Death row solitary confinement and constitutional considerations.

Decades in Death’s Twilight

New Criminal Law Review An International and Interdisciplinary Journal ◽

10.1525/nclr.2019.22.2.140 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 140-163

Author(s):

Emily Gray

Keyword(s):

The United States ◽

Solitary Confinement ◽

Death Sentence ◽

Death Row ◽

Entire Duration ◽

Eighth Amendment ◽

The Supreme Court ◽

Death Row Inmates ◽

History Of

The average amount of time that death row inmates spend on death row has ballooned over the past decade, and for death row inmates in the state of Texas, the entire duration of that increased time will be spent in solitary confinement. This raises the following question: Is solitary confinement now considered to be part of the punishment, one that may be worse than the death penalty itself? This article discusses the history of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons and cites scientific literature which posits that long-term solitary confinement can cause serious psychological damage. It examines “death row syndrome,” a term that refers to the psychological illness or disorder exhibited by an inmate who has spent a prolonged period of time in harsh conditions on death row. The article reviews the Polunsky Unit, which currently houses Texas’s death row and has been described as one of the worst prisons in the United States. The article also discusses the long history of Lackey claims, which allege that prolonged confinements under a death sentence breach the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The unresolved dissent within the Supreme Court regarding this subject is presented and discussed. This article contends that the prolonged solitary confinement of a Texas inmate on death row is a violation of the Eighth Amendment, and concludes that the only solution is to end the practice of automatic and permanent solitary confinement.

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Death Row Narratives: A Qualitative Analysis of Mental Health Issues Found In Death Row Inmate Blog Entries

The Prison Journal ◽

10.1177/0032885521994212 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 101 (2) ◽

pp. 147-165

Author(s):

Robert Johnson ◽

Jacqueline Lantsman

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Determinants ◽

Essential Element ◽

Solitary Confinement ◽

Health Issues ◽

Death Row ◽

Mental Health Issues ◽

The Social ◽

Death Row Inmates ◽

The Many

Death row inmate narratives, culled from online blogs, are used to explore the social determinants of mental health in the context of the stresses and deprivations of living on death row. Legal and correctional procedures that affect death row inmates are conceptualized as social determinants of mental health. These procedures include the granting or denying of stays of execution, conditions of solitary confinement during death row and the death watch, and impending dates of execution. Death row narratives offer a nuanced account of the many ways condemned prisoners must contend with their powerlessness as an essential element of life under sentence of death.

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