just about every prison has a hole, a box, or a seg unit. these are thought to deter inmates from disruptive behavior, incapacitate those dangerous to themselves or others, and, sometimes, to protect inmates who might be especially vulnerable. if a prison is a microcosm of society, the seg unit is therefore the prison’s prison.

minnesota’s ancient correctional facility in stillwater just built a new $19,600,000 segregation unit to house the institution’s most disruptive residents. such costs strike those on the left as an outrageous expenditure in dehumanization, while striking those on the right as an outrageous expenditure in mollycoddling. having visited this facility and other century-old units on several occasions, however, i agree with prison administration on the need for such a facility. if you think the new seg unit is dehumanizing, you should’ve seen the old one — violent, frighteningly loud, with fires, floods, and flying feces a constant threat to staff and inmates.
during visits, i thought it unimaginable that people could spend any length of time in such conditions and still be expected to function as productive citizens upon their release. one hopes that the colder but safer space in the new unit may ultimately play some role in reentry and reintegration. a kare-11 report (with a bit of video from the old seg unit) quotes stillwater’s warden on this point:

“It wasn’t designed for being more comfortable, but designed as being more humane,” Warden John King explained. “That’s an important thing, to treat offenders humanely because they’re going to be back on the streets and in our communities,” he added.