Embodiment of Carceral Violence: Solitary confinement, Extreme Heat, and Self-Injury in Deep South Prisons Restricted; Files Only
Cloud, David H. (Spring 2023)
Abstract
This dissertation integrates constructs and principles from ecosocial theory of disease distribution, carceral geography, and theories of dehumanization to examine how different forms of carceral violence, solitary confinement and extreme heat, become embodied to shape vulnerabilities to different manifestations of self-injury. Together, these studies build upon an emerging body of scholarship and draw attention to overlapping public health problems arising at the intersection of mass incarceration, an escalating overdose crisis, and environmental calamities due to anthropogenic climate change.
Aim 1 explores possibility that power structures of dehumanization within spaces used for solitary confinement operate as a pathway of embodiment that increases vulnerability to self-injury among people with SMI, and calls attention to punishments, beyond social isolation, that prison staff inflict upon people in solitary confinement as mediating vulnerabilities to self-injury among people diagnosed with serious mental illnesses.
Aim 2 qualitatively examines the lived-experiences of solitary confinement among formerly incarcerated people who use drugs to develop a constructivist-grounded theory of the potential mechanisms through which this carceral practice may create and shape vulnerability to drug-related overdose.
Aim 3 is a longitudinal panel study that explores associations of extreme heat, solitary confinement, and an indicator of suicidality among incarcerated adult men in the Louisiana prison system.
The knowledge generated from these studies bolsters a body of evidence connecting solitary confinement and extreme heat to psychological harm and self-injury, while bringing into focus distinct public health and human rights issues for future research, arising in the entanglements of mass incarceration, an escalating overdose crisis, and environmental calamities created by anthropogenic climate change. These studies shed light on several important avenues for applying ecosocial theory to expose and address the effects of carceral systems on health outcomes, at multiple social-ecological levels, to help convey the collateral calamities likely to arise from interplays between the climate crisis, overdose epidemic, and mass incarceration.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introductory Literature Review…………………………………………….1
Mass incarceration as a socio-structural driver of health inequities………………….. 1
Defining carceral violence ……………………………………………………………………………. 5
Solitary Confinement in the mass incarceration era…………………..………………….. 8
People in solitary confinement. …………………………………………………………………… 10
Brief history of Solitary Confinement …………………………………………………………… 12
Estimated Prevalence of solitary confinement today…………………..………………….. 19
The health consequences of solitary confinement…………………..………………………. 21
Solitary Confinement, Self-injury, and Suicidality …………………..…………………..… 25
Connecting solitary confinement and overdose …………………..…………………..…….. 32
Solitary confinement as state-sanctioned violence…………………..…………………..….. 35
Momentum for reform and calls for abolition …………………..…………………..……….. 36
Extreme heat as a form of carceral violence …………………..…………………..…………… 38
Theoretical framework …………………..…………………..…………………………………………. 43
Recap of Study Aims …………………..…………………..……………………………………………. 55
References …………………..…………………..………………………………………………………….. 56
Chapter 2. Self-injury and the embodiment of solitary confinement among adult men in Louisiana prisons
Abstract…………………..…………………..………………………………………………………………. 105
Introduction …………………..…………………..………………………………………………………… 106
Methods …………………..…………………..…………………………………………………………….. 122
Results …………………..…………………..………………………………………………………………… 128
Discussion …………………..…………………..……………………………………………………………..131
Figures and Tables…………………..…………………..………………………………………………… 137
References …………………..…………………..……………………………………………………………141
Chapter 3. Deep End of the Drug War: Solitary Confinement and Overdose Among Formerly Incarcerated People.
Abstract…………………..…………………..………………………………………………………………. 152
Introduction …………………..…………………..………………………………………………………… 153
Methods …………………..…………………..…………………………………………………………….. 162
Results …………………..…………………..………………………………………………………………… 165
Discussion …………………..…………………..……………………………………………………………..190
Figures and Tables…………………..…………………..………………………………………………… 195
References …………………..…………………..……………………………………………………………197
Chapter 4. Extreme Heat and Suicide Watch Incidents in a Deep South Prison System.
Abstract…………………..…………………..………………………………………………………………. 204
Introduction …………………..…………………..………………………………………………………… 205
Methods …………………..…………………..…………………………………………………………….. 210
Results …………………..…………………..………………………………………………………………… 217
Discussion …………………..…………………..……………………………………………………………..219
Figures and Tables…………………..…………………..………………………………………………… 225
References …………………..…………………..……………………………………………………………229
Chapter 5. Summary and Conclusions
Summary of Findings…………………..…………………..……………………………………………..236
Future Research …………………..…………………..…………………………………………………… 242
Policy Implications …………………..…………………..……………………………………………… 246
Conclusion…………………..…………………..…………………………………………………………….. 251
References …………………..…………………..…………………………………………………………… 253
List of Figures and Tables
Chapter 2.
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for Total Sample …………………..………………………………. 137
Table 2. Percentages and Mean Demographics, SMI status, Solitary Confinement,
Cumulative Dehumanization, and Self-Injury for Total Sample………………………………138
Table 3. Bivariate and Multivariable Logistic Regression Results: Focal Dependent Variable: Self-Injurious Behavior…………………..………………………………………………… 139
Table 4. Results of Mediation Models with Odds of Self-Injury as Focal Dependent Variable…………………..……………………………………………………………………………………. 140
Chapter 3.
Table 1. Study Sample Characteristics …………………..………………………………………. 195
Figure 1. The Embodiment of Solitary Confinement in Overdose Vulnerability…….196
Chapter 4.
Figure 1. Distribution of Suicide Watch Incidents in Louisiana Prisons……………………225
Figure 2. Distribution of estimated heat-index for the six state-operated
Louisiana prisons for January 2015 – December 2017……………………………………………225
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for Focal Variables and Co-Variates ……………………….. 226
Table 2. Bi-Variate Associations with Suicide Watch Incidents Conditional Negative Binomial regression with fixed effects) ………………………………………………….……………..227
Table 3a. Results of Model 1 for Significant Predictors of Daily Suicide Watch Incidents in Louisiana State Operated Prisons (n=6): 2015-2017………………………………………. 228
Table 3b. Results of Model 2 for Significant Predictors of Daily Suicide Watch Incidents in Louisiana State Operated Prisons (n=6): 2015-2017………………………………………. 228
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