The Trauma of Incarceration
One of the readings I found to be most interesting this semester was The Trauma of the Incarceration Experience as it discusses a topic I had previously written about in my documentary review. This reading describes the trauma inmates face in the prison system. With over 10 million individuals being incarcerated at any given time world wide, the rates of traumatic experiences and mental health issues that prisoners face are quite high (Piper & Berle, 2019, pg. 1). It is common for people who have been incarcerated to describe unimaginable violence and horrors that they have witnessed during their time in jail. Both DeVaux and Browder described witnessing violence, and both had experiences where defending themselves from violence led to them facing solitary confinement. These experiences that inmates face can lead to things such as PTSD, as an article from 2019 found that “Research examining PTSD in incarcerated populations reported estimates at a staggering 48%, compared to lifetime prevalence rates of 8.7% in the general US population” (Piper & Berle, 2019, pg. 2). These rates emphasize the need for trauma informed care in the carceral system in the United States. Providing trauma informed care to people who are incarcerated could be incredibly beneficial to their mental health, and decreasing recidivism rates.
For the documentary review I watched Time: The Kalief Browder Story. It’s a documentary about Kalief Browder who was 16 years old when he was falsely accused and arrested for stealing a backpack. He was sent to Rikers Island where he was frequently beaten and put in solitary confinement for a majority of the 3 years he spent in jail. He struggled immensely after being released due to the trauma he faced while being incarcerated, and at the age of 22 he committed suicide. His story highlighted the trauma inmates face in prison, and this article also describes a first hand experience of trauma in the carceral system. A quote that I found incredibly important from The Trauma of the Incarceration Experience was that “The experience of being locked in a cage has a psychological effect upon everyone made to endure it. No one leaves unscarred.” (DeVaux, 2013). Kalief also described the impact that incarceration has on everyone that faces it, and the lack of support given to him while he was incarcerated during his as an activist. This article by DeVaux explains how “people in prison may be diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorders, as well as other psychiatric disorders, such as panic attacks, depression, and paranoia; subsequently, these prisoners find social adjustment and social integration difficult upon release” (DeVaux, 2013). Prison can cause long lasting mental health issues, and oftentimes these issues are not treated while in prison, making the adjustment back into the community more difficult.
During Browders time at Rikers Island, he experienced a severe mental health decline, and despite begging prison officials for help and treatment, his pleas were ignored. Despite the fact that treatment for him could have been life saving, he was denied help multiple times, causing his suffering to worsen. Kalief spent 700 days in solitary confinement, which accelerated the rapid decline of his mental health. According to Chadick et al, those in solitary confinement “typically spend 22–24 hrs of isolation with approximately 1 hr allotted for exercise or shower each day; some facilities only allow shower time three to 4 days a week” (Chadick et al, 2018, pg. 2). As social creatures, this isolation can have severely detrimental impacts on inmates and their mental health. A study from 2001 looking at the impact that solitary confinement (SC) has on mental health found that the “Incidence of psychiatric disorders developed in the prison was significantly higher in SC prisoners (28%) than in non-SC prisoners (15%). Most disorders were adjustment disorders, with depressive disorders coming next” (Anderson et al., 2001). They found stress to be a major contributing factor, which oftentimes prisoners in solitary confinement experience extreme levels of stress in isolation. Chadick et. al stated that prisoners in solitary confinement often “experience a myriad of mental health concerns and symptoms, including appetite and sleep disturbance, anxiety (including panic), depression and hopelessness, irritability, anger and rage, lethargy, psychosis, cognitive rumination, cognitive impairment, social withdrawal, and suicidal ideation and self-injurious behaviours” (Chadick et al, 2018, pg. 2). Implementing trauma informed care in our prison systems could be beneficial because “ all staff can play a major role in minimizing triggers, stabilizing offenders, reducing critical incidents, de-escalating situations, and avoiding restraint, seclusion or other measures that may repeat aspects of past abuse” as the prison setting is full triggers that could be impacting the mental health of inmates (Miller & Najavits, 2012).
Kalief also described post-release how difficult it was for him to adjust and integrate back into society. He was enrolled in college before his passing, but it was something he really struggled to adjust to due to the trauma that he faced. With trauma-informed care and better support during his transition from jail back into the community, Kalief could have had the support he needed in order to adjust smoothly and thrive post release. He struggled for the remainder of his life due to the trauma and lack of support he faced during his time in jail, but spent the remaining time after his release advocating for better treatment of those who are incarcerated. The trauma that both of these men faced during their time in jail is something that impacted them for the rest of their lives. I had watched the Kalief Browder documentary when it first came out in 2016, and it was just as impactful to watch now as it was the first time I saw it. Devaux’s experience in the system is incredibly similar to Browder’s, and unfortunately many others have had similar experiences. Kalief described the same paranoia that Devaux had, and both also described witnessing and experiencing unimaginable violence. Kalief’s story was one of the first times I had realized the trauma inmates face in the system, and this article gave me an even better insight and understanding as to how the carceral system facilitates traumatic environments for inmates.
Resources:
Andersen, H. S., Sestoft, D., Lillebaek, T., Gabrielsen, G., Hemmingsen, R., & Kramp, P. (2000). A longitudinal study of prisoners on remand: psychiatric prevalence, incidence and psychopathology in solitary vs. non-solitary confinement. Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica, 102(1), 19–25.https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0447.2000.10200
Chadick, C. D., Batastini, A. B., Levulis, S. J., & Morgan, R. D. (2018). The psychological impact of solitary: A longitudinal comparison of general population and long‐term administratively segregated male inmates. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 23(2), 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12125
DeVeaux, M. (2013). The trauma of the incarceration experience. Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review, 48
Miller, N. A., & Najavits, L. M. (2012). Creating trauma- informed correctional care: a balance of goals and environment. European journal of psychotraumatology, 3, 10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.17246. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.17246