What happens to people in solitary confinement | Laura Rovner

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

開車穿過全世界最嚴密的 監獄，所見相當美麗。

它是聯邦政府唯一的一座 超級監獄，被稱為 ADX，

位在丹佛南方九十哩處。

The drive through the world's most secure prison is beautiful.

站在建築物的外面，

The federal government's only supermax prison, known as ADX,

ADX 看起來像是 有點新的近郊中學。

（笑聲）

is 90 miles south of Denver.

大廳很乾淨，很明亮；

Standing outside the building,

有很大的窗戶，可以 清楚看到外面的山；

ADX looks like a newish suburban middle school.

還有有禮貌的服務台人員， 和一個小攤子銷售隨行馬克杯。

(Laughter)

The lobby is clean and bright;

（笑聲）

there's big windows and clear views of the mountains;

牆壁有一塊很大的匾牌，寫著：

and a polite front-desk attendant with a kiosk selling travel mugs.

「人生能給你的最大獎， 就是有機會可以努力

做值得做的事。」

(Laughter)

旁邊是惡魔島聯邦監獄的裱框大照片。

On the wall is a large plaque that reads,

"The best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard

到了樓下，在長廊的盡頭，

at work worth doing."

有四百名男子，在隔離牢房中腐朽。

Just past it is a huge framed photo of Alcatraz.

And down the stairs, at the end of a long hallway,

我接的是和囚犯 憲法權利有關的案件。

are 400 men decaying in isolation cells.

大家對於囚犯的權利有不同的看法。

I work on cases involving the constitutional rights of prisoners.

但有一點是比較多人能有共識的：

虐待。

Now, people have differing views about prisoners' rights.

美國政府說它不會進行虐待。

我們也會譴責其他國家如伊朗和北韓

But there's something more people can agree on:

採用虐待的行為。

torture.

但有些人認為這些 惡人中的惡人是活該：

The US government says it doesn't use torture,

and we condemn other countries, like Iran and North Korea,

恐怖分子、殺人魔、 非常「壞」的人。

for their use of torture.

But some people think the so-called worst of the worst deserve it:

我個人認為，沒有人活該 應該要被美國政府虐待。

terrorists, mass murderers, the really "bad" people.

但那是我的看法。

（掌聲）

Now I personally believe that no one deserves to be tortured

by the US government.

But that's me.

不論你的立場為何，在我繼續 之前有幾點要先讓你了解。

(Applause)

首先，在美國這裡 我們確實會虐待人，

No matter where you fall,

每天有數萬人被虐待。

there's a few things I need you to understand

這種虐待叫做單獨監禁。

before I continue.

First, we do torture people here in America,

以我們的名義，用我們的納稅錢， 把門關起來做這件事。

tens of thousands of them every day.

結果是，

It's called solitary confinement.

我們在破壞我們 司法體制的核心價值。

It's done in our names, using our tax dollars,

ADX 是用最先進的技術建造， 做到近乎完美的單獨監禁。

behind closed doors.

And as a result,

we're undermining the core values of our justice system.

每個人每天有二十三小時單獨 待在小型浴室大小的牢房中。

Built with state-of-the-art technology,

ADX has nearly perfected solitary confinement.

差不多可說是他人生中的 每個面向都發生在那牢房中。

Each man spends 23 hours a day

但，除了在馬桶旁邊 睡覺和吃飯之外，

alone in a cell the size of a small bathroom.

Virtually every aspect of his life occurs in that cell.

人生也沒什麼面向了。

獄警會把食物盤從門縫推進去，

But aside from sleeping and eating,

which he does within an arm's reach of his toilet,

並把這些人帶到單獨的運動鐵籠，

there aren't many aspects of life.

囚犯和工作人員把它稱為

Correctional officers push food trays through slots in the doors

遛狗場，沒有諷刺意思。

and take the men to solitary exercise cages

除此之外，

這些人就被關在水泥室中，

that are referred to by prisoners and staff alike,

一整天，每一天。

without irony, as dog runs.

能向前兩步，向後兩步，就這麼大。

Other than that,

these men are locked in cement closets,

他們看不到附近的山或任何樹木——

all day, every day.

「沒有生物，連一片草葉都沒有。」

Two steps forward, two steps back.

ADX 中有人這麼描述。

That's it.

They can't see the nearby mountains or any trees --

有些人回報，經過數年都沒有 看向任何十呎外的東西，

"nothing living, not so much as a blade of grass,"

他們的視力嚴重退化到無法 再聚焦到遠方的物體上了。

is how one man in ADX described it.

Some people report that after years of not looking at anything

孤立隔離感是如此深刻， 讓我們有位客戶

further than 10 feet away,

their eyesight has deteriorated so much

會在他的牢房地板上躺好幾個小時，

that they can't focus on faraway objects anymore.

只希望當有人經過他牢房外時， 能瞥見那個人的腳也好。

The isolation is so deep and profound

that one of our clients would lie on the floor of his cell for hours,

另一名囚犯和飛進 他牢房的黃蜂交朋友，

just hoping to catch a glimpse of someone's feet

餵食牠，把牠當朋友一樣談天。

as they walked past the door of his cell.

有些囚犯會嘗試對著淋浴 排水管大吼來與其他囚犯溝通。

Another befriended a wasp that flew into his cell,

feeding it and talking to it like a friend.

不過仍有許多囚犯才和我們 談一個小時，就沒聲音了。

Some try to communicate with fellow prisoners

by yelling through the shower drains.

他們的聲帶太久沒有用來 做那麼長時間的談話。

Still though, many of these men lost their voices

我們知道長期隔離的衝擊非常巨大。

after talking with us for just an hour.

Their vocal cords were out of practice speaking for that long.

這簡直是常識。

這就是為什麼嚴厲的監獄體制 和虐待方式都經常會採用

We know the impact of long-term isolation is devastating.

單獨監禁當作一種嚴重的懲罰。

This borders on common sense.

這就是為什麼我們沒有人 能容忍讓家人，

It's why harsh prison systems and torture regimes

比如父母或孩子，

routinely use solitary as a form of severe punishment.

被單獨鎖在小型浴室中 好幾天，更不用說好幾年，

And why none of us would tolerate having a loved one,

或好幾十年了。

like a parent or a child,

locked alone in a small bathroom for days, let alone years.

在代表第一位 ADX 客戶的過程中，

我們聽說了另一個人， 湯米‧西爾維斯汀，

他在 1983 年被聯邦監獄管理局 下令「不得與人接觸」，

Or decades.

In the course of representing that first client at ADX,

關到單獨監禁室裡，

we learned about another man, Tommy Silverstein,

因為他殺了一名獄警。

who the Federal Bureau of Prisons put in solitary confinement

湯米當時三十一歲。

under a "no human contact" order in 1983,

現在他六十六歲了。

他被單獨監禁了三十五年。

after he killed a corrections officer.

Tommy was 31 years old.

湯米很難用言語來描述 他在 ADX 的經歷，

Now he's 66.

He's been in solitary confinement for 35 years.

他變成了很棒的藝術家，

改用畫畫來表達。

Struggling to find the words to capture his experience of ADX,

除非我們開始改變我們 在美國對待囚犯的方式，

Tommy, who has become an accomplished artist,

否則他剩下的人生 可能都得在那裡渡過。

drew it instead.

Unless we start to change how we treat prisoners in this country,

約翰‧麥肯和尼爾森‧曼德拉都說過， 在他們在監獄遇過的慘事當中，

he'll probably be there for the rest of his life.

單獨監禁是最糟糕的。

那是因為單獨監禁會讓人面臨 再也認不清自己是誰的風險，

Both John McCain and Nelson Mandela

said that of all the horrors they suffered in prison,

不再知道他們要如何能、 是否能和更大的世界連結。

solitary confinement was the worst.

That's because solitary puts people at risk

心理學家克雷格‧哈尼解釋說，

of losing their grasp on who they are,

那是因為人的身分認同 是靠社交來建立的。

of how and whether they're connected to a larger world.

我們透過我們與他人的關係 來了解我們自己。

As psychologist Dr. Craig Haney explains,

that's because human identity is socially created.

單獨監禁能讓你改變 你對自我的看法。

We understand ourselves through our relationships with other people.

它能讓你懷疑你是否有自我。

有些被單獨監禁的人 甚至不確定他們是否存在，

Solitary confinement can make you change what you think about yourself.

所以他們會大罵獄警，

It can make you doubt whether you even have a self.

結果是被上鐐銬或者被打一頓。

Some people in solitary aren't even sure they exist,

但至少那時他們 會知道自己是存在的。

so they'll mouth off to a corrections officer

隨時間，ADX 的一些囚犯 會崩潰得相當明顯，

and end up getting shackled or beaten.

But at least then, they know they exist.

比如用頭去撞牢房的牆壁， 或者用排泄物塗抹自己，

Over time, some of the men in ADX break down in obvious ways,

或者嘗試自殺，有些人成功了。

like banging their heads on the walls of their cells

許多人會割傷自己，因為感受 痛苦能讓他們與世界保持連結。

or smearing themselves with feces.

Or attempting suicide, some of them successfully.

其他人會調適，

外在看不出心理疾病的徵兆。

Many people cut themselves

just to feel the pain that keeps them tethered to the real world.

但光是調整本身 就會帶來很深的傷害。

Others adjust,

那是因為，矛盾的是， 長期孤立隔離會導致社會退縮。

showing no outward sign of mental illness.

But there's grave harm in the adjustment itself.

一開始，人會很渴望要和人接觸，

That's because the experience of long-term isolation

但隨時間過去，

與人接觸會變得讓人迷惘、害怕。

can paradoxically lead to social withdrawal.

他們再也無法應付與人接觸。

At first, people are starved for human contact,

這一切加起來，就會形成 長久的社會性死亡。

but over time,

it becomes disorienting, even frightening.

ADX 裡的人，是被困在假死狀態。

They can't handle it anymore.

不算是這個世界的一部分，

All of this amounts to a prolonged social death.

他們不屬於任何可觸及 且完全人類的世界。

The men in ADX are stuck in suspended animation.

因為所有這些理由，

Not really part of this world,

國際人權法律禁止 使用長期單獨監禁。

they're not really part of any world that's fully and tangibly human.

事實上，

It's for all of these reasons that international human rights law

聯合國號召各國政府禁止使用 十五天以上的單獨監禁。

prohibits the use of long-term solitary confinement.

截至今天，

湯米‧西爾維斯汀已經被 單獨監禁了 12,815 天。

In fact, the UN has called on governments to ban the use of solitary

for more than 15 days.

As of today,

在評斷其他國家的人權記錄時，

Tommy Silverstein has been in solitary for 12,815 days.

美國國務院把使用 長期單獨監禁稱為違反人權。

Now in judging other countries' human rights records,

比如，2009 年，

the US State Department has called the use of long-term solitary

國務院譴責以色列、伊朗、

a human rights violation.

印尼，以及葉門，

In 2009, for example,

因為它們採用單獨監禁。

State Department condemned Israel, Iran, Indonesia and Yemen

但我們卻容許這種事 發生在我們的國土上。

當監獄是位在美國而不是中國，

for their use of solitary.

But we allow it to happen on our own soil.

當它是由聯邦政府來營運， 而非某個惡棍警長，

When a prison is located in the US instead of China,

當它有最先進的科技 和閃閃發光的地板，

而非過度擁擠的牢房和老舊的設備，

when it's run by the federal government and not some rogue sheriff,

就更難相信虐囚會發生在那裡。

when it has state-of-the-art technology and gleaming floors,

但，重要的是要知道，有時，

not overcrowded cells and decrepit facilities,

這也是虐囚的一種形式。

it's harder to believe that torture happens there.

身為民權律師，

But it's important to entertain the idea that, sometimes, this too

我認為，重要的是要確保人民，

包括犯下可怕罪行的人，

is what torture looks like.

不會被我們的政府虐待。

As a civil rights lawyer,

如果這場演說是電影，

I believe it's important to ensure that people,

我接著就會告訴各位我們如何 不斷奮戰，最後獲得勝利。

even those convicted of terrible crimes,

aren't tortured by our government.

但這不是電影。

And if this talk were a movie,

所以，我要告訴各位的反而是 這樣的不公藏得有多深、

I'd tell you next about how we fought and fought and eventually won.

讓它曝光有多困難，

以及為什麼這麼做很重要。

But this isn't a movie.

So I'll tell you, instead, about how deeply this injustice is hidden.

你會認為律師、

在司法體制中工作的人，

How difficult it is to expose it,

會知道我們的監獄中發生的事。

and why it's important that we do.

但我是律師，我住的地方 離 ADX 不到兩小時路程。

You'd think that lawyers, people who work in the justice system,

而在我們去會見第一位客戶之前，

would know what happens in our prisons.

我都完全不知情。

But I'm a lawyer, and I live less than two hours away from ADX.

我不認為我的不知情是意外。

ADX 用牆把它自己 和公眾監督隔開。

And until we went to see that first client,

I didn't know anything about it.

從它營運以來的二十五年間，

I don't think that's an accident.

只容許過一次人權組織的參訪。

ADX walls itself off from public scrutiny.

記者被拒絕進入是常態。

In the 25 years since it opened,

郵件會被檢查。

it's allowed only a single visit by human rights organizations.

就算有很罕見的家人來訪，

接見過程也會被 隱藏的政府官員監視，

Journalists are routinely denied entry.

他不用通知就可直接中止接見，

Mail is censored.

只要他認為囚犯談到太多 ADX 狀況的細節，就會這麼做。

And even when rare family visits occur,

they're monitored by an unseen government official

在中國、在俄國，他們會 阻擋人權觀察者進入，

who can cut the visit off without notice

if he thinks that the prisoner is talking in too much detail

阻擋媒體進入，阻擋聯合國進入。

about the conditions in ADX.

我們也會這樣做。

In China, in Russia, they keep out the human rights observers,

引用一位記者的說法，ADX 是

keep out the media, keep out the UN.

「美國領土上的一個黑點。」

And so do we.

我們知道，

進行虐待的地方都有 一個特色，就是保密。

ADX is, in the words of one journalist,

"a black site on American soil."

但，經過多年努力翻出真相，

We know that secrecy is a hallmark of places that torture.

我們現在對關塔那摩的狀況 了解得比 ADX 更多。

But after years of shining a light,

五年前，關塔那摩發生 絕食和強迫餵食，

we now know more about the conditions in Guantanamo

ADX 也發生了同樣的事。

than we do at ADX.

但各位可能沒聽說，

Five years ago,

因為政府不允許家人 和律師談論此事。

when there was a hunger strike and force-feeding at Guantanamo,

the same thing was happening at ADX.

但，重點來了：

But you probably didn't hear about it

美國的司法體制應該要是透明的。

because the government gagged family members and lawyers

from talking about it.

在人被送進監獄之前， 大致上也都是透明的。

But here's the thing:

the American criminal justice system is supposed to be transparent.

立法者公開見面，辯論 和制訂法律來禁止犯罪行為。

And before someone gets sent to prison,

that's largely true.

我們社區中的公民擔任 司法審判的陪審團成員。

Legislators meet in public to debate and define the laws

如果你想要去看審判，

that prohibit criminal conduct.

法庭的門都是大開的。

Citizens in our community serve as jurors on criminal trials.

不過，審判之後，我們對於 透明度的承諾就告終了。

And if you want to watch a trial,

監獄大門嚴密緊閉，

the courtroom doors are wide open.

監獄牆壁內發生的事

After the trial, though, our commitment to transparency ends.

就留在監獄牆壁內。

沒有大眾的關注來監督，

With the prison door securely shut,

黑暗就會日漸惡化。

what happens behind prison walls

stays behind prison walls.

除了處死刑之外，監禁 是國家最侵入式的權力：

And without the scrutiny of the public gaze,

剝奪公民的自由。

the darkness festers.

但沒有任何政府機構比監獄 更不透明、更不負責了。

Other than execution,

incarceration is the most intrusive power of the state:

雖然監獄是由納稅人來資助，

the deprivation of citizens' liberty.

且有 95% 的住民會返回社區。

But no government institution

is more opaque and less accountable than prison.

是那種保密性，

Even though prisons are supported by tax payers

容許ADX 可以讓人消失。

and return 95 percent of their residents to our communities.

所以，甘迺迪大法官說我們有義務，

It's that secrecy that allows the ADX to disappear people.

身為民主國家，身為民族，

「我們應該要知道當囚犯 被帶走之後會發生什麼事。」

And so we have an obligation, said Justice Kennedy,

監獄體制是每位公民 該關心的事以及責任。

as a democracy and as a people,

這是你的司法體制。 這些是你的監獄。

"we should know what happens after the prisoner is taken away."

虐待發生在黑暗之處。

The prison system is the concern and responsibility of every citizen.

所以我們應該要擁抱這段告誡：

This is your justice system.

陽光是最好的消毒劑。

These are your prisons.

不僅是因為我們需要知道 在 ADX 裡面發生了什麼事，

Torture happens in the dark.

And so we need to embrace the admonition that sunlight is the best disinfectant.

也因為「知道」本身就能造成改變。

有一條物理公理，叫做測不準原理。

Not only because we need to know what happens inside ADX,

but because the knowing itself can create change.

它說明的是：單單只是觀察，

There's an axiom in physics called the uncertainty principle.

就可能改變，也會改變。

觀察到的亞原子反應。

It teaches that the mere fact of observation

換言之，

光是看著某件事就能影響它的過程。

can alter, will alter,

the subatomic reaction being observed.

在美國這樣的民主國家裡，

政府用我們的名義 代表我們經營監獄。

In other words,

watching something affects its course.

ADX 的狀況牽連到我們的納稅錢、

In a democracy like the US,

公共安全，

prisons are administered in our name and on our behalf.

以及，最重要的，我們對於 每個人天生尊嚴的共同信念。

The conditions in ADX implicate our tax dollars,

我們有義務要做見證。

public safety

and, most of all,

謝謝。

our shared belief in the inherent dignity of every human being.

（掌聲）

We have an obligation to bear witness.

Thank you.

(Applause)