1) The document explores the paradoxical role of silence in the American prison system. While silence is often used as a form of punishment, it can also provide relief through spiritual practices like prayer and contemplation. 2) Prisons are inherently quiet environments that are governed by scheduled noises and the implicit threat of further isolation and silence as punishment. However, religious programs and chaplains also provide opportunities for prisoners to find solace and community through silence. 3) The author argues that one's perspective on the nature of silence, whether as a presence or absence, depends on their relationship with God. For those disconnected from God, silence can be hurtful, but it reflects an inherent connection for those on a spiritual

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Keziah Camille Rezaey
26 September 2019
A Supposed Paradox: A Study of Silence in the American Prison System
In contemporary times, silence is regarded as an escape from reality, a reel from the noise
that plagues daily existence. Can it, however, still exist as a tool of relaxation for the human
spirit if it operates in the same realm where it is oftimes used as punishment? In Into the Silent
Land, Michael Laird reflects on how silence is a necessary tool in the practice of Christian
contemplation. Laird begins the novel by offering two anecdotes. He writes of two prisoners, one
who has turned to prayer to aid in his emotional pain and another who discovered what it means
to be human through spiritual dedication. Through this, he implies that this institution, which
currently stands as a means of punishment in American society has been transformed, by a shift
of perspective, into “the perfect monastery.” Having done extensive research on the mental toll
1
of the incarcerated experience in the United States and knowing the socioeconomic implications
of the endurance of the prison industry, I wanted to investigate the role of silence in the
American prison industry. In this paper, I will reflect on how silence resides by nature, how it is
used as both a solution and as a punishment, and how it exists as a paradox in an industry that it
populates.
Prison is inherently quiet — in both a literal sense and not. When perceived from both
inside and out, it is a system of punishment that is governed by silence. The noise runs on a
schedule — it is enough for a shout of a guard, a stern voice reverberating through the speakers,
or the sound of a bell to mark and dictate the actions of a prisoner. There is time set aside for
1
Michael Laird, Into the Silent Land, (New York, Oxford University Press, 2006), 8.

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work, leisure, meals, and sleep. From the clanging of steel bars to the slamming of doors, the
sounds of prisons are audible indications of actions according to a time table; yet there is a silent
implicitness by nature. These sounds act as a reminder that as a prisoner, they are not completely
free. By consequence, they can choose to an extent, restricted by the punishments that society
sees fit to impose on them. This is the indirect silence that exists in prisons, but in addition to
that, there is an explicit silence in isolation. Certain prisoners are forced into cramped cells with
limited human contact as punishment for immoral behavior. Many have claimed it is this absence
of sound that has precisely made such a profound effect on their psyche after leaving prison. It is
then that silence can be seen as repulsive by those who have served time.
Despite the pervasive uses of silence as punishment, it can also be solutions to the
problems and stigmatization of mental health that are observed in large prison populations.
Chaplains are always available, acting as a reverberating and guiding voice, a contrast to the void
at which prisoners dare to speak and find themselves at odds with. It is their quiet and receptive
nature and open ears that help mediate the reality that is distorted by having been removed from
greater society. In addition, with the expansive prison reform through the decades, spiritual
programs and a religious presence are wide-spread, providing mediums for the incarcerated to
express themselves. It is again witnessed that the duality of silence is in accordance with prayer
and reflection by communion with God and others. Laird acknowledges that silence is not
inherently “anti-community … the personal journey into God is simultaneously ecclesial and
all-embracing...Communion with God and communion with others are realizations of the same
center.” At the same time, influential religious leaders such as Pope Francis and Father Greg
2
2
Laird, Into the Silent Land, 12.

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Boyle have embraced those currently and formerly incarcerated. They do not regard them as
irreconcilable members of society, but instead as those who have briefly turned away from God
and are still open to the light. I believe that religion plays an immense role in shaping how
society views those who have been imprisoned and it is precisely these religious organizations
that can be at the forefront of reform. Through the silence in prayer alone and with community,
God exists as an image of hope, a revival of the spirit and soul, and a comfort to those in prison.
It is then seen that silence that exists specifically in the realm of the system of prison is a
paradox — it is both a comfort and punishment to those who are incarcerated. Continuously, as it
so seems, at both ends of the spectrum, silence has a duality, a tangible lack of being and a
presence beyond. It is both implicit and explicit, characterized by the observable absence of
noise and what is left unsaid. I believe that these are distinguished on the basis of perspectives
and a realization of what lies beyond the silence. What unites all these various modes of silence
is best explained by Laird’s imagery of humans as spokes on a wheel, all connected to the hub
that is God. A journey to the center is necessary so as to grow in relationship with God, and the
further out an individual is, the more isolated they feel and the more silence can hurt. I
conceptualize silence that occurs in a negative sense as being perceived by those on the ends of
the spokes, having not yet begun their journey towards God. Laird reflects that a sense of
separation from God is real, however, it is the human condition that skews the view on the
silence that exists inherently from God, who is both unperceivable in the tenets of matter yet,
ever present in our earthly realities. It is then that I conclude that the paradox of silence is
reflective of an individual’s relationship with God. One’s view on the nature of silence and how
it exists can either be a realization of the presence of God within silence or the belief that God

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has left one alone. Like God, silence is both incomprehensible and yet tangible, which leaves
much to contemplate.