Sarah Colegrove

POS 322

4/2/2012

Are Supermax (Control Unit) Prisons an Appropriate Way to Punish Hardened Criminals?

Gregory Hershberger along with Rodney Henningsen, W. Johnson, and Terry Wells

argue the issue of whether supermax prisons are appropriate. Hershberger says argues yes while

the others argue no.

Hershberger paints a very picturesque view on the current supermax prisons. First he

examined past ways that violent inmates have been handled. Violent inmates have been

dispersed to many different prisons and they have been confined into one prison such as

Alcatraz. Currently, violent inmates are confined to supermax facilities. These facilities are

ultimately designed to protect the inmates, the guards, and to offer the inmates a chance to prove

that they can be released back into a regular prison.

Henningsen, Johnson, and Wells argue that the picture that Hershberger and others have

painted is not accurate. These supermax prisons do function in the way that they were intended

to function. The inmates are not only psychologically abused (through being locked into their

cells for long period of time and not being allowed to interact with others) but many are also

physically abused from their guards and forced to suffer cruel and unusual punishment. Many of

the control methods that the guards use in these facilities violate the inmates’ rights and in times

past when a multitude of inmates have testified of the abuse, the courts unfairly and unequally

through the case because the inmates were not considered reliable. The way the prison system

works allows for some inmates to be unfairly moved and retained in these facilities while others

are not. These facilities do not do what they promised to do – reduce crime – rather it can

encourage crime to occur as the inmates can become so angry that upon release, they can become

violent against others.

Henningsen, Johnson, and Wells seem to have a much more realistic and believable

argument than Hershberger put forth. They use case studies to back up their argument and to

show just how bad these facilities really are. Hershberger seems to be looking at the supermax

facilities in a very idealistic light and does not seem to realize all of the harm that can arise out of

these facilities.

I agree with Henningsen, Johnson, and Wells that the supermax prisons are not an

appropriate way to punish criminals. These supermax facilities violate human rights over and

over again along with the rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution to every citizen in the

United States. These facilities are also contrary in nature to what they were intended to do, they

can actually increase crime. I think that these supermax facilities do more harm than good and

should not be used to control and take of inmates who may be violent. Hopefully a much better

and safer (not only for the guards and society but most importantly for the inmates) solution can

be found.