Ironies of Supermax Confinement

• In Event: Hyper-Surveilance and Confinement: Then and Now

Abstract

Ironies of Supermax Confinement

Throughout much of American history, incarceration has been used to punish many serious offenses of the law. Recently, the use of confinement has escalated to such a degree that it is often termed mass incarceration. In response to the increased difficulty of managing a rapidly growing inmate population, imprisonment in supermax prisons has become a normalized practice in the United States. The general assumption is that these facilities are generally reserved to punish society's most dangerous offenders. Critics argue that supermax confinement is often used arbitrarily in ways that are contrary to proposed goals of confinement. Proponents of supermax contend that such confinement is necessary to guarantee safety of inmates and personnel when dealing with the worst criminals in our society. This paper will assess the history of supermax confinement in the United States with considerable attention to the efficacy of this practice. Additionally, issues related to the ambiguity of defining supermax confinement and whether such confinement accomplishes proposed objectives will be examined. In doing so, this analysis will highlight numerous ironies associated with imprisonment in these facilities and suggest strategies for more equitable practices.

Author

• James Mack Arthur Pitts, University of Southern Mississippi