“Can you imagine living in a bathroom for the rest of your life?”
Solitary confinement is commonplace in much of the American prison system, even though the practice is considered a form of torture by many leading experts.
A new HBO documentary used unprecedented access to a prison in Virginia which uses solitary confinement, and investigates the effect living such a life has had on the prisoners inside.
The documentary, Solitary: Inside Red Onion State Prison, brings viewers inside the supermax prison built on top of a mountain, 300 miles from civilisation.
Most offenders stay in their cells 23 hours a day, seven days a week and as one prisoner asks: “Can you imagine living in a bathroom for the rest of your life?”
The documentary also explores the lives of the prison guards who are also affected by the lifestyle, although they do have some escape to the real world.
Imagine this was your existence…
Video via HBODocs
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