76-398: Thomas Edward Silverstein (born Thomas Edward Conway ; February 4, 1952 – May 11, 2019) was an American criminal who spent the last 42 years of his life in prison after being convicted of four separate murders while imprisoned for armed robbery, one of which was overturned. Silverstein spent the last 36 years of his life in solitary confinement for killing corrections officer Merle Clutts at
152-408: A witness to a crime, or have been convicted of crimes such as child molestation or abuse . This latter form of isolation is known as protective custody , and can be either voluntary or involuntary. Though proponents of solitary have often expressed the belief that solitary confinement promotes safety in correctional facilities, there is substantial evidence that points to the contrary. In 2002,
228-427: A 1983 journal article, Stuart Grassian described SHU Syndrome as a "major, clinically distinguishable psychiatric syndrome." Grassian notes solitary confinement can cause extremely vivid hallucinations in multiple sensory modalities including visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory. Some other effects include dissociative features including amnesia, motor excitement with aimless violence and delusions. For those who enter
304-660: A 2012 study showing that the rate of violence in California prisons is 20 percent higher than it was in 1989, when California's first supermax prison opened. Gordon also cites the Northern District of California court in Toussaint v. McCarthy , which found that solitary confinement "increase[d] rather than decrease[d] antisocial tendencies among inmates" at Folsom and San Quentin State Prisons in California. Solitary confinement
380-512: A complete ban for juveniles and individuals with mental disabilities. "Solitary confinement is a harsh measure which is contrary to rehabilitation," Méndez told the General Assembly's Third Committee , which deals with social, humanitarian, and cultural affairs. He continued: "Considering the severe mental pain or suffering solitary confinement may cause, it can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment when used as
456-589: A day of isolation. In the United States penal system today, more than 20 percent of individuals in state and federal prisons and 18 percent of individuals in local jails are placed in solitary confinement or another form of restrictive housing at some point during their incarceration. According to a 2023 report from Solitary Watch and Unlock the Box, it is estimated that more than 122,000 people are held in solitary confinement in state and federal prisons and local jails in
532-484: A duty to "set the highest standards of care" when it limits the liberties of children. Frances Crook is one of many to believe that incarceration and solitary confinement are the harshest forms of possible punishments and "should only be taken as a last resort". Because children are still mentally developing, Crook writes, incarceration should not encourage them to commit more violent crimes. The penal system has been cited as failing to protect juveniles in custody. In
608-459: A form of inhuman treatment which cannot be justified by the requirements of security or any other reason. On the other hand, the prohibition of contacts with other prisoners for security, disciplinary or protective reasons does not in itself amount to inhuman treatment or punishment." The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture , or CPT, defines solitary confinement as "whenever a prisoner
684-420: A living hell. Otherwise other inmates will kill guards, too. There has to be some supreme punishment. Every convict knows what Silverstein is going through. We want them to realize that if they cross the same line that he did, they will pay a heavy price." Ted Sellers, a former convict who met Silverstein during 25 years spent in prison, said he became a "legend" at Leavenworth. Sellers told BBC News Online, "(h)e
760-664: A percentage far higher than the percentage of foreign nationals in Iceland (around 14 percent of the population in 2021). Italian prisoners subject to special surveillance (" 41-bis regime") may be in de facto solitary confinement. A person sentenced to multiple life sentences in Italy may be required by the Minister of Justice to serve a period of between 6 months to years in the " 41-bis regime" of solitary confinement, subject to extension and review. In 2015, segregation (solitary confinement)
836-496: A possible death sentence since capital punishment on the federal level had not been reinstated yet. Silverstein maintained his innocence. While Silverstein was on trial for Chappelle's murder, the Bureau of Prisons transferred Raymond Lee "Cadillac" Smith, the national leader of the D.C. Blacks prison gang, from another prison into the control unit in Marion. From the moment Smith arrived in
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#1733084469417912-540: A punishment, during pre-trial detention, indefinitely or for a prolonged period, for persons with mental disabilities or juveniles." The United Nations Committee Against Torture cited use of solitary confinement in the United States as excessive and a violation of the Convention Against Torture in 2014. The United Nations' "Mandela Rules" , which were adopted in 2015 and establish minimum standards for
988-893: A room with few if any furnishings. While on suicide watch, individuals are typically denied clothing and bedding (to prevent them from hanging themselves using bedsheets), as well as denied programming and contact visits. Though these conditions are intended to prevent individuals from committing suicide, they often exacerbate trauma and other pre-existing mental health conditions. Despite controls in place, individuals in suicide watch cells have still found ways to harm themselves. Solitary confinement has been reported to cause hypertension , headaches , profuse sweating, dizziness , and heart palpitations . Many individuals in solitary experience extreme weight loss due to digestion complications and abdominal pain. They can also develop neck and back pain and muscle stiffness due to long periods of little to no physical activity. These symptoms have been linked to
1064-469: A supermax facility in Colorado. His earliest theoretical date of release was November 2, 2095. Silverstein claimed that the "no human contact" status is essentially a form of torture reserved for those who kill correctional officers. "When an inmate kills a guard, he must be punished," a Bureau of Prisons official told author Pete Earley . "We can't execute Silverstein, so we have no choice but to make his life
1140-435: A unique social environment that do not allow individuals to create strong social ties inside or outside of the facility. The social isolation that incarcerated individuals experience is especially acute in solitary confinement, where they may be denied access to phone calls, mail, and visits from loved ones. The psychological effects of isolation continue long after individuals are released from solitary, affecting society as
1216-423: A whole. Upon their reentry into society, many individuals who have spent long periods of time in solitary report having difficulty adjusting back to life outside the prison walls. They are often startled easily, and avoid crowds and public spaces. They seek out small, confined spaces because public areas overwhelm their sensory stimulation. Anthony Graves , who spent more than 18 years in solitary confinement on
1292-492: Is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to discipline or separate incarcerated individuals who are considered to be security risks to other incarcerated individuals or prison staff, as well as those who violate facility rules or are deemed disruptive. However, it can also be used as protective custody for incarcerated individuals whose safety
1368-539: Is a necessary tool for maintaining the safety and security of prisons and jails, numerous medical, mental health, and legal professional organizations have criticized the practice and hold the view that it should be sharply curtailed. Nelson Mandela , the South African anti-apartheid activist , described solitary confinement as "the most forbidding aspect of prison life." Human rights experts have stated that prolonged solitary confinement may amount to torture , and
1444-818: Is also commonly used as punishment for those who have violated prison rules or committed other disciplinary infractions. The practice is the norm in super-maximum security (supermax) prisons , where individuals who are deemed dangerous or high risk are held. Critics allege solitary confinement has been used to punish and suppress organizing, activism, and other political activities in prisons. In immigration detention centers , reports have surfaced that immigrant detainees are being placed in solitary to keep those knowledgeable about their rights away from other detainees. Individuals who go on hunger strike to protest poor conditions in immigration facilities are also frequently placed in solitary. Although immigration officials have claimed that their policy of isolating hunger strikers
1520-453: Is far below the basic minimum standards for treatment of prisoners under international law and has caused an international human rights concern: "U.S. solitary confinement practices contravene international treaty law, violate established international norms, and do not represent sound foreign policy." Critics of solitary confinement regard the practice as a form of psychological torture with measurable physiological effects, particularly when
1596-621: Is for the protection of the detained person, medical and legal experts have pointed out that there is no medical basis behind the policy, and that, in the United States, it constitutes a violation of the detainee's First Amendment rights. Solitary confinement is similarly used as retaliation in prisons and jails, including against whistleblowers who raise awareness of inhumane conditions and jailhouse lawyers who assist others in litigating their rights. There have been further reports of people being placed in solitary based on their race, religion, or sexual orientation. While solitary confinement
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#17330844694171672-466: Is less commonplace in Europe than in other parts of the world including the United States, it is still widely used in many European countries today. The European Court of Human Rights distinguishes between complete sensory isolation, total social isolation and relative social isolation and notes that "complete sensory isolation, coupled with total social isolation can destroy the personality and constitutes
1748-609: Is no interaction between prisoners. Such conditions have caused prisoners to become very ill, but they are denied medical treatment. Bright lights in the cells are kept on so that prisoners lose their sense of time, with the only sounds heard being from the nearby Caracas Metro trains. Those who visit the prisoners are subjected to strip searches by multiple SEBIN personnel. Allegations of torture in La Tumba, specifically white torture , are also common, with some prisoners attempting to commit suicide . Those conditions according to
1824-564: Is not as bad as they portray. Sure, he is dangerous if they push him to the wall. But there were some dirty rotten guards at Marion… They would purposely screw you around. You are dealing with a person locked up 23 hours a day. Of course, he's got a short fuse." Silverstein died on May 11, 2019, aged 67, at St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado , after spending 36 years in solitary confinement ; he died due to complications from heart surgery. Solitary confinement Solitary confinement
1900-511: Is often used to induce a confession from a prisoner in pre-trial detention . This practice has been more common in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Solitary confinement is used on incarcerated individuals when they are considered a danger to themselves or others. It is also used on individuals who are at high risk of being harmed by others, for example because they are transgender , have served as
1976-712: Is ordered to be held separately from other prisoners, for example, as a result of court decision, as a disciplinary sanction imposed within the prison system, as a preventive administrative measure or for the protection of the prisoner concerned." The CPT "considers that solitary confinement should only be imposed in exceptional circumstances, as a last resort and for the shortest possible time." Iceland has faced criticism for decades over its extensive use of pre-trial solitary confinement. A 2023 report by Amnesty International documented that 61 percent of pre-trial detainees had spent time in solitary confinement in 2021; of those detained that year, 57 percent were foreign nationals ,
2052-413: Is threatened by other prisoners. This is employed to separate them from the general prison population and prevent injury or death. A robust body of research has shown that solitary confinement has profound negative psychological, physical, and neurological effects on those who experience it, often lasting well beyond one's time in solitary. While corrections officials have stated that solitary confinement
2128-476: The COVID-19 pandemic in response to the rising prevalence of the virus inside prisons and jails. Many correctional facilities were locked down for up to 23 hours a day, confining people in their cells with no programming, phone access, or human contact. In the United States alone, more than 300,000 incarcerated people were held in virus-related lockdowns during the early months of the pandemic. Solitary confinement
2204-657: The Marion Penitentiary in Illinois. Prison authorities described him as a brutal killer and a former leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. Silverstein maintained that the dehumanizing conditions inside the prison system contributed to the three murders he committed. He was the longest-held prisoner in solitary confinement within the Bureau of Prisons at the time of his death. Correctional officers refused to talk to Silverstein out of respect for Clutts. Silverstein
2280-600: The US Marines , he was convicted of murdering his staff sergeant in 1974, while stationed in the Philippines . He stole and disassembled a pistol from the ship's armory, brought it ashore, and used it to rob a Filipino guard of his shotgun. He then used the shotgun to murder his staff sergeant. No words were exchanged as Fountain shot him once in the chest, and after a brief walk he took five hostages. Fountain had been written up recently by Staff Sergeant Wrin for wearing PT gear on
2356-644: The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (known as the Mandela Rules) were revised in 2015 to prohibit placements in solitary for longer than 15 days. The practice of solitary confinement in the United States traces its origins to the late 18th century, when Quakers in Pennsylvania used the method as a substitution for public punishments. Research surrounding
Thomas Silverstein - Misplaced Pages Continue
2432-402: The United States legal system . United Nations Special Rapporteurs on Torture Manfred Nowak and Juan Méndez have "repeatedly and unequivocally stated that prolonged solitary confinement is cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and may amount to torture," though their statements are not primary sources in international law. A 2005 law journal article argued America's detention system
2508-629: The "slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body." The Supreme Court of the United States made its first comment about the deleterious effects of solitary confinement in 1890, noting that the use of solitary led to reduced mental and physical capabilities ( In re Medley 134 U.S. 160). Records from Danish prisons between 1870 and 1920 indicate that individuals in solitary confinement there had also experienced signs of acute mental distress, including anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations. The use of solitary confinement increased greatly during
2584-593: The 1987 Atlanta Prison Riots , Cuban detainees at the Atlanta federal penitentiary released Silverstein from his isolation cell. They handed Silverstein over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Hostage Rescue Team one week later. Bureau of Prisons officials were reportedly afraid that Silverstein would begin killing correctional officers held hostage by the Cubans. Before the Cubans released Silverstein to Bureau of Prisons,
2660-566: The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America, chaired by John Joseph Gibbons and Nicholas Katzenbach , found that "the increasing use of high-security segregation is counter-productive, often causing violence inside facilities and contributing to recidivism after release." Shira E. Gordon has argued that solitary confinement "has not come close to solving the very problem it was meant to reduce: prison violence ." In support of this view, Gordon cites
2736-473: The Cuban riot leaders to hand over Silverstein as a gesture of good faith, a relatively easy decision for them, given that Silverstein's status was peripheral to the aims of the Cuban leaders during the riot. Silverstein was subsequently moved back to Leavenworth , where he stayed for the next 18 years. In 2005, when USP Leavenworth was downgraded to a medium-security facility, Silverstein was moved to ADX Florence,
2812-438: The Cubans let Silverstein out of his isolation cell and Silverstein was able to roam freely about the prison. One of the prison guards being held hostage had a history of being kind to Silverstein. (When the guard would handcuff Silverstein he would make it a point to ask Silverstein if his handcuffs were too tight.) He was confronted by Silverstein and was ultimately spared by him. Bureau of Prisons negotiators were able to convince
2888-589: The End Solitary Confinement Act, which would prohibit solitary confinement except for up to a four-hour maximum in all federal prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers if passed. The bill would also incentivize similar legislation to be enacted at the state and local levels. Statistics indicate that members of marginalized groups are disproportionately likely to end up in solitary confinement. A 2019 Correctional Leaders Association/Yale Law School study found that Black women make up 21.5 percent of
2964-722: The NGO Justice and Process are intended to make prisoners plead guilty to the crimes that they are accused of. Solitary confinement has been associated with significant negative effects on mental health. Research indicates that the psychological effects of solitary confinement may encompass a range of adverse symptoms including " anxiety , depression , anger, cognitive disturbances , perceptual distortions , obsessive thoughts, paranoia , and psychosis ." These symptoms are so widespread among individuals held in solitary that some psychiatrists have labeled them "SHU Syndrome," with SHU standing for Special Housing Unit or Security Housing Unit. In
3040-742: The Texas death row before being exonerated in 2010, described the lasting effects of solitary in his testimony for the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights : Solitary confinement does one thing, it breaks a man's will to live and he ends up deteriorating. He's never the same person again… I have been free for almost two years and I still cry at night, because no one out here can relate to what I have gone through. I battle with feelings of loneliness. I've tried therapy but it didn't work. The therapist
3116-476: The United Kingdom, 29 children died in penal custody between 1990 and 2006: "Some 41% of the children in custody were officially designated as being vulnerable". That is attributed to the fact that isolation and physical restraint are used as the first response to punish them for simple rule infractions. Moreover, Frances Crook argues that these punitive policies not only violate their basic rights but also leave
Thomas Silverstein - Misplaced Pages Continue
3192-531: The United States female prison population, but 42.1 percent of the U.S. female prison population held in solitary. Another study found that 11 percent of all Black men born in Pennsylvania between 1986 and 1989 had been held in solitary by the age of 32. Disparities in the use of solitary have also been found to exist for LGBTQ+ people, Latinos, and Native Americans. The disproportionate use of solitary on marginalized groups has been attributed to racism and other forms of discrimination which are exacerbated by
3268-504: The United States in the late 1700s among religious groups like the Quakers , who thought isolation would promote repentance and rehabilitation . Though the practice fell out of use in the early 1900s, it experienced a resurgence during the tough on crime era in the 1980s and 1990s. This period also saw the construction of supermax prisons, which typically house individuals in indefinite solitary confinement consisting of upwards of 22 hours
3344-586: The United States on any given day. A report from the Liman Center at Yale Law School found that between 41,000 and 48,000 individuals were held daily in solitary confinement in state and federal prisons for 15 days or more in 2021, with over 6,000 individuals found to have been held in solitary for over a year. Since 2009, there have been legislative efforts in numerous states to ban the use of solitary confinement for vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, and LGBTQ+ people, as well as to end
3420-549: The cell of another inmate, Randy Gometz. Gometz passed a homemade prison knife to Silverstein and unlocked Silverstein's handcuffs with a homemade key. Silverstein then attacked Clutts, stabbing him multiple times. Silverstein later claimed that he murdered Clutts in retaliation for Clutts' deliberately harassing him. Among other things, Clutts was accused of destroying paintings by Silverstein. BOP (Bureau of Prisons) confiscates artwork when it depicts murder. A few hours later, Clayton Fountain (also an Aryan Brotherhood member) used
3496-530: The children mentally unstable and left with illnesses that are often ignored. Overall, the solitary confinement of youth is considered to be counterproductive because the "restrictive environment... and intense regulation of children" aggravates them, instead of addressing the issue of rehabilitation. Solitary confinement is colloquially referred to in British English as "the block", "The Segregation Unit" or "the cooler". Solitary confinement first arose in
3572-458: The control unit, prison logs show that he began trying to kill Silverstein. "I tried to tell Cadillac that I didn't kill Chappelle, but he didn't believe me and he bragged that he was going to kill me," Silverstein recalled. "Everyone knew what was going on and no one did anything to keep us apart. The guards wanted one of us to kill the other." Silverstein and Clayton Fountain killed Smith with improvised weapons, stabbing him 67 times. After Smith
3648-441: The correctional environment. People of color may be more likely to be perceived as threatening and consequently receive more disciplinary tickets that land them in solitary; LGBTQ+ individuals may be placed in solitary as protective custody (either voluntarily or involuntarily) to prevent them from being assaulted or otherwise victimized. Notably, some transgender individuals have stated that they would rather risk their safety in
3724-619: The design of the federal supermax prison , the United States Penitentiary, Florence: Administrative Maximum Facility (USP Florence ADMAX) in Colorado, which opened in 1994 and was built to house the most dangerous inmates in the federal prison system. Silverstein and Gometz were both held at ADX Florence. Fountain died in 2004 at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. During
3800-450: The family lived, in part because his peers mistakenly believed he was Jewish. Virginia Silverstein demanded that her son fight back, telling the boy that if he ever came home again crying because he had been beaten up by a bully, she would be waiting to give him another beating. Silverstein states, "That's how my mom was. She stood her mud. If someone came at you with a bat, you got your bat and you both went at it." At age fourteen, Silverstein
3876-408: The general jail population. While 7.3 percent of jail stays included any time in solitary, 53.3 percent of acts of self-harm and 45 percent of acts of potentially fatal self harm took place among people who had spent time in solitary during their stay. Incarcerated individuals who attempt self-harm or suicide are often placed on suicide watch , an intensive form of isolation and monitoring often in
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#17330844694173952-508: The general prison population than being held in the isolation of protective custody. As Angela J. Hattery and Earl Smith have written, "Solitary confinement is a place where [the] racial history [of the United States] is on full display... Not only are the majority of the staff white and the majority of the prisoners Black and brown, but the very premise of solitary confinement relies on the foundation of white supremacy on which this country
4028-401: The intense anxiety and sensory deprivation caused by isolation, and often worsen with repeated visits to solitary. Studies have shown that solitary confinement also has a marked effect on the human brain . fMRI scans have found that social isolation causes brain activity nearly identical to hunger cravings, and that it activates the same regions of the brain as physical pain. Furthermore,
4104-431: The mess deck in the mess hall. Fountain later had two years added to his sentence for aggravated assault and attempted escape. Fountain was sentenced to life imprisonment , and was ultimately sent to the United States Penitentiary, Marion , which was at the time the highest-security prison in the United States. Fountain murdered three prisoners and one correctional officer with a shiv while serving time at Marion, and
4180-476: The period of confinement is longer than a few weeks or is continued indefinitely. In October 2011, attorney and activist Juan E. Méndez , then the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment , called on all countries to eliminate the practice except in "very exceptional circumstances and for as short a time as possible," with
4256-532: The possible psychological and physiological effects of solitary dates back to the 1830s. When the new prison discipline of separate confinement was introduced at Eastern State Penitentiary as part of the "Pennsylvania" or separate system in 1829, commentators attributed the high rate of mental breakdown to the system of isolating prisoners in their cells. Charles Dickens , who visited the Philadelphia Penitentiary during his travels to America, described
4332-557: The prison system already diagnosed with a mental illness, solitary confinement can significantly worsen their condition. Incarcerated individuals with mental health conditions often " decompensate in isolation, requiring crisis care or psychiatric hospitalization." The lack of human contact and sensory deprivation that characterize solitary confinement have been shown to cause permanent or semi-permanent changes to brain physiology. Alterations to brain physiology can lead individuals to commit suicide or self-harm . A major issue within
4408-671: The prison system in general, and solitary confinement in particular, is the high number of incarcerated individuals who turn to self-harm . Such self-harm can include, but is not limited to, cutting, head-banging, and swallowing foreign objects. A 2014 study of New York City jail admissions published in the American Journal of Public Health found that, after controlling for length of jail stay, age, race/ethnicity, and mental illness status, individuals placed in solitary confinement were 6.9 times more likely to commit self-harm and 6.3 times more likely to commit potentially fatal self-harm than
4484-633: The prison. He was sentenced to life and transferred to the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois ( USP Marion ), which was then a high-security facility. The conviction was overturned in 1985 after it emerged that the jailhouse informants who testified at his trial had perjured themselves on the stand. At Marion, Silverstein was housed in the "Control Unit", a virtual solitary confinement regime reserved for extreme "management problems" (prisoners prone to assaultive and disruptive behavior) in
4560-476: The prison. Thomas Silverstein spent his time in solitary confinement with a constant ceiling light, ensuring uninterrupted camera surveillance. He was allowed only two phone calls per month and received his meals through a slot. In 1981, Silverstein was accused of the murder of Robert Chappelle, a member of the D.C. Blacks prison gang. Silverstein and another inmate, Clayton Fountain , were convicted and Silverstein received an additional life sentence. He avoided
4636-557: The same facility. The incidents resulted in a 23-year lockdown at Marion, and contributed to the creation of the federal supermax prison , United States Penitentiary, Florence ADX . Fountain was moved to the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri . He was housed in a specially constructed confinement unit, and was allowed contact only with authorized personnel. Fountain converted to Catholicism, and completed several educational courses on theology during
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#17330844694174712-457: The same strategy to kill correction officer Robert Hoffmann. USP Marion was subsequently placed on an indefinite lockdown, which ultimately lasted for 23 years. Following the murder of Clutts, Silverstein was transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta , where he was placed in solitary confinement. His security status was recorded as "no human contact." The events surrounding the murders of correction officers Clutts and Hoffmann inspired
4788-461: The sensory deprivation of solitary has been found to cause reduced electroencephalography (EEG) frequency on brain scans. The part of the brain that plays a major role in memory has been shown to physically shrink after long periods without human interaction. One study that placed adult rats in solitary-like conditions found that, after a month in isolation, the rats' neurons had shrunk by 20 percent. Some sociologists argue that prisons create
4864-554: The treatment of prisoners, prohibit placements in solitary beyond 15 consecutive days. Clayton Fountain Clayton Anthony Fountain (September 12, 1955 – July 12, 2004) was an American federal prisoner, member of the Aryan Brotherhood , and murderer. Clayton was born on September 12, 1955, at the U.S. Army Hospital in Fort Benning, Georgia . He was the oldest of six children, having one brother and four sisters, and
4940-482: The twenty years he spent in virtual isolation. He remotely earned an associate degree in business and a bachelor's degree in philosophy and business from Ohio University , and earned a Catholic Catechetical Diploma and began a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from Catholic Distance University . He developed ties with an order of Trappist monks , and was accepted posthumously as a lay brother after his death from
5016-600: The use of long-term solitary confinement. In 2020, New Jersey passed the Isolated Confinement Restriction Act, which bans the use of solitary beyond 20 consecutive days. As of June 2023, New York, Connecticut, and Nevada have passed legislation banning the use of solitary beyond 15 consecutive days, bringing their use of isolation in line with the United Nations' Mandela Rules . In July 2023, United States Representative Cori Bush (D-Mo.) introduced
5092-710: Was 15 percent higher than that of their counterparts in the general prison population. The recidivism rate was even higher among people who were released directly from supermax into the community, at 69 percent. The legality of solitary confinement has been frequently challenged over the past sixty years as conceptions surrounding the practice have changed. Much of the legal discussion concerning solitary confinement has centered on whether or not it constitutes torture or cruel and unusual punishment . While international law has generally begun to discourage solitary confinement's use in penal institutions, opponents of solitary confinement have been less successful at challenging it within
5168-479: Was born in Long Beach, California , to Virginia Conway. Conway had divorced her first husband in 1952 while pregnant with Silverstein and married Thomas Conway, whom Silverstein claimed was his biological father. Four years later, Virginia divorced Conway and married Sid Silverstein, who legally adopted her son. Silverstein was timid, awkward, shy, and frequently bullied as a child in the middle-class neighborhood where
5244-664: Was built." The headquarters for the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) in Plaza Venezuela , Caracas , have an underground detention facility that has been dubbed La Tumba (The Tomb). The facility is located at the place that the underground parking for the Metro Caracas was to be located. The cells are two by three meters that have a cement bed, white walls, security cameras, no windows, and barred doors, with cells aligned next to one another so that there
5320-439: Was crying more than me. She couldn't believe that our system was putting men through this sort of inhumane treatment. According to numerous studies, any amount of time in solitary confinement can increase the risk of recidivism after release. A 2007 matched control study of Washington State prisons found that people in the study cohort who spent time in supermax prisons had a 3-year felony recidivism rate of 53 percent, which
5396-427: Was dead, they dragged his body up and down the catwalk in front of the cells, displaying it to other prisoners. Silverstein received another life sentence. On October 22, 1983, Silverstein killed correction officer Merle Clutts at USP Marion. After being let out of his cell for a shower, Silverstein used a ruse to get Clutts to walk ahead of him and positioned himself between Clutts and other officers. He stopped outside
5472-606: Was labeled the "Most Dangerous Prisoner" in the federal system. Fountain and another inmate, Hugh Colomb, who was serving a 25-year sentence for armed bank robbery, were convicted of voluntary manslaughter and conveying a weapon in prison and had 15 years added to their sentences. Colomb was released from prison in 2015. He died on June 21, 2016, at the age of 62. On October 22, 1983, Fountain stabbed correction officer Robert L. Hoffmann to death, hours after Fountain's friend and fellow Aryan Brotherhood member Thomas Silverstein stabbed another correction officer, Merle Clutts, to death at
5548-492: Was less than $ 11,000 (~$ 53,000 when adjusted for inflation in 2022). In 1977, Silverstein was sentenced to fifteen years for armed robbery, to be served at United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas . While at Leavenworth, Silverstein developed ties with the Aryan Brotherhood . In 1980, Silverstein was convicted of the murder of inmate Danny Atwell, who reportedly refused to serve as a mule for heroin being moved through
5624-461: Was named after his father, Clayton Raleigh Fountain. The family moved every 1½ to 2 years. While his father served combat tours in Korea and Vietnam and his mother was working, Clayton, as the oldest child in family, became a surrogate for both parents when he was very young. He recalled maternal responsibilities for cooking, ironing, serving, cleaning, and caring for his young siblings. While serving in
5700-492: Was sentenced to a California Youth Authority reformatory where, he said, his attitudes about violence were reinforced. "Anyone not willing to fight was abused." In 1971, at age nineteen, Silverstein was sent to San Quentin Prison in California for armed robbery . Four years later, he was paroled , but he was arrested soon after along with his father, Thomas Conway, and his cousin, Gerald Hoff, for three armed robberies. Their take
5776-567: Was used 7,889 times. 54 out of 85,509 prisoners held in England and Wales in 2015 were placed in solitary confinement cells in Close Supervision Centres (Shalev & Edgar, 2015:149), England and Wales' version of the US 'Supermax'. The use of solitary confinement on juveniles and children, as elsewhere, has been a subject of contention. Critics argue that, in the United Kingdom, the state has
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