One Advantage To The Superman Prisons example essay topic

'Supermax' is short for 'super-maximum security. ' It is a place designed to house violent prisoners or prisoners who might threaten the security of the guards or other prisoners. Some prisons that are not designed as superman prisons have 'control units' in which conditions are similar. The theory is that solitary confinement and sensory deprivation will bring about behavior modifications. In general, Supermax prisoners are locked into small cells for approximately 23 hours a day.

They have almost no contact with other human beings. There are no group activities: no work, no educational opportunities, no eating together, no sports, no getting together with other people for religious services, and no attempts at rehabilitation. There are no contact visits: prisoners sit behind a glass window. Phone calls and visitation privileges are strictly limited. Books and magazines may be denied and pens are also restricted for the fact that it could be turned into a weapon. TV and radios may be prohibited or, if allowed, they would be controlled by guards.

Prisoners have little or no personal privacy. Guards monitor the inmates' movements by video cameras. Communication between prisoners and control booth officers is mostly through the vents. An officer at a control center may be able to monitor cells and corridors and control all doors electronically.

Typically, the cells have no windows. Lights are controlled by guards who may leave them on night and day. For exercise there is usually only a room with high concrete walls with one tiny window opening on the ceiling. Showers are only allowed during the one hour that you do not have to remain in your cell and even then you can not take them everyday.

Prisoners are confined to a concrete world in which they never see a blade of grass, earth, trees or any part of the natural world. All of these imagines were presented in the movie Solitary Confinement. The movie Solitary Confinement portrayed a very vivid picture of what the superman prison is all about. A superman prison is truly a prison within a prison. 2.

I believe that this type of facility is so popular today because this is how society imagines prison to be. When I hear that someone went to prison, I imagine them living like they do in the super maxis. I do not expect the prisoners to have any freedom what-so-ever while they are in prison. That is supposed to be the point in having prisons. If you deny a person their freedom by locking them up behind bars, then you should stick to your word and deny them the freedom to choose their activities. I am not saying that we should not let them do activities, but that freedom of choice should be taken away so that it really hits home to them that they absolutely have no freedom at all.

Although I like to think that the super maxis are just a fad, I think that they are here to stay. Way too many people have invested in the super maxi's so that would be a lot of money wasted if we eventually closed them all down. Many people like the idea that prisoners are locked up twenty three hours a day and are constantly shackled with no access to the outside world. One advantage to the superman prisons is that we can isolate problem offenders in one facility. In the movie, we see that many people that are now in the super maxi's are in there because of gang violence. By attempting to get rid of the "problem prisoners" in the prison, the peace might be less likely to be disturbed.

Another advantage is that the officers know exactly what each one of the prisoners is doing at all times. In other prisons, it is easy to go unnoticed while doing certain things. In a superman, you are not allowed to go anywhere except for the exercise room so the guards know exactly what the prisoners are doing every second of the day. One disadvantage is the controversy that the super maxis bring along with it. Many prisoners that were once held in super maxis believe that it was too harsh. Going twenty three hours a day in the same cell without any recreation of any kind can make a person go crazy.

Many people have argued that it is not psychologically healthy. Another disadvantage of the super maxis is that when you are in the she, you are in there for an indefinite amount of time. If you were wrongly convicted of an action that has taken place in prison and you are placed in the she, you are not allowed to leave unless you admit to the prison who else was involved in the act with you. If you never debrief to the officers, you will never get out of the she. Although I personally believe that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, the majority of the people believe the opposite. The majority of the people think that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

That is why the super maxis are so popular. If people did not like them, then they would not exist. Supermaxi's are in a high demand today and if it continues the way it has been going in recent years, the super maxis are the prisons of the future.