Total confinement - Term Paper Example

Such units are meant for aggressive inmates. Generally, the units are single-cell, and are designed for confining inmates for up to 23-hours in one day over extremely period of time. Inmates in control units are mainly barred from enjoying normal contact with prison officials and fellow inmates. In contrast, the definition of a control unit is still debatable, since different countries have their own ways of categorizing prisons as Supermax (Rhodes, 2004). However, there are some general features which apply across board as far as Supermax prisons are concerned.

Firstly, Supermax prisons provide long-term imprisonment of convicts. Once a criminal convict has been transferred to a control unit, he or she is expected to serve their sentence for several decades or indefinitely. Secondly, prison wardens and the administrators are at liberty to exercise high-handedness in their effort to exalt punishment on or in management of inmates (Rhodes, 2004). Any decisions made by the administrators or guards working in control units are final. Thirdly, Supermax prisons provide limited opportunities for inmate activities.

The administrators limit entertainment, education, and recovery plans from substance abuse. In a nutshell, control units deviate from the generally rehabilitative culture of other prison facilities. Finally, inmates in Supermax prisoners are segregated from other prisoners, and as such, they are in solitary confinement. Supermax Prisons are primarily meant for intensive, and permanent solitary confinement purposes, which essentially deprives the inmates some of their human rights. The segregation policy is designed to inflict punishment upon the prisoners and safeguard them from causing self-harm or injury to others.

Supermax inmates are allowed limited interaction with individuals from outside, perhaps because such interactions may heighten their criminal behaviour. In control units, inmates are normally permitted