Opinion Piece:
The noise and distractions of the world can often cloud the minds of many within it.
For prisoners these distractions become even more dominant because their distractions
involve navigating the cutthroat social atmosphere of prison. If the goal of prison is to help
facilitate the eventual release of prisoners back into society, then prisoners must be given
the best chance available for rehabilitation. Solitary confinement is an opportunity for selfimprovement. Support to this end can be found in the short story, “The Bet” by Anton
Chekhov and NPR article, “Q&A: Solitary Confinement & Human Rights” by Maria Godoy.
Both the lawyer mentioned in “The Bet” and convicted felons start out their
situations by not being fully functioning members of society. Firstly, the lawyer only found
himself in solitary confinement because he was engaging in a moral debate with men at a
party (Chekhov 1). Instead of interpreting the law the lawyer decided to test the law. He
clearly was not following the natural pattern for his occupation when he upped his
voluntary time served from “‘…not five but fifteen years’” (Chekhov 1). Much like prisoners
put in solitary confinement are not in line with behavior acceptable from the rest of society,
the lawyer stands alone in his crippling mental state. Some would seek to place, “bans
against placing mentally ill prisoners in segregation” (Godoy 3). However human rights
activists must ask themselves, at what cost? These mentally unstable individuals should not
be allowed to subject their harmful actions to those trying to reconstruct their life in the
general population of prison.
The safety of those in holding facilities is the main concern of those who criticize
solitary confinement. Jamie Fellner, the director of the U.S. program for Human Rights
Watch discusses the safeguarding of many human rights such as “increasing safety” in her
NPR interview (Godoy). If safety is the main concern of human rights activists such as
Fellner, then placing individuals into an isolated state would allow them to be protected
from outer harms and distractions, all this while preserving the body and mind. Even
Fellner admits that those in isolation are afforded a few personal items such as a book
(Godoy 1). Books not only protect the mind but they can engage the mind in new
discoveries that lead to self-improvement.