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Fear-suffusedhel l-holes: thearchitectureof extremepunishment

YvonneJewkes,ProfessorofCriminology,UniversityofLeicester,UK

Introduction

Is Hookat last headingforHel l? AbuHamzatobemovedtotopsecurity ja i l

'Hell'iswhattheycallthefearsomejailwherethesoul-destroyingisolationhasdrivensome

ofAmerica’stoughestprisonerstosuicide(DailyMail12October2012).

Prisons tendto reflect thesociety thatoversees them; theyarephysicalmanifestationsofastate’s

aimsandapproachesfordealingwithoffenders(Johnston,2000;Wener,2012).Inrecentyears,the

prisonhasbeenanalogouslycomparedtotransportationandslavery(Davis,2000;Alexander,2010)

and the urban ghetto (Wacquant, 2002) and used as a means of understanding state power and

securityapparatusesinpost9/11societies(Drake,2012).Intheseanalyses,imprisonmentisexplicitly

linkedtowiderprocessesofracialdiscrimination,criminalizationandextremepunishment.Afurther

analogous framework by which prisons might be viewed and understood, both structurally and

experientially,isthatofHell.iThischapterdrawsonimagesofHellfromDante'sInferno,thecultural

purchaseofwhich,itissuggested,remainsundiminishedsevenhundredyearsafteritwaswritten.

Informed by the early findings of a comparative study of prison architecture, design and

technologyii,togetherwiththepublishedfindingsoffellowprisonethnographers,thechapterfocuses

principallyoncasestudiesofarchitecturaldesignintheUKandUS,andbrieflycontraststhesewith

penal design elsewhere, in order to examine and explain howphysical contexts influence fear and

violence within and around high-security prisons. The chapter argues that the ‘fear-suffused’

environments (Hassine, 2011) of contemporary high andmaximum security prisons resonate with

Medieval imaginingsofeternaldamnation,andrepresenta formofbarbaritythat isoutofplace in

twenty-firstcenturycivilizedsocieties.

Inmakingthisclaim,thechapter ispremisedontworelatedpropositions. Thefirst is that

boththeUSandUKimprisonmanythousandsofpeopleunnecessarily,andmanythousandsmorefor

dramaticallyover-extendedperiodsof timeunderexaggeratedandsuperfluous security conditions.

Thesecondpropositionisthatoverthelasttwodecades,crimeandsecurityhavebecomethemajor

battlegrounds on which political entrepreneurs have staked their hegemonic power and prisoners

have become expedient tools for politicians wishing to look more tough on crime than their

opponents. Of course, some crimes challenge the beliefs of even the most fervent abolitionists.

Nonetheless,theactionsofanindividual(whetheraparticularlyhorribleornewsworthyoffenceora

security breach, e.g. an abscondment fromprison) canbe a fortuitous catalyst for thosewho seek

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politicalgainbyintroducingmoreoppressivesecurityandcontrolmeasuresacrosstheprisonestate,

catchingallinmatesinatighteningcarceralnet(Drake,2012).

The result of these interlinked processes is that we appear to have returned to pre-

Enlightenment, expressive forms of punishment, in which penal strategies of excessive and

unprecedentedpunitivenessareimplementedandenactedinthepagesofthepopularpress,foran

audience perceived to be hungry for excessive displays of retribution (Loader, 2009). Politically

advantageous discourses of crime and incarceration have thus become culturally embedded,

recasting offending ‘folk devils’ as ‘evil monsters’ and generating widespread tolerance for

subterranean, infernal hell-holes as the most fitting repositories for the permanently excluded

prisoner(Dolovich,2011).

TheContemporaryRelevanceof Dante’s Vis ionof Hel l

Nowmoans, loud howls and lamentations echoed through the starless air, so that I also

begantocry.Manylanguages,strangeaccents,wordsofpain,criesofrage,voicesloudand

faint,thesoundofslappinghands–allthesewhirledtogetherinthatblackandtimelessair,

assandisswirledinatornado(Inferno3:22-30).

Dante'sInfernoframesthisanalysisbecauseitcontainsthemesandmotifsofasubterranean,multi-

layeredvisionofHellthatlendsitselfparticularlywelltocontemporaryculturalideasabouttheprison

orpenitentiary. Underpinningthecollectiveimaginationvianovels,computergames,art,television

and film,Dante’s imaginingofHellhasbecomepartof thecommonstockofknowledge, informing

ideasaboutjusticeandpunishment,aboutwhatplacesofpunishmentshouldlookandfeellike,even

amongthosewhohavenotactuallyreadInferno.Dantethusoffersanenduringanalogyofperpetual

sufferingfortheincreasingnumbersofindividualsregardedasdeservingextremepunishment.

WidelyregardedasbeingasimportantasHomerandShakespeareinliteraryhistory,Dante

Alighieri (c. 1265-1321) wrote Inferno as a three-part work (Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso)

collectivelytitledCommedia,offeringavisionofHellandHeavenfromtheperspectiveofanobserver

whowitnessedaperiodofalmostconstantwar,politicalconflictandcorruption inhishomecityof

Florence.RevengeandretributionwerethestuffofeverydaylifeandinevitablyshapedDante’sview

oftheuniverseandinformedhiswriting.Partsatire,partnovelandpartjournal(itisnarratedinthe

first person) theDivine Comedy, as it is now usually known,was intended to be read aloud to an

audiencewhowouldrecognizethehistoricalandpoliticalallusionsthatunderpinwhatisessentiallya

cracking story. For dramatic effect, Dante creates a dialogue by introducing a companion on his

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journeytothe‘horridholeofHell’(Inferno,32:6);theRomanpoetVirgil(70-19BC)fulfillstheroles

oftouristguide,mentorandprotector.

DantespecifiedthatHellisadeepconicalindentation,thelowestpointofwhichisprecisely

atthecentreoftheearth.Thepoor,tormentedsoulsconsignedtoeverlastingsufferingoccupynine

vastcircularterracesthatdescend,indecreasingsize,totheearth’score(Burge,2010).Attheouter

edgeof theabyss is anareaoccupiedby thosewhohave committedno sinexcept that theywere

morallyneutralanddidnotactorspeakoutagainstothers’wrongdoings.Illustratingthestatement

laterattributedtoEdmundBurke(1729-1797)thatallthatisnecessaryforthetriumphofevilisthat

good men do nothing, iii the punishment suffered by these ‘neutrals’ might seem harsh to a

contemporary reader. However, Bauman has mapped the symbolic geography of evil through

numerousmodernatrocities,andunderlinesthatevilisnotconfinedtototalitarianideologies:‘Today

it more frequently reveals itself in failing to react to someone else’s suffering, in refusing to

understandothers,ininsensitivityandineyesturnedawayfromasilentethicalgaze’(Bauman,2013:

8).AlthoughwritingprincipallyabouttheHolocaust,Bauman’swordsmightbeequallybeappliedto

carceralatrocities.Indeed,inthepenalcontext,themoreextremethepunishment,themorelikelyit

is to recede from the public gaze and conscience, as this chapterwill illustrate in its discussion of

prisonarchitectureanddesign(below).

Theunfortunateoccupantsof theedgeof theabyssobservedbyDanteandVirgil swirl in

theirmassesmoaningintothehowlingwind,nakedandsurroundedbyattackingfliesandwaspsas

their faces run with blood. Following this is the descent down through the nine circles of ‘that

profound pit of pain filled with the howl of endless woe’ (Inferno 4: 1). The field notes of two

contemporary prison researchers, the firstwritten inside a prison in Russia and the second as the

writer emerged from the gloom of an American jail, contain powerful echoes of Dante’smedieval

visionofHell,whileatthesametimesuggestingthat,attheirmostextreme,carceralenvironments

aretimelessanduniversal:

I’mnot sure I feel safe tonight. It’smidnight. Thenoises from inside the zonearegetting

louder…Itsoundslikedogsyelpingbutit’snot.It’sprisonersmoaningandswearing…Itfeels

reallycreepy…[I]actuallyfeeltooscaredtomove(Piacentini,2005:201).

Shockof thedaylight, thesun, the freshair…Idrivesilently straight to thebeach [ofSanta

Monica], towallow in fresh air andwade in thewaves, as if to ‘cleanse’myself of all I’ve

seen,heard,andsensed…butmymemoryissearedbywhatI’veseen…Everytimemymind

driftsback to it, it seems likeabadmovie,anightmare, thevisionofanevil ‘otherworld’

thatcannotactuallyexist(Wacquant,2002:381)

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In the study from which the first quote comes, Piacentini describes her experience of ‘deep

immersion’indecayingRussianprisons,whoserooflessbuildings,crumblingwallsandrustingfittings

challenge theaesthetic ideaof theprisonasa secure, sanitisedenvironment. Stating thatRussian

prisons resembleamutated, fantastical formof theSoviet ideal, industrial zoneswheredaily life is

dividedbetweenworkandrest,Piacentinialsoreflectsontheveryspecificmelancholiaanddarkness

thatincarcerationcaninstill.TheabidingimageoftheRussianprison,shetellsus,isoneofahostile

and austere environment ofmulti-cells, acute overcrowding, faceless voices, appalling squalor and

deathonamassivescalefromfreezingtemperaturesorfromindustrialaccidents(Piacentini,2002).

Evoking similar notions of deep entombment in a cold, industrial wasteland, Wacquant’s

researchdiaryrecordsthe‘overpoweringfeelingofemergingfromadiveintoamineshaft…[a]murky

factoryforsocialpainandhumandestruction,silentlygrindingaway’(2002:381).Thesefieldnotes,

written onWacquant's first day in theMen’s Central Jail (part of Los Angeles County Jail), vividly

capture the author’s relief at breaking out of the hellish physical environment of a jail which

comprises ‘sevenmega-houses of detention’ holdingmore than 23,000 inmates (Wacquant, 2002:

371).InanobviousechoofDante’sconicalandsubterraneanrenderingofHell,theMen’sCentralJail

isorganisedonfivefloors,twoofwhichareunderground,andinmatesarecrammedindormitories

where up to 150 men live cheek by jowl on bunk beds which form a human filing cabinet in

‘conditions that evoke the dungeons of the Middle Ages’ (ibid: 372). Wacquant highlights three

aspectswhichcombineto formthisvisionofHell: thenoise (‘deafeninganddisorienting’); the filth

(bothofthetrashvariety,whichattractsratsandroaches,andpromiscuitywhich,inthiscommunal

livingenvironment, is ‘pushedtothepointofobscenity’);andthetotalabsenceofnaturaldaylight,

which leadsWacquant to describe the facility as ‘a tomb. A subterranean grotto. A safe for men

buriedalivefarawayfromsociety’seyes,ears,andmind’(2002:373).

Ifhewerewritingaboutthejailnow,Wacquantmightaddtohis listofhellishexperiences

suffered by inmates at LA County the deplorable conditions under which prisoners with mental

illnesses are kept,whichhave led toadramatic rise in suicides; thehorrifyingabusemetedout to

inmatesbystaff;andcorruptiononthepartofmanagement,which includedaspecialhiringtrack-

calledFOS,or‘FriendsoftheSheriff’–forfriendsandrelativesofdepartmentemployees,evenifthey

themselveshavecriminalrecords(adetailednewsarchiveoftheproblemsandabusesuncoveredcan

be found at http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-jails-sg-storygallery.html). More than a decade

afterWacquantdescribedhisshockatwhathesawthere,thefacilityhasbeenthesubjectofseveral

criticalreportsbytheUSDepartmentofJustice,andinDecember2013,federalofficialsannounced

that 18 current and former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were under investigation for

offencesincludingalleged‘unjustifiedbeatingsofjailinmatesandvisitors,unjustifieddetentionsand

aconspiracytoobstructafederalinvestigationintomisconductattheMen'sCentralJail’(ibid).

Theunpleasant sensationsdescribedbybothPiacentini andWacquant in their fieldnotes,

andthegraphicnewsreportingofprisonerdespairinthefaceofstaffcrueltyandcorruptioninone

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county prison system, echo Dante’s experience as he descends into Hell and describes slamming

gates, vile odours, ditches full of excrement, suicides, mutilations, many languages and strange

accents, brutal and sadistic guards, pain and rage, anguished cries for help, voices loud and faint,

deviantsexualpracticesandotherdegradations.Onceagainremindingusofthefreezingconditions

ofpost-Soviet confinement,Wacquantdetails how inmates at LACounty arepermittedoneouting

perweekonthecagedroofofthejail,whichis:

[T]heresidents’onlychancetoseethesky, toknowwhether it’s sunny, rainyorwindy, to

breathefortwohoursoutsideofthecolddraftoftheair-movingsystemthatoperatesround

theclock(tocontaintheriskoftuberculosis)…Theinmatescommonlycomplain…aboutthe

cold: inmanytiers,theventilationissettoohighandtheunitsaresweptbygustsofchilly

air;inthedisciplinarycells,theatmosphereisdownrightfrigid(ibid).

This truly is the lowest levelofHell; theninth circleof the Inferno is freezing cold, an icywaste in

whichtheatmosphereatrophiesthesoul.AsDanteputsit,‘IdidnotdiebutIwasnotlivingeither’

(Inferno,34:25).

TheArchitectureof PrisonHel l

Therearesomeprisonadministratorswhostresstheneedtocreatesmallmaximumsecurity

facilitiesforthemosttroublesomeoffenders–‘maxi-maxi’institutions.Theirplansreadlike

thedesignoftheinnercirclesofhell

(Morris,1974:88).

FromAlisonLiebling’smaleprisonerrespondentwhodescribesthehellofbeing‘behindtheslab’at

HMPWhitemoor(2011:538),anevocativephrasewithbothphysicalandexperientialdimensions,to

EleanorNovek’s(2005)explorationoftheAmericanfemaleinmateswhoexperienceconfinementasa

living hell with no redeeming potential (especially for the incarcerated womenwho are forced to

relinquishtheirbabiesjustafewdaysaftergivingbirthwhilerestrainedbyhandcuffs),imagesofHell

are never far from the surface of ethnographic studies of imprisonment. But arguably it is in

prisoners’ (auto)biographies,poetry, journalismandcreativewritingthatthehellof incarceration is

most vividly conveyed, andwhere descriptions of poorly ventilated, putrid smelling prisons have a

distinctlyDanteanquality.Here,foulgasses,decayingdirt,prisoners’bloodandtearsandapervasive

andpermanentsenseoffear(‘TheBeast’)arealltrappedwithintheporouswalls(Hassine,2011).

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It is perhaps Victor Hassine who has most excoriatingly captured Hell from a prisoner’s

perspective.A‘lifer’intheUScorrectionssystemwhocommittedsuicideafternearly28yearsinside,

afterbeingdeniedaparolehearing,Hassinewasaneducated,scholarlyman.Hisobservationsabout

thedifferentprisonsinwhichheservedtime,whichvariedconsiderablyinage,sizeandlayout,tellus

muchabouttheeffectsthatcarceraldesignhasonitsoccupants;infact,Hassinestatesthatmanyof

the crises facing penal systems in the developedworld – including overcrowding, violence,mental

and physical illness, drug use, high levels of suicide and self-harm – are intrinsically related to the

‘fear-suffusedenvironments’createdbyprisonarchitects:

To fully understand the prison experience requires a personal awareness of how bricks,

mortar,steel,andtheendlessenforcementofrulesandregulationsanimateaprisonintoa

living, breathing entity designed to manipulate its inhabitants…. Prison designers and

managers have developed a precise and universal alphabet of fear that is carefully

assembled and arranged – bricks, steel, uniforms, colors, odors, shapes, andmanagement

style–toeffectivelycontroltheconductofwholeprisonpopulations(2011:7).

Throughout western penal history, from the separate and silent systems of the mid-

nineteenthcentury,whenprisonsweredesignedandconstructedtopreventmoralcontagion(i.e.the

beliefthatprisonersriskedbecoming ‘worse’ ifallowedcontactwithotheroffenders), tothe1950s

whentherehabilitationmodelpavedthewayforaraftofpsychologyprogramsaimedattreatingthe

offender, commentators have noted the link between physical environments and operational

regimes. Indeed, the origins of the supermax can be traced to both these penal experiments; its

harsh conditions of solitary confinement are found in the nineteenth century separate (or

‘Pennsylvania’) system, but its penal ideologies were honed in the post-war era of behavioral

psychologywhenvariousformsofsensorydeprivationandsocial isolationwereintroducedinorder

tomakeprisonerssusceptibleto‘remoulding’throughtherapyandmedication.

Thesupermaxphilosophyisalsounderpinnedbythenowinfamousdoctrine,'nothingworks'

(Martinson, 1974), a statement intended to support a reduction in the use of imprisonment, but

instead appropriated to support calls for more brutal regimes within psychologically numbing

custodial settings. The supermax thus incorporates numerous architectural and environmental

elementsdesignedtohaveeffectsfarbeyondthoseengenderedbyarchitecturethatismerelydrab,

institutional and grindingly dull. The coercive use of architecture to instill total psychic and bodily

controloverprisonersdesignated ‘threatening’, ‘non-compliant’or ‘high-risk’mightbe regardedas

modern versions of Inferno: physical separation of prisoners and guards, hi-tech monitoring

equipment, constant surveillance, electronic controls, hermetically sealed interior environments

protectedbybulletproofglass,windowspositionedtoohighinthewallstoseeoutofthem,windows

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paintedover toobscure theviewandobstructnatural light, andareasofboth sensorydeprivation

and sensory overload which, taken together, result in psychic and physical pain on a par with

techniquesoftorture.

While theUK– indeedEurope–hasnotyetembraced thesupermax,neo-liberal,populist

politicalagendasover the last fewdecadeshave intensified thepunitive forceof theexperienceof

imprisonment (Brown and Wilkie, 2002), and perceived public endorsement for rigorous and

unpleasantconditionshaveresulted innewprisonsbeingbuiltwith ‘a levelofsecurityabove“high

security”’andinternalroutinesnotseenfor150years(Johnston,2000:4).AsDrake(2012)describes,

most recentdevelopments inpenalphilosophyandpractice inEnglandandWales, includingprison

design, canbe tracedback to theescapes fromhighsecurityconditionsatWhitemoor in1994and

Parkhurst in 1995 which ushered in a new regime of security and control, including fortified

perimeters, increased use of CCTV internally as well as externally, strict volumetric control of

prisoners’propertyandadramaticreversalofpolicyonso-called‘privileges’(basicallyanythingthat

could be presented by the media as inappropriately conceived indulgences to an anti-social

population). In essence, the nineteenth century principle of ‘less eligibility’ (citation to Marx or

Rusche/Kirchheimer?) has re-emerged, basedon an understanding that prisoners should ‘suffer’ in

prison,notonlythroughthelossoffreedombutalsobyvirtueofprisonconditions,whichshouldbe

ofaworsestandardthanthoseavailabletothepoorestfreeworkers.

It is against thisbackdrop thatwemustviewmuchof recentpenalpolicy introducedbya

Conservative-ledcoalitiongovernment.Ahardeningofpenalsensibilitieshascoalescedaroundnew

anti-terrorism legislation, resulting in the introduction or curtailment of countless everyday

proceduresandpracticesthathavecombinedtoforminsidiousandpervasiveerosionsofhumanity

(Drake, 2012). The current Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling, has taken the politics of

vengeance to a new level with a raft of petty restrictions, including limiting young offenders’

televisionaccessand imposingablanketbanonfamiliessendingsmall itemstoprisoners, including

books.ivGrayling’s colleague,HomeSecretaryTheresaMay, sumsup theUKgovernment’sattitude:

‘Prisonworksbut itmustbemade toworkbetter. The key formembersof thepublic is that they

want criminals to be punished’ (Guardian, 14 December 2010; cited Moran, Jewkes and Turner,

forthcoming).Thattheirpolicieshaveprecipitateda69%increaseinprisonsuicides–widelyreferred

to as a ‘secret deathpenalty’ – doesnot seem to trouble thesepoliticians (Dunt, 2014); norhas a

similarprevalenceofsuicidetroubledU.S.officials(asdetailedinthesubsequentchapterbyReiter&

Blair). They possess an unshakeable moral certitude that retribution is a greater goal than

rehabilitation.Foronecommentator,theUKGovernment’sstanceepitomizestheenduringappealof

TheDivineComedy:‘Vendettastillrules.Entireforeignpolicies,nottomentioncivilwarsandterror

campaigns,arebasedonideasofrevengeandpolaritiesofgoodandeviljustasprimitiveasanything

inDante’(Jones,2011:n.p).

Inthecurrenteraofcriminaljustice,then,despitecrimeratesthatbroadlyremainsteadyor

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are in decline, we might be said to be experiencing a similar synergy to that which underpinned

Dante’s worldview formed at the turn of the fourteenth century: a surge of populist punitiveness

whereby sentimentsdriven from ‘below’byanangryandanxiouspublic collidewith ‘authoritarian

populism’ engineered by ambitious andmanipulative politicians eager to capitalize on public fears

andprejudices inordertomaximizetheirelectoralappeal(Halletal,1978).Aforeshortened lifeon

DeathRow,anenforcedstateofLimboviaanindeterminatelifesentence,or‘LifeWithoutParole’ina

penalhell-hole,issimplyajustandnecessaryconsequenceofagivenactivity.Andallthesehavebeen

supportedbythemedia's'terrifyingcounter-democraticlanguage'ofvengeanceanddehumanization

(Hartnettetal,2011).

Contemporary penal architecture reflects these political, policy and media contexts,

transformingprisonsecurityandwithitprisoners’qualityoflife(LieblingwithArnold,2004,Liebling,

Arnold and Straub 2011, Drake 2012; see also Liebling this volume). Given that the nineteenth-

centuryprisonbuildingsstill inservice inthepenalestateareusuallyconsideredthe leastdesirable

carceralenvironments,the‘newprisonsforold’policycurrentlybeingrolledoutbytheUKMinistry

ofJusticemightappeartobeahumaneintervention.Afterall,Victorian‘housesofcorrection’ensure

inmates’ restricted economy of space, light and color, imprisoning them psychologically aswell as

physically. However, it has yet to be established empirically whether ‘old’ alwaysmeans ‘bad’ in

prison architecture and design, or whether the kind of contemporary prison currently being

commissionedintheUKnecessarilyequatesto‘progressive’or‘humanitarian’(HancockandJewkes,

2010; Moran and Jewkes, forthcoming). Of course, clean, humane and safe environments are

unquestionably desirable for prisoners and prison staff but, in recent years, UK prison new-builds

havebeendrivenby logicsofcost,efficiencyandsecurity. Thepreoccupationwith ‘hardening’ the

prison environment to design-out risk has arguably swung towards an understanding of the

situational,ratherthansocial,dependenceofbehavior,‘creatingsafesituationsratherthancreating

safe individuals’ (Wortley2002:4). There is alsoaneed inprisonarchitecture to complywithHM

Prison ServiceOrders about the specificationof prison accommodation,which lay out ‘measurable

standards’thatcanbeappliedconsistentlyacrosstheestate(HMPS2001:1).

In this context, theUKGovernment has resurrected formerly shelvedproposals for ‘Titan’

style prisons that may bear some of the hallmarks of the supermax. Frequently sited in remote

locationsandconsistingofbland,unassuminganduniformexteriors,withvastexpansesofbrick,a

few smallwindows, andnounnecessary decoration, theseprisonwarehousesmay communicate a

particular message about society’s attitudes towards prisoners (Jewkes 2013, Jewkes and Moran

2014).Ataconceptuallevel,moraldriveis,asBaumansays,‘limitedbytheprincipleofproximity’and

the distance we feel from our actions is proportionate to our ignorance of them (2004: 193-4).

Therefore,whileweexpectpunishment tobeexactingandareacquiescentaboutapopularmedia

that takes on the role of vigilante on our behalf (bringing wrong-doers to justice, naming and

shaming,criticizingsentencerswhoare‘soft’oncrime,andsoon),wearecontentforpunishmentto

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bemediat(iz)edandmadevisible,asitwere,atonestepremoved.Indeed,thenondescriptexternal

appearanceofnew-buildprisonswithvastwallsanddiscretebutomniscientsecurityandsurveillance

technology, reducing the need for watch-towers and razor wire, could be regarded as a visual

metaphor for the loss of public empathy for the excluded offender; the ‘silent ethical gaze’ that

Bauman(2013)referredto.Their‘municipal’architectureenablesustoturnablindeyetotheplight

of the confined, while our daily newspapers reassure us that prisons are suitably hellish places.

Simultaneously, then, the visible manifestation of extreme but ‘fitting’ punishment salaciously

reportedbythemediaandtheinvisibilityofprisonersbanishedtotheseprisonwarehousesthatare

sitedinremote,hard-to-reachlocations,reducestheirhumannessandreinforcesnineteenthcentury

ideasofoffendersasoutcasts.Inthisway,theUKisonceagainfollowingtheAmericanexampleand,

whilewedonothavethe landscapetoexpelconvictedoffendersto inaccessible islandsorvirtually

uninhabitable deserts, it is becomingmore common to site prisons in locations that lack transport

networksandinfrastructure.AsaGuardianeditorialputsit,‘evenifyourworldviewcan’tcomputea

prisoner as a victim of anything, and sees his or her rights to justice as completelywaived by the

committalofanycrime,howeverpetty,youwouldneverthelessbeabletoseethatprisonersaren’t

rehabilitatedintheseconditions’(Williams,2014:n.p.).

Any hope of rehabilitation is further undermined by the requirement for prison architects

andconstructorsto‘future-proof’theirdesigns,inordertoavoidtheneedforexpensiveretro-fitting

ofsecurityif,atsomepointinthefuture,afacilityneedstobeusedtoaccommodatehighersecurity

inmates. In other words, a medium security Category C facility holding those prisoners deemed

unlikelytotrytoescape,willbebuiltwithallthesecurityparaphernaliaandcontrollingofmovement

associated with a high security Category B institution, designed to hold prisoners for whom the

potential forescapeshouldbemadeverydifficult.Thiscombinationofwarehousingandcontrolled

movement representsanewand insidiouskindofHell, in theU.S.as in theU.K.,asVictorHassine

underlines. Afterdescribing thebleakenvironments,dark tomb-likespacesanddeafeningnoiseof

several old-style jails in which he was housed, Hassine described how the brand new SCI Albion

Pennsylvania, built in the 1990s, appeared (initially at least) to be the most comfortable, best

designedandmostattractiveprisonhehadeverseen; ‘anoceanofplushgreenfieldsofgrasswith

handsome geometric outcroppings of earth-tonedbrick buildings...generously spaced…to create an

eye-pleasing andharmonious visionof tranquility that evoked safety and relaxation’ (2011: 113-4).

Lookinglikeitcouldworkasarehabilitativeprison,SCIAlbionisinfactthe‘leasteffectiveprisonof

all,’Hassinedeclares:

It is a dysfunctional, mean-spirited facility that callously steeps you in despair while it

lavishes youwith physical comfort. Albionprovides the inmate a sterile environmentwith

facelessbellsandvoicespreciselycontrollingtimeandmovementfornoapparentpurpose

other thanorder. It is a placewhere everyone is suspicious of eachother and superficial

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friendlinessisallthatcanexist.Itisaplacewhereperceptionistheonlyrealitythatmatters

andwhereinducedpovertyisusedtogenerateillusorywealth(2011:125).

ThisisthekindofmodelnowfollowedinEnglandandWales.Inthenewprisonwarehouses,staffing

costsareminimized;prisonereducation,trainingandworkare limited;prisonersare lockedintheir

cellsforincreasinglylengthyperiodswith‘privileges’suchasin-cellphones;andprisonerhomicides,

suicidesandsexualassaultsarerising(Williams,2014).

Myfieldnotes,recordingmyfirstvisittoanewprivately-runprisoninEngland,illustratethe

similaritiesbetweennew-buildfacilitiesinEnglandandAmerica:

Superficiallyit’s‘nice’enoughbuttheatmosphereispeculiar.The[prison]complexisvast–

it feels like a small town with ‘streets’ connecting the buildings and a high, yellowmesh

fenceeverywhereyoulook.It’seasytobecomedisorientedbecauseitalllooksthesame–

it’s likeToyTownoranarchitect’smodelcometo life. Except there isnothing ‘playful’or

vividaboutit.Itfeelscompletelyunreal.Artificialandsterile…numbinginitsblandness.No

landscapingortreessonobirdsorwildlife.Nolitter,nopeoplevisible.Reallyodd.Sensory

deprivationmadetoseemacceptable(Author,fieldnote,24thMay2013).

Itmightbesurprisingtosomethat levelsofassault,suicideandmental illnessarerisinginthevery

prisonscharacterizedbythepressas ‘holidaycamps’. Yetthekindof ‘privileges’whichgiveriseto

suchnewspaperreportsmasktheharmsthatthese‘warehousesindisguise’mayinflict.Connection

to the outside world via in-cell phone or video link (to family overseas, to lawyers and to court

hearings) may be dressed up as a ‘perk’ but they make a poor substitute for real, human,

interpersonal connection. The combination, then of bland, sterile architecture and a regime that

minimizes costs by reducing prisoner association time and authorizing staffing-at-a-distance via TV

monitors,produceasterileanddehumanizingatmosphere.AsHassinenotes,suchprisonstakeona

manufactured,assembly linequalitycomparabletoanant farm,beneathwhich liesa ‘violenceand

crushinghopelessnessthetrappedantsareactuallyforcedtoendure…morehopelessandindifferent

thananyprison’(Hassine,2011:119).

Analternativeapproach

Waves crash on to the beach, birds sing in clear blue skies and an idyllic nature reserve

stretchesasfarastheeyecansee.Butthisisnoexoticholidaydestination,it'sBastøyPrison,

hometosomeofthemostnotoriouscriminalsinNorway(Mirror,10December2007).

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Hassine’s poignant observations about the seemingly benign SCI Albion alert us to the perils of

architecturaldeterminismandremindusthatthesuccessofanyprisondesignmustbeviewedwithin

the context of its operational dimensions, as well as the prevailing climate of opinion regarding

prisons and prisoners. Even prisonswhich appear, to the outsider at least, relatively humane, are

renderedhellishby theextremespatialandtemporal limits theyplaceontheconfined,andby the

closeproximityinwhichindividualshavetolivewithothersnotoftheirchoosing.AsJean-PaulSartre

(1944)observed,Hell is otherpeople, and theremaybenomore vivid expressionof this than the

prison,whetheritisinadeeplyconservativeUSstateoronaNorwegianprisonisland.

Nonetheless, thedesignprocess, is, asWenernotes, ‘thewedge that forces the systemto

thinkthroughitsapproachandreview,restate,orredevelopitsphilosophyofcriminaljustice’(2012:

7).Inotherpartsoftheworld—inwhichthe‘newpunitiveness’oftheUSandUKhasnottakenhold

— prison designers have focused on the rehabilitative function of imprisonment, and have

experimentedwithprogressiveandhighlystylizedformsofpenalarchitecture.There,internalprison

spacesexhibitsoftfurnishings,colorzoning,maximumexploitationofnaturallight,displaysofartand

sculpture,andviewsofnaturethroughvistawindowswithoutbars.Arguably,Bastøy,theNorwegian

island prison, is the most famous custodial environment in Europe. With its simple wooden

accommodation,stunningsettingandeco-philosophy,itresembles–superficiallyatleast–atranquil

holidayretreat.However,theprisonusuallyheldupasbeinga‘model’ofinternationalbestpractice

inpenalarchitectureanddesignisHaldeninNorway,ahigh-securityfacility,openedin2009.Thefirst

prison to employ interior designers, Halden’s varied color palettes, natural constructionmaterials,

emphasisonmaximizingdaylight(therearenobarsonanywindows)andlocationinascenicforest

might be regarded as a physicalmanifestation of theNorwegian prison system's focus on human

rights and normalization: it is, says the Governor, ‘the world’s most humane prison’

(http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1986002,00.html).

Now, a number of other countries are following Norway’s lead and building humane,

sensuous,architecturallyinnovativefacilities.Insomecases,thisapproachgoeswellbeyondavoiding

an institutional feel and aims to design prisons that – perhaps not uncontroversially – might be

describedasbeautiful. Architects’websitesgiveaflavornotonlyoftheleading-edgedesignsbeing

employed but also the penal philosophies underpinning them (Moran et al, forthcoming). For

example,anewstateprisonontheislandofFalster inDenmarkistobebuiltbyC.F.Møller. They

say:

wehavedeliberatelycreatedaveryvariedandstimulatingenvironmentofdifferentspaces

andlandscapefeatures-hopefullythiswillcontributetothere-socializationoftheindividual

and to create renewed confidence in the community andmutual respect for society as a

whole(http://www.dezeen.com/2011/01/07/danish-state-prison-by-c-f-møller/)

12

AnotherDanisharchitecturalcompany,SchmidtHammerLassen,haswonthecompetitiontodesign

Greenland’s first closed prison which aims to be the ‘world’s most scenic prison’. Set within a

stunning, rugged landscape, the prison will exploit the ‘contrast between the rough and the

beautiful’:

The whole idea behind the project is to add qualities to the complex that will enhance

rehabilitationanddiminishphysicalandpsychologicalviolence…Thethoughtprocessbehind

thisisthataccesstonature–watchingtheclouds,birds,daylight,weatherandsoon,canaid

inrehabilitation(http://www.archdaily.com/375056/ny-anstalt-correctional-facility-winning-

proposal-schmidt-hammer-lassen-architects/).

Meanwhile,OOIIOArchitecturesetouttodesignawomen’sprisoninIcelandthat‘doesn’tlooklikea

prison,forgettingaboutdarkspaces,smallcells,anduglygreyconcretewalls…webasedthebuilding

designonnaturallight,openspaces,andnaturalgreenmaterialslikepeat,grassandflowers’(OOIIO

Architecture 2012: no page). Instead of designing one large building (like a ‘typical repressive old

prison’), they decided to break it into several ‘human-scale, connected’ pavilions, which must be

efficientandfunctionaltoenablethespatialseparationofprisoners,butmustalsohave‘naturallight

andexteriorviews,to increasethefeelingoffreedom’.Thearchitectsalsohadaneyetothespeed

andeaseofconstruction,andtotheecostandardsofthebuilding,planningtodrawuponIcelandic

vernacular architecture to insulate the building. With a facade constructed from peat-filled cages

plantedwith local flowers and grasses, they intended to deliver a building ‘that changes with the

seasons’,makingprisonlife‘lessmonotonousandmorehumanandnaturalrelated’(ibid.).

ConcludingThoughts

The sole purpose of prisons is not just any human waste disposal but a final, definitive

disposal.Oncerejected,foreverrejected’(Bauman,2004:86).

Whethertheloftyaestheticconsiderationshailedbyarchitectsaresignificantmattersofconcernto

prisoners is a moot point although, as noted earlier, prisoner autobiographies suggest that

architecture and design are intrinsically related to the pain and harms inflicted by incarceration.

Perhaps,then,thekindofdesignsnotedaboveinNorway,IcelandandDenmark,developanalphabet

of openness, flexibility and ‘humane’ treatment, rather than one of fear. Perhaps they even

13

encourage a different kind of inhabitation then their English and US counterparts; one that

encouragesintellectualcreativityandmaturity.

ButassomecountriesofNorthernEuropeseeknovelandcreativesolutionstothepainsof

imprisonment,boththeUSandUKappeartobereturningtoMedievalideasaboutexpressiveforms

of punishment meted out by harsh but just authorities. In these countries, the popular media’s

construction of prisoners as ‘evil monsters’ or ‘human waste’ makes ‘hellish’ prisons the most

appropriatecontainersforthemandimagesofsubterranean,tomb-like,penal‘hell-holes’playlarge

in the popular imagination. Prisons are necessarily heavily symbolic institutions and the popular

media perpetuate the notion that people commit crimes because ‘they’ are not like ‘us’. In this

context, Dante’s depiction of eternal sufferingmay be unremittingly andmesmerizingly cruel, but

arguablyitisregardedbysocietyatlargeasa‘half-desirabledestination’(Nellis,2006:226)forthose

designated‘evil’.

Moreover, the notion of a benign God who ordains cruel punishment is one that

governmentsofliberaldemocraciesholddear.Divinejusticeisimmutableandtherecanbenomore

graphicanddisturbingrenditionof‘dothecrime,dothetime’(andbepreparedtodothetimeinthe

circlesofHell)thanInferno.Itisthismoralabsolutismthatpermeatesculturalideasaboutoffenders

andpunishment.Thefolkloristimagesofdevilsanddemonsthatformerlysoakedupdiffusesecurity

fears have been transformed into images that construct the ‘outsider’ status of perpetrators as

unequivocal and incontestable (Bauman, 2004). Offenders are beyond redemption; human waste

whomustbebanishedtoafittinglocation.Consequently,whilecapitalpunishmentisunlikelytoever

be reintroduced in the UK and seventeen US states do not currently have an enforceable death

penalty, eternal damnation finds form in penal Hell; the ultimate punishment for those offenders

designatedthe‘worstoftheworst’.

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Endnotes

iLimitationsofspaceprecludeananalysisoftheracialandethnicdimensionsofmassimprisonmenthere,butIprovideanextendedandmoredetailedanalysisofprisonHellandculturalconnotationsoflightnessanddarknessastheypertaintotheracialdemographicsoftheprisonpopulationinJewkes,Y.(2014)‘Punishmentinblackandwhite:Penal‘hell-holes’,popularmediaandmassincarceration’,AtlanticJournalofCommunicationspecialissueon‘ReframingRaceandJusticeintheAgeofMassIncarceration’22(1):42-60ii ESRCStandardGrantES/K011081/1"Fear-suffusedenvironments"orpotentialtorehabilitate?Prisonarchitecture,designandtechnologyandthelivedexperienceofcarceralspaces’(withDominiqueMoran,School

16

ofGeography,EarthandEnvironmentalSciences,UniversityofBirmingham,andJenniferTurner,DepartmentofCriminology,UniversityofLeicester) iiiThismaxim,inmoderntimesmostfrequentlyusedinrelationtotheHolocaust,mightalsobepertinenttothecrisisfacingtheprisonsystemsoftheUSandUK.AnanonymousreviewerofabookproposalforthePalgraveStudiesinPrisonsandPenologyserieswrote:‘Ofallthethingsfuturegenerationswillbeshockedwithinregardstoouruseofimprisonmentin2012(andthereismuchtoshock),probablythestarkestwillbethequestionof“wherewereallthevoicesshouting‘whatisgoingonhere?”’ivThisrestrictionwassubsequentlychallengedbyaprisonerandoverturnedbythehighcourt,butnotbeforeseveralauthorstookrevengeontheMinisterforbanningbooksbeingsenttoprisonersinnewimaginingsofDante’sInferno.Announcingthattheywouldimpalehimontheirpens,AustraliannovelistKathyLettetoldtheNewYorkTimesthathernextbookwillfeatureacorruptlawyernamedaftertheBritishMinisterofJusticewhoendsupinaprisonwhereheisdeprivedofreadingmatterandgoesinsane.AGuardianblogreportedthisstoryundertheheadline‘Fire,tormentandvillainyawaitChrisGraylinginnovelpunishmentforprisonbookban’(http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jul/04/chris-grayling-prison-book-ban-novelist-revenge-plots).Meanwhile,BritishnovelistMargaretDrabblesaidthatshewouldbeincludingGraylinginherforthcomingnoveltitledDeathByFire,adding‘Hecoulddieinthefire’(http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2014/07/07/author-s-new-book-features-villain-called-chris-grayling).