Psychological Effects of Solitary Confinement

What is solitary confinement? By definition, the term "solitary confinement" refers to "a punishment in which a prisoner is denied contact with any other persons." ("Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia") For centuries, people who have wronged society by inflicting suffering of the body have been punished with imprisonment. Today, it is not only used as a form of punishment, but also as a form of rehabilitation in attempts to change a person's mind as well as the individual's body.
Solitary confinement was originally designed to give prisoners a chance to regain their conscience by the violati…