Prison Fellowship

  • DONATE
    • One-Time
    • Monthly
    • Angel Tree
    • Other Ways to Give
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Volunteer
    • Subscribe
    • Angel Tree Christmas
    • Start a Fundraiser
    • Pray With Us
    • Justice Action Center
    • Share on Social
  • STORIES
    • Stories
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • The Restoration Series [Videos]
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Why Help Prisoners?
    • What We Do
    • In-Prison
      • Prison Fellowship Academy
      • In-Prison Programs
      • Hope Events
      • Inside Journal
      • Women’s Ministry
      • Create: New Beginnings
    • Angel Tree
      • Register your church or group for Angel Tree
      • Prison Fellowship Angel Tree
      • Angel Tree Christmas
      • Angel Tree Camping
      • Angel Tree Sports Camps
    • Justice Reform
      • Justice Reform
      • Second Chance Month
      • News & Updates
      • Sign the Justice Declaration
      • Get a Copy of Outrageous Justice
    • Warden Exchange
    • Church Partners
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Preparing Prisoners for Reentry
  • RESOURCES
    • Subscribe to Our Email
    • Support for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Resources for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Coping with Incarceration
      • Resources for Prisoners
      • Resources for Children of Prisoners
      • Supporting Successful Prisoner Reentry
    • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • In-Prison Ministry
      • Reentry Ministry
      • Family Ministry
      • Justice Reform
      • Mentoring Ministry
    • Resources for Angel Tree Coordinators
    • Resources for Chaplains
    • Resources for D.O.C.
    • Justice Reform Resources
    • Share on Social
    • For Media Outlets
  • ABOUT US
    • Leadership
    • Chuck Colson
      • About Chuck Colson
      • The Charles Colson Hope Awards
    • Our Beliefs
    • Financials
      • Financials
      • 2022 Annual Report
    • Employment
    • Contact Us
    • In The News

Living Life in ‘The Hole’

October 5, 2016 by Emily Andrews

When the Washington State DOC’s former chief Bernard Warner describes solitary confinement, he doesn’t sugarcoat it. “I saw firsthand the conditions and environment in those housing units,” he tells TakePart.com. “It was pretty horrific.”

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that around 20 percent of prisoners have spent time in solitary confinement.  At any given time in the U.S., there may be anywhere from 25,000 to 80,000 people kept in some form of isolation—often known as “ad-seg” (short for “administrative segregation), “the hole,” “the SHU” (segregated housing unit)—according to a 2015 assessment from the Yale Law School and the Association of State Correctional Administrators.

Living Life in The HoleTypically, it has been defended solely as a protective measure, as the “worst” prisoners are tucked away from the rest. But Lance Lowry, a Texas sergeant of correctional officers, admits that most prisoners are not Hannibal Lecters.

The excessive use of segregated housing has raised questions surrounding the safety and well-being of those in isolated units—both the prisoners and the officers assigned to them.

“When you cut out social interaction, you’re dealing with a person who has nothing to lose,” Lowry explains, “and that’s extremely dangerous.”

Self-harm, panic attacks, and hallucinations are just a few risks associated with prolonged isolation. The method has also been shown to exacerbate mental illness and increase the risk of suicide.

Executive director of the Colorado DOC Rick Raemisch says isolated prisoners are often so “scared, dehumanized, and desocialized” that they resist reentering the general population unit.

Raemisch once spent 20 hours in solitary just to write about it. Believing in the need for reform, he began an assessment: Who was in solitary? Why were they there? What kinds of programs would help them transition back out of isolation?

Lowry, Raemisch, and Warner are joining a nationwide movement to see a more constructive culture in America’s prisons. Warner, for instance, has helped develop programs to encourage healthy transitions out of solitary, even turning an ad-seg utility closet into a classroom. “We haven’t had any assaults in these classrooms,” he says.

Raemisch and Warner agree that there are always exceptions, and not everyone can coexist safely in the general prison population. Raemisch asserts that kind of prisoner is practically one in 20,000.

“But that doesn’t mean you give up on him,” says Raemisch. “You keep trying.”

Prison Fellowship advocates for the creation of a safe, constructive prison culture, affording dignity to all those who find themselves inside prison walls. In some instances, that goal necessitates the removal of individuals who pose a threat to others. But we hope that solitary confinement would be a last resort, and a temporary one at that—a form of intervention that includes a clear path back to the general prison population. Every prisoner is a person created in the image of God, and we must not overlook their God-given need for fellowship.

For more information about solitary confinement, and Prison Fellowship’s efforts to limit excessive use of the practice, click here. And to keep up-to-date on what Prison Fellowship is doing to create a constructive prison culture in corrections facilities across the country, and to learn how you can get involved, sign up to be a part of our advocacy network.

 

Filed Under: Feature Stories, Prison & Prisoners Tagged With: Colorado, Lance Lowry, Rick Raemisch, SHU, Solitary Confinement, takepart.com, Washington

SELECT A TOPIC

  • Advocacy & Reentry
  • Angel Tree
  • Families of Prisoners
  • Feature Stories
  • From the CEO
  • Hope Events
  • Inside Journal
  • Press Releases
  • Prison & Prisoners
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Prison Fellowship International
  • Prison Fellowship News & Updates
  • Reentry
  • Second Chance Month
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • Warden Exchange

MOST POPULAR

Prison Fellowship Statement on Tyre Nichols

January 28, 2023

Prison Fellowship Responds to Inaction on Crack Cocaine Sentencing at Close of the 117th Congress

December 20, 2022

Criminal Justice Reform Achievements

December 16, 2022

LATEST VIDEOS

WATCH ALL VIDEOS

JOIN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
LINKEDIN
PF®
PFM®

RECOMMENDED LINKS

  • Ways to Donate
  • Inspirational Stories
  • Angel Tree Program
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Justice Reform

RESOURCES

  • For Families & Friends of Prisoners
  • For Churches & Angel Tree Volunteers
  • For Media Outlets
  • Warden Exchange

JOIN RESTORATION PARTNERS AND WITNESS GOD RESTORE LIVES

Restoration Partners give monthly to bring life-changing prison ministry programs to incarcerated men and women across the country.

 

JOIN NOW
  • CONTACT US
  • EMPLOYMENT
  • PRIVACY
  • FINANCIALS
© 2023 PRISON FELLOWSHIP®

Angel Tree®, Angel Tree Camping®, Angel Tree Sports ClinicTM, Angel Tree Sports CampsTM, and Warden Exchange® are programs of Prison Fellowship®.