The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

''The people who end up in 'supermax' prisons tend to be emotionally disjointed and behaviorally have a real difficult time with themselves,'' said Dr. Stuart Grassian, a former Harvard University professor who has written articles on the psychiatric effects of solitary confinement. ''Putting them in these environments makes it phenomenally worse.''

Former inmate Bob Dellelo, who served 40 years in a Massachusetts prison, described living in solitary confinement as ''maddening.'' Dellelo was convicted in 1964 for his part in a jewelry store robbery that resulted in the death of a police detective. He later was allowed to change his plea to a lesser manslaughter charge and was released on parole in 2003.

Dellelo, who now lives in Revere, served five years in a segregation unit at Walpole State Prison as punishment for escaping from the Old Colony Correctional Center in 1993.

''I thought I was losing my mind,'' he said.

The ACLU's lawsuits allege that even the healthiest of inmates succumb to mental illness if they are only allowed minimal human contact, recreation or programming.

A complaint filed against the Connecticut Department of Correction in August 2003 said some prisoners at the Northern Correctional Institute are ''subjected to social isolation and sensory deprivation that approach the limits of human endurance.'' They lash out by swallowing razors, smashing their heads into walls or cutting their flesh, the lawsuit claims.

Connecticut prisons spokesman Brian Garnett said many inmates at Northern are allowed to participate in programs, such as anger management. Prisoners can also earn their way back into the general prison population, he said.

A similar lawsuit filed last month in Indiana blamed the deaths of four mentally ill inmates on isolated prison conditions at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility.

''These places are restrictive, oppressive and destructive environments,'' said David Fathi, an attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project.

But those who work within the correction system say isolated confinement is a necessity for violent prisoners who pose a threat to other inmates and staff.

Three correctional officers have been killed by prisoners who are now living in segregated units in Michigan's Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility, said Leo Lalonde, a spokesman for the state's Department of Correction.

''So I mean these people have demonstrated through their behavior that they deserve to be locked up 23 1/2 hours a day,'' Lalonde said. ''They have shown us that they are not willing participants to get the programming and to get rehabilitated. That's the thinking.''

Fathi estimates that in the 1990s, more than 30 states operated so-called ''superma''x prisons - maximum-security facilities that keep inmates isolated for long stretches.

But in recent years, both Virginia and Michigan have converted supermax units to regular maximum security prisons, and Maryland has announced plans to transfer most of its supermax inmates to other facilities by the end of the year.

Connecticut agreed last March that it would no longer keep seriously mentally ill inmates in the segregation program unless the state deems it absolutely necessary. The agreement has not been put into effect because the two sides are still deciding how to monitor compliance. A federal judge must also approve the agreement.

Charles Cabone, a human rights attorney in California, attributes the trend to the hefty price tag that comes with such restrictive prisons. He said they tend to be much more expensive since paid employees maintain the facility instead of inmates and prison trusties. The California Prison Focus organization estimates that a super maximum-security prison in California costs $57,000 per prisoner per year, compared to $26,000 per inmate in a regular prison.

''There's also going to be a cost increase because of all these mental health issues,'' Cabone said. ''It costs money to take care of these prisoners.''
Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, MA

On the Net: http://www.aclu.org/Prisons/