If ever there was an institution exemplifying the adage “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” solitary confinement in our prisons would be it.
Quakers in England and in Pennsylvania played a large role in the introduction of isolation as an alternative to the mayhem that was prevalent in prisons. In the U.S. a group of reformers, including many Friends (Quakers), developed a vision of the penitentiary as an alternative to these squalid dungeons. The notion at the time was that providing a space for silent, solitary reflection and penitence would result in rehabilitation. Instead, the stark isolation caused people to deteriorate mentally and physically.