John Oliver Details The Horrors Of Solitary Confinement

By Andrew Sanford | TV | April 4, 2023 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | April 4, 2023 |

I usually like to start these articles with a story about myself. Something that connects me to what I’m about to talk about. That would be impossible, and even irresponsible, to do here. I have never experienced anything like solitary confinement. It is an inhumane practice used against convicts at the whims of the people watching them. Solitary confinement is horrible and prevalent and needs to be discussed.

John Oliver used the main story on Last Week Tonight this week to discuss Solitary Confinement. It is a method that is even worse than you may think. In a 20-second clip, Oliver shows just the sounds that come from a Solitary wing of a prison. They are haunting. There is screaming and banging and moaning. Prisoners can be driven insane by the process. They are trapped with nothing to do and no one to talk to. Those released are often worse than when they went in.

Police and corrections officers know how bad solitary is. They dress it up with terms like “protective segregation.” They claim these offenders must be separated from the general population because they are dangerous, even though, as Oliver points out, prisoners are more likely to be sent to solitary for minor offenses. Still, some defend this practice, like NYC’s no-good very-bad Mayor Eric Adams.

Adams takes center stage during Oliver’s segment, doing what he does best, defending inhumane policies. If you’ve read my work here, you know how much I loathe the Forever Cop Mayor we have in NYC. I was not surprised to see his dumb face pop up in this video. I can only count on Eric Adams for one thing: being a terrible human being who globs on to liberal and progressive messaging while trying to close libraries, gut public schools, and give money to his favorite gang, the NYPD.

There are alternatives to solitary. They involve actual rehabilitation. Unfortunately, there is a general attitude in this country that people in prison should be there. Too many people don’t want to see a prisoner given a second chance. Instead of rehabilitation, prisons are monuments to recidivism. Solitary confinement helps make that all but assured.

Solitary confinement should not be a thing. The fact that it is, and happens so often, is shameful.