Supermaximum Security Prisons

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Over the past decades society has developed a “get tough” on crime and drugs mentality, due to politicians on the forefront. Which has led to mass incarceration, over population and the use of Supermaximum Security Prisons, also known as Supermax prisons. (Mears, 2013). Many legal and ethical issues arise from supermaxes due to the use of solitary confinement, lack of funding, lack of enrichment training for officers and excessive use of force. Human rights activist argue that solitary confinement is deemed cruel and unusual punishment, violating their constitutional rights (Mears, 2013). Supermax prisons retain the “worst of the worst” in a concentrated population, versus dispersing them throughout all the available facilities. During the

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