When solitary confinement was first introduced in America in the late 18th century, it wasn’t intended to be a punishment.
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In fact, solitary was first put into practice at U.S. prisons by a pacifist spiritual community called the Quakers, as part of an experiment to improve prison conditions and rehabilitate inmates.
Go inside the surprising history of solitary in this excerpt from FRONTLINE’s “Last Days of Solitary,” premiering Tues. April 18th at 9 p.m. EST / 8 p.m. CST on PBS and online: https://to.pbs.org/2mLjskO
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