Solitary Confinement as Psychological Punishment
![handle is hein.journals/cwlr13 and id is 273 raw text is: Solitary Confinement
as Psychological Punishment
THOMAS B. BENJAMIN*
KENNETH Lux**
S.A., an inmate of the Maine State Prison, was confined to
solitary on August 7, 1975, for fighting with two other prison-
ers.1 He had a history of suicide attempts while in solitary
confinement, and yet was locked up with no watch, and no
medical or psychological evaluation. Another prisoner saw
S.A. in his solitary cell working on a rope. S.A. told the other
prisoner, I want to hang myself in private. The prisoner
warned a chaplain intern and a guard that S.A. might try to
kill himself. The resident psychologist was never contacted.
Within the hour S.A. was found dead, hanging in his ceil2
R.S. had often commented on the effect of solitary confine-
ment upon his mental state: his lack of sleep, feelings of dete-
rioration and disorientation, weight loss, depressive lassi-
tude, fear of losing his sanity, and his suicidal thoughts.3
The steady deterioration in R.S.'s thought patterns during his
prolonged solitary confinement was apparent. His mind wan-
dered, his speech slurred, he became withdrawn and com-
pletely apathetic to the world around him. His depression
seemed overwhelming. He sat motionless in his cell on the
edge of his bed, rolling cigarettes and staring at the closed
steel door. Protests were made about his confinement, and
the prison administration staff was made fully aware of R.S.'s
intent to commit suicide. Nevertheless, he was permitted to
sit alone in his cell with the door closed. He was not sent to
* B.A., Harvard University, 1965; J.D., Boston College Law School, 1968.
Vista Attorney, Migrant Health Law Project, Rochester, N.Y., 1968-69. Pine
Tree Legal Assistance, Inc., Staff Attorney, 1969-71; Directing Attorney, Portland
Area Office, 1971-73; Director, Law Reform Unit, 1973-present. Of Counsel,
Governor's Task Force on Corrections, 1973-74.
** Dr. Lux received his Ph.D. in psychology from Indiana University in 1967.
He is a licensed clinical psychologist in New York and Maine. Prior to becoming
a consultant to Downeast Health Services, a public health agency, and other or-
ganizations and individuals in Maine, he served as a staff psychologist at the Al-
bany Medical Center in New York. Dr. Lux has also served as a consultant for
the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA).
The authors wish to express their appreciation for research done by David H.
Wersan, a student at College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine.
1. According to prisoners at the scene, the fight was not a serious one and was
over very quickly. S.A. had simply walked away and was not a threat to the
security of the prison at the time he was locked up in solitary. Letter from
Inmates to Commissioner, Department of Mental Health and Corrections (August
8, 1975).
2. Id.; Portland Press Herald, August 8, 1975.
3. Id. Depressive lassitude was the term R.S. used in a letter to the authors
dated April 13, 1975, describing his feelings of mental deterioration. [Letter on
file with authors].](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/cwlr13&div=18&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Solitary Confinement as Psychological Punishment
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