密歇根新闻广播 激励制度帮助囚犯走出可怕的单独监禁

Imagine that you're in prison, and you mess up. Maybe you lose your temper and lash¹ out at a corrections officer, or you use your fists to resolve a conflict with your cellmate.

That can land you in "administrative² segregation³," also known as solitary⁴ confinement⁵.

Too many Americans have languished⁶ in solitary, not knowing when they'll get out and not being allowed privileges like calls from home. And when they do get out, they're often worse off than they were before they went into solitary, full of anger and seeking retribution.

But a prison in the Upper Peninsula has found a way to change that narrative⁷. The Alger Correctional Facility is easing prisoners out of solitary, and the results look promising⁸.

Maurice Chammah is with The Marshall Project. His story is titled, How to Get Out of Solitary – One Step at a Time.

According to Chammah, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 American inmates⁹ are held in solitary confinement.

He tells us that being sent to solitary generally means you can expect to spend 23 hours a day in an isolated¹⁰ cell with an hour set aside for recreation.

Food is typically handed to you through a slot in the door, and "The only human contact you tend to have is with corrections officers as they shackle¹¹ you to bring you out of your cell, either for recreation or for a shower," Chammah says.

He tells us solitary confinement is used differently from prison to prison. In some prisons, he says, inmates will be sent to solitary for only a week or two as punishment for a small infraction¹².

"But at other prisons, including a lot at California and New York, you can go in with no idea when you're getting out, and there are stories of people spending years, even decades in solitary confinement," he says.

Amid lawsuits¹³ concerning the health and safety of prisoners in solitary, the Michigan Department of Corrections asked wardens¹⁴ around the state to come up with some ideas that would reduce the number of inmates in solitary confinement.

"Not get rid of it altogether," he clarifies, "but just get, you know, the data to look a little bit better.

Alger's warden¹⁵ Catharine Bauman and her staff up in the U.P. rose to the challenge. They developed a six-step system to help inmates work their way from solitary back to general population. It's called "Incentives¹⁶ in Segregation."

"Through good behavior and also through writing essays about their experiences, they would go from one stage to another, and at each stage they would get a perk¹⁸.

Chammah tells us these perks¹⁹ can range from a basketball to a television in their room or even things like a phone call home.

"Over time, this has allowed them to cycle lots and lots of men out of solitary confinement and back into the general population," Chammah says. Since its introduction in 2009, the incentive¹⁷ program has been so successful that it has "allowed them to close an entire wing of their solitary confinement blocks."

Chammah tells us the project has also altered the environment of the prison. He says that visiting a prison is usually a noisy affair, with inmates shouting or throwing things to get attention from the guards, but touring the Alger facility is another story altogether.

"It's very quiet. Even the men who are in the really brutal²⁰ solitary confinement situation, because they're trying to prove to the officers that they're ready for general population, tend to be a lot quieter. They tend to be a lot more respectful. I heard stories of officers coming to care for the inmates and recommending books for them and sort of looking out for them in a way that was totally unique."

Maurice Chammah's piece for themarshallproject.org looks at ways that prisons are trying to work prisoners out of solitary one step at a time.

He tells us more about the Incentives in Segregation program introduced in the Upper Peninsula in our conversation above.

1 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

2 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

3 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

4 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

5 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

6 languished   

长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐

参考例句：

• Our project languished during the holidays. 我们的计划在假期间推动得松懈了。
• He languished after his dog died. 他狗死之后，人憔悴了。

7 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

11 shackle   

n.桎梏，束缚物；v.加桎梏，加枷锁，束缚

参考例句：

• He's too young to shackle himself with the responsibilities of a family.他还太年轻，不能用家庭责任来束缚自己。
• This issue always is a shackle which confines the brand building of industry product.这个问题一直是限制工业品品牌塑造的桎梏。

12 infraction   

n.违反；违法

参考例句：

• He was criticized for his infraction of the discipline.他因违反纪律而受到了批评。
• Parking at the bus stop is illegal,Motorists committing this infraction are heavily fined.在公交站停车是违法的，触犯此条的司机将受重罚。

13 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

14 wardens   

n.看守人( warden的名词复数 )；管理员；监察员；监察官

参考例句：

• Air raid wardens in tin hats self-importantly stalked the streets. 空袭民防队员戴着钢盔神气活现地走在街上昂首阔步。 来自辞典例句
• The game wardens tranquillized the rhinoceros with a drugged dart. 猎物保护区管理员用麻醉射器让犀牛静了下来。 来自辞典例句

15 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

16 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

17 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

18 perk   

n.额外津贴；赏钱；小费；

参考例句：

• His perks include a car provided by the firm.他的额外津贴包括公司提供的一辆汽车。
• And the money is,of course,a perk.当然钱是额外津贴。

19 perks   

额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perks offered by the firm include a car and free health insurance. 公司给予的额外待遇包括一辆汽车和免费健康保险。
• Are there any perks that go with your job? 你的工作有什么津贴吗？

20 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。