Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
20 to 40 percent of the U.S. prison population will spend time in restricted housing units--or solitary confinement. These separate units within prisons have enhanced security measures, and thousands of staff control and monitor residents. Though commonly assumed to be punishment for only the most dangerous behaviors, in reality, these units may also be used in response to minor infractions. Surviving Solitary offers an unprecedented look inside RHUs--and a resounding call to more vigorously confront the intentions and realities of these structures.
Danielle S. Rudes gives readers a first-hand perspective from residents living and staff working within RHUs in seven U.S. prisons. These voices highlight the surprising similarities across their experiences, as well as the telling differences. Residents and staff alike speak of the indelible harms they face--for residents it is a dramatically increased risk to their safety masked in arbitrary and ambiguous rules, regulation, containment, and correction, and the ever-fading possibility of returning to their families or reentering the general population. For staff, it is a receding distinction between themselves and the residents they supervise, as well as profound consequences to their personal lives.
Surviving Solitary narrates the persistent, systematic damage RHUs inflict upon those living and working inside, making the case that we must prioritize improvement over harm. Residents uniformly call for more humane and dignified treatment. Staff yearn for more expansive control. But, as Rudes shows, there also remains fierce resilience among residents and staff and across the communities they forge--and a perpetual hope that they may have a different future.
Synopsis
A deeper look than ever before at the pervasive harms endured and hope experienced by both residents and staff within restricted housing units in prisons.