Perhaps I should clarify, one of the outstanding issues with the group environment in modern prisons is the highly unsupervised nature of it all. Prisoners form prison gangs, establish strict social rules, violence becomes the norm, gang rape is used as a control mechanism,...etc. A shocking number of first time prisoners end up deep in bizarre race segregated gangs, or if they aren't strong enough, used as sexual barter pieces for stronger prisoners. The list goes on and on.
Guards are there to keep them in the facility, and more or less from killing each other, but that's about it (and the guards are often as much the ones causing the problems as the prisoners).
So what I mean is that it's not clear, from a correctional standpoint, that the modern group environment is a safer or more sane environment than the original isolation concept. To my understanding, the main reason prisons have largely moved to a social environment had more to do with cost than perceived harm from extended isolation.
I won't dispute that extended solitary is also mentally damaging...but your idea of more solitary than today for the typical prisoner, and a few hours of contact, is pretty sound to me.
Fair enough -- I didn't mean to claim the normal way of dumping everyone into general population with minimal supervision is a good idea at all. Prison is awful primarily because of the other people in prison -- both the prisoners and guards. But the problem is in the details, not in allowing interaction and groups at all.
Guards are there to keep them in the facility, and more or less from killing each other, but that's about it (and the guards are often as much the ones causing the problems as the prisoners).
Most people don't realize the prisons these days are largely like this: http://www.buzzfeed.com/sgtdopushups/cop-killer-updates-face...
So what I mean is that it's not clear, from a correctional standpoint, that the modern group environment is a safer or more sane environment than the original isolation concept. To my understanding, the main reason prisons have largely moved to a social environment had more to do with cost than perceived harm from extended isolation.
I won't dispute that extended solitary is also mentally damaging...but your idea of more solitary than today for the typical prisoner, and a few hours of contact, is pretty sound to me.