Solitary ConfinementTop of Mind with Julie Rose • Season 1, Episode 47, Segment 4
Apr 21, 2015 • 14m
Guest: Robert Morris
Solitary confinement is one of the toughest punishments prisons have to discipline offenders. It usually means keeping a prisoner in a small cell for 23 hours a day, denied all human contact.
And new research by criminologist Robert Morris finds it doesn't work - at least if the goal is to get prisoners to straighten up and stop acting out behind bars.
"We’ve discovered there’s no deterrent benefit from exposing inmates to solitary confinement following a violent act and we also don’t find an aggravating effect," says Morris.