The New Prison: Seven Prisons

Construction on Alcatraz Island

In 1909, military prisoners were put to work constructing the New Prison. When completed in 1912, it was the largest steel-reinforced concrete building in the world and contained 600 5’x9’ cells. US Military Prison Alcatraz Island, renamed from Fort Alcatraz in 1907, held three levels of prisoners from disobedient soldiers to those convicted of violent crimes. Work duties matched the crime. Some learned vocational skills and while others broke rocks wearing ball and chain. Some were men who refused service in the First World War. These conscientious objectors were held in dark cells in the prison basement for weeks at a time. 

Tens of thousands are held in solitary confinement in US prisons today. Some have been there for decades. What is the purpose of solitary confinement?