Solitary confinement is one of the many forms of punishment the criminal justice system imposes upon its prison inmates. Those in solitary confinement are forced to endure harsher prison conditions and potentially detrimental consequences upon their release. Along with loss of basic freedoms, dangerous isolation, and harmful consequences, solitary isolation has been shown to affect individuals differently based on their race, class, and gender. This material explores solitary confinement as it affects individuals of different racial, gendered, and socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition, these recourses explore the potential life-altering effects of solitary confinement and future policy recommendations. It is important to explore criminal justice topics in hopes of raising awareness to the issues at hand and creating opportunities for future policy improvements.

• American Civil Liberties Union (2014, April). Worse than second-class: solitary confinement of women in the United States.
• Casella, J., Ridgeway, J., & Shourd, S. (2017). Hell is a very small place: Voices from solitary confinement. The New Press.
• Griest, S. E. (2012). The torture of solitary. The Wilson Quarterly, 36(2), 22–29.
• Guenther, l. (2013). Beyond dehumanization: A posthumanist critique of intensive confinement. In Solitary Confinement: Social Death and Its Afterlives (pp. 125–158). University of Minnesota Press.
• Lyons, K. (2022, March 31). In their own words: Prisoners testify on solitary confinement bill. CT Mirror. Retrieved from: https://ctmirror.org/2022/03/25/in-their-own-words-prisoners-testify-on-solitary-confinement-bill/
• Manuel, I. (2021, March 29). Opinion | I Survived 18 Years in Solitary Confinement. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/25/opinion/solitary-confinement-reform.html
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• Smith, P. S. (2006). The effects of solitary confinement on prison inmates: A brief history and review of the literature. Crime and Justice, 34(1), 441–528.

1. How has solitary confinement contributed to the dehumanization of inmates?
2. How does solitary confinement affect people of color and whites differently?
3. How has solitary confinement contributed to the challenges of reintegration?
4. How are the challenges of women in solitary confinement different from those of men?
5. How does solitary confinement affect the poor compared to the rich?
6. What are some challenges experienced by inmates that are the result of solitary confinement?
7. How does solitary confinement affect juveniles differently than adults?