Item — HN Reader

Thanks for the Thomas Silverstein fact. TIL. The "other side" does explain their rationale, valid or not:

> "When an inmate kills a guard, he must be punished," a Bureau of Prisons official told author Pete Earley. "We can’t execute Silverstein, so we have no choice but to make his life a living hell. Otherwise other inmates will kill guards too. There has to be some supreme punishment. Every convict knows what Silverstein is going through. We want them to realize that if they cross the same line that he did, they will pay a heavy price."

The solitary confinement practice needs a spotlight on it. A long-term "no human contact" order seems like torture. I'm glad Obama recognizes the risk of this in juveniles at least.

4 comments

That sounds like a straightforward admission of cruel and unusual punishment. Is there any criterion the quote doesn't nail?

So why not just re-implement torture while we are at it? Brand him with hot irons.

That seems like a very appropriate response to someone with a history of killing others.

They're not doing it to stop him from killing others. They're doing it to make him an example so others don't kill guards.

The quote pretty much straight up says that it's an intentional cruel punishment to deter others from doing the same.

Well, clearly since we instituted capital punishment in this country, there have been no additional murders. Their logic works out!

Clearly the problem is that the executions are too humane. We should create a gradual system of corporeal punishments instead. Like chopping thieves' hands off or cutting liars' tongues out. That would obviously work far better.