Incarceration Specialist and Criminal Justice Professor Debunks Solitary Myths
Solitary confinement for inmates may be a controversial practice, as the phrase can conjure images of borderline cruel and unusual isolation, but according to MET professor and incarceration authority Dr. Mary Ellen Mastrorilli, the way prisons actually utilize “solitary” is essential, and greatly misunderstood. “Restrictive housing is a necessity in correctional facilities,” she wrote in a recent BU Today op-ed, noting that it is often used to protect prisoners that would otherwise be endangered.
Mastrorilli, who also serves as faculty coordinator for MET’s online Master of Criminal Justice program—rated as the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report—added, “The problem occurs when it is the placement of first resort rather than last.”
Read the rest of Dr. Mastrorilli’s “POV” op-ed at BU Today.