Solitary confinement takes a toll on prisoner health. Most doctors agree that long-term isolation causes paranoia, anxiety, and mental illness. For example, inmates in solitary confinement are seven times more likely to hurt themselves than inmates in the regular population. In the summer of 2013, 30,000 adult inmates in the California prison system took part in a hunger strike. By refusing to eat their meals, prisoners drew attention to the use of long-term, indefinite solitary confinement in California prisons. Some prisoners refused to eat for the full 60 days of the hunger strike. Finally California lawmakers agreed to gather information about the use of long-term isolation in the state, resulting in new laws restricting the use of solitary confinement in the state’s prisons. Forced isolation may be even more harmful to young prisoners. The Department of Justice estimates that one third of youth in prison have been isolated from other residents, and more than half of these prisoners have been confined for longer than 24 hours.

Option 1:

The floor of a solitary cell is usually 6 feet by 10 feet. Which array shows an area equivalent to the area of a solitary confinement cell?

Option 2:

To get a better sense of the size of a solitary confinement cell, it is helpful to compare a cell to another space that you know well. For example, you could compare a solitary cell (about 6 feet by 10 feet) to a public bathroom stall. Most public bathroom stalls measure 3 feet by 5 feet.

What percent of a solitary confinement cell would a public bathroom stall occupy?