The U.S. supermax solitary-confinement model is spreading worldwide

Evidence

“F-Type” prisons in Turkey were inspired by the recent emergence of the super-maximum security—or supermax— prison in the United States, which presumes to control otherwise unmanageable prisoners by holding them in permanent solitary confinement and by subjecting them to varying degrees of sensory deprivation. In its 2002 World Report, Human Rights Watch paid particular attention to the concerns raised by the spread of ultra-modern “super-maximum” security prisons. Originally prevalent in the United States … the supermax model was increasingly followed in other countries. Prisoners confined in such facilities spent an average of twenty-three hours a day in their cells, enduring extreme social isolation, enforced idleness, and extraordinarily limited recreational and educational opportunities. — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 269

Categorization

• XREF: Supermax as sensory deprivation echoes earlier chapters on isolation; the 23-hours-a-day stat is a concrete anchor. — connects to: Post-apartheid South Africa embraced the U.S. supermax prison model — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 272; Supermax confinement in practice catches arbitrarily designated prisoners, not only the most dangerous — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 270; The United States dominates a global prison economy and punishment style — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 267

Related

• The United States dominates a global prison economy and punishment style (similarity 0.84)
• Supermax confinement in practice catches arbitrarily designated prisoners, not only the most dangerous (similarity 0.82)
• Post-apartheid South Africa embraced the U.S. supermax prison model (similarity 0.81)
• Turkish prisoners death-fasted against U.S.-style cell isolation, and fifty died (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• The United States dominates a global prison economy and punishment style #corroborates (0.80) — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 267