Hoo-RA for prison

http://us.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=26048&content=90264149&pageNum=-1


I believe that this is an example of showing how American  prison systems are flawed ; not only is are justice system flawed it has been empirically proven but the practice of solitary confinement is a cruel and unsual punishment. The closest concept that reflects entrapping the human body from the outside world in the history of man was the completely  enclosed iron maiden.  This shows that the Philadelphia  society for alleviating the misery of thr public had good intentions but began to produce men that would loose their mind when they were trapped in four walls isolated. 

Prison systems are relatively new concept and we are finally able to track in detail the scope of mental deterioration from solitary confinement.  This article is proof that the our government understands the powerful negative effects, seeing that this is our highest settlement given to a mistaken prisoner. The initial settlement was 22 million but New Mexico is now appealing it to 12 million; still this is recorded as the largest civil rights settlement.

Regardless of the countless documentaries by National Geographic and NBC news, our American justice system still employs this method. We save the solitary confinement cells for those that we believe to be most dangerous in a prison environment. It has been proven that these men in solitary become more aggressive and alien to human contact. This disconnection from society seems contradictory to the soul concept a prison. It is a behavioral correctional facility.  It is suppose to take and correct the crime filled behavior of these inmates, not exacerbate the problem. There are also empirical evidence that people who serve out there sentences are likely to return back to jail within a year, and the rates are even higher for those that spent more than six months in solitary confinement. 

I'm not proposing a solution to the problem. However, I am proposing that we take a second look at how this cycle of prisoners returning back to jail can be broken. I believe this calls for us to look at what cycles and oppression is happening in our society and not be afraid to call for change. I hope that we won't be afraid to admit that the American euphemism, "that the way things always been" can be forgotten and move forward. We built our country at a specific time for a specific time. We live in a completely different world than 1776 and we must be able to adapt to it.