Saturday, February 18, 2012

Sensory Deprivation

http://law.wustl.edu/journal/22/p325grassian.pdf

The Specific Psychiatric Syndrome Associated with Solitary Confinement.

a. Hyperresponsivity to External Stimuli: More than half the prisoners reported a progressive inability to tolerate ordinary stimuli.

b. Perceptual Distortions, Illusions, and Hallucinations: Almost a third of the prisoners described hearing voices, often in whispers and often saying frightening things to them.

c. Panic Attacks: Well over half the inmates interviewed described severe panic attacks while in SHU.

d. Difficulties with Thinking, Concentration, and Memory.

e. Intrusive Obsessional Thoughts.

f. Overt Paranoia: Almost half the prisoners interviewed reported paranoid and persecutory fears. Some of these persecutory fears were short of overt psychotic disorganization.

g. Problems with Impulse Control: Slightly less than half of the prisoners reported episodes of loss of impulse control with random violence:

I snap off the handle over absolutely nothing. Have torn up mail and pictures, throw things around. Try to control it. Know it only hurts myself." Several of these prisoners reported impulsive self-mutilation; "I cut my wrists many times in isolation. Now it seems crazy. But every time I did it, I wasn't thinking—lost control—cut myself without knowing what I was doing."





A little more than 30 days in the hole


Thanks to A.C and Grump for the info

from- http://www.mansondirect.com

Charles Manson Placed in Solitary Confinement at Age 77
CORCORAN, Feb. 10, 2012 – On October 4, 2011, officials at the California State Prison in Corcoran moved Charles Manson to the Security Housing Unit (SHU), also known as “the hole”.

Manson has been sentenced to more than a year in solitary confinement, based on the allegation that he was in possession of a “deadly weapon”.

The alleged weapon was a wire from a pair of eye-glasses. Friends of Manson claim this recent decision by prison officials is yet another act of discrimination, since the item in question, although technically a rule violation, is commonly modified and used as a craft tool by inmates throughout the prison.

In solitary confinement (SHU), Manson is held in a cell for 23 hours a day and denied basic privileges such as packages, phone access, contact visits, and normal human interaction. Considering his advanced age, friends are expressing great concern for Manson’s health and well-being.

If you would like to protest Charles Manson’s 15 month sentence to solitary confinement, and express your concern about the conditions under which he is being held, you can write a letter to the state employees listed below. Posting by certified mail will help to hold these bureaucrats to account.

Warden Connie Gipson, Counselor T. Wyman- CCI and Counselor Supervisor R. Broomfield- CCII can be addressed to the same P.O. Box:

CSP-Corcoran
P.O. Box 8800
Corcoran, CA
93212

Office of the Ombudsman
Jean Weiss, Ombudsperson for CSP-Corcoran
1515 S Street, Room 124 South
Sacramento, CA
95811


A.C 's comments

Well, some news... Charles is sentenced to a year in Security Housing Unit (solitary confinement) for having a scary, dangerous, life-threatening weapon... a piece of wire from inside a pair of eyeglasses. Yes, really.

A 77 year old guy with emphasema might be able to pin-poke another inmate while standing in the chow line. Frightening yeah?

So same 77 year old is thrown into solitary, no contact visits, no phone, no guitar, only outside for one hour per day. For a year. BTW Amnesty International has declared SHU to be cruel and unusual punishment.