Solitary Confinement

Dr. Polizzi has worked as a forensic psychotherapist in the Pittsburgh area since 1989. Prior to his current position with Indiana State University, he was a full-time psychotherapist with the Center for Psychiatric and Chemical Dependency Services. Dr. Polizzi taught at a variety of Pittsburgh area colleges and worked therapeutically with offender populations both in the community and in a maximum security penitentiary setting.

• The experience of solitary confinement: some beginning reflectionsA very brief history of solitary confinement and the supermax penitentiaryThe developmental history of solitary and supermax confinement: toward a phenomenology of the state of exceptionThe Supreme Court, solitary confinement, and the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishmentFrom the other side of the door: the lived experience of solitary confinementSome closing reflections

"Traces the historical development of the use of solitary confinement in the United States, and describes personal accounts of individuals who have experienced this type of confinement in order to challenge its continued use in the modern age." Ryan M. Labrecque, Portland State University "Reveals the psychological harm caused by solitary confinement and critically examines the philosophical assumptions surrounding this extreme and cruel form of punishment...an insightful and important study." James Hardie-Bick, University of Sussex