Virtual reality offers prisoners an escape from the isolation of solitary confinement— read full story

In an innovative shift, prisons are employing virtual reality (VR) to break the oppressive loneliness of solitary confinement. Prisoners in solitary have endured crippling mental and emotional pressure for years, but now technology is rushing in to provide a lifeline. Through VR headsets, prisoners are viewing new worlds, feeling virtual space, and even engaging with people—albeit virtually—redeeming their dingy, isolative existence as something much more interesting. This novel tool is causing controversy regarding its effect on rehabilitation, bringing hope to those mired in solitary confinement. Virtual reality may hold the key to transforming the way we perceive solitary confinement and its place in the prison system.

In a historic moment, Samantha Tovar, aka Royal, emerged from her 6ft-by-11ft isolation cell at the Central California Women's Facility. Three weeks of solitary confinement later, she was led into a shared area where a virtual reality (VR) headset lay in wait. Shackled to a metal table, Royal was about to take a trip to Thailand—never leaving the prison.
"When I first put it on, I felt like I was really there," Royal describes, remembering her first glimpse of a bird's-eye view of a cove. From riding through a Thai market to bathing an elephant, the experience was far from relaxing compared to the chilly, isolating walls of her cell. It was the start of a life-changing program that would assist inmates such as Royal in escaping the stifling loneliness of solitary confinement, even in their own minds.

Virtual reality is not merely a distraction; it's assisting prisoners in working through their feelings. Creative Acts, a non-profit group, employs VR to assist individuals in confronting triggers and trauma from their past. "The VR provokes the triggers and the trauma and the feelings – and then the art changes," states Sabra Williams, founder of Creative Acts. The program requires participants to do art exercises after having seen VR scenes—such as walking through Parisian streets or communicating with others in a marketplace. Prisoners learn how to manage difficult emotions in a safe, reflective manner. For Carlos Ortega, it was sitting before the Eiffel Tower that filled him with a sense of possibility: "I want to live life like that. I deserve it."

Carlos Ortega vividly recalls the challenge of navigating the tight quarters of his solitary confinement cell while wearing a VR headset. Standing at 6ft tall, he had to carefully adjust his movements to avoid colliding with the walls of his small, restrictive space. "In prison, you're always hyper-aware of the space around you, so I tried not to move too much," he says. Despite the physical constraints, the emotional impact of the VR program was profound. Immersed in dynamic, 360-degree environments, Ortega could mentally escape the harsh confines of his cell. This powerful experience gave him a fresh outlook on life, helping him envision a future outside the walls of prison.

In a dramatic turn of events, the application of VR in prisons has resulted in an amazing decrease in infractions. Creative Acts has reported a 96% decline in disciplinaries among participants. Corcoran State Prison is one example, where infractions decreased from 735 to a mere one after conducting a week-long session of VR. This revolutionary impact is being attributed to the power of VR in altering inmates' emotional and behavioral reactions. "Prison is toxic.". You get used to it: the corruption, the duplicity," according to Carlos Ortega. With VR, though, participants are put into the world out there, which creates a sense of empathy and emotional development. The outcome? A more tranquil, reflective space that could change the future of incarceration.