Segregation in Prisons, Disciplinary

Disciplinary segregation—often referred to as solitary confinement—is a type of restricted housing used in many prisons and jails throughout the United States. The practice of segregation involves the housing of an inmate in conditions characterized by substantial isolation from other inmates. Some claim that disciplinary segregation is a necessary tool for increasing safety and promoting order throughout the correctional system because it deters criminal activity, whereas others insist that the practice actually increases institutional misbehavior, thereby making institutions and the individuals inside them less safe. Many moral, ethical, and legal concerns are raised with the use of this correctional practice. This entry discusses several of the current issues surrounding the contemporary use of disciplinary segregation in the United States.

Disciplinary Segregation

In practice, correctional institutions segregate inmates ...

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