A look at Dream's punishment through irl rules and taking into account UN's rules regarding prisons. Because it is just interesting and it proves how there is NO justification for it. But mostly because it's interesting to look at and you may learn a thing or two.
I have seen too many times people trying to justify Dreamâs punishment. I did research and read through multiple articles and documents (over 73 pages of two different documents) about the more legal sides of his punishment. While Quackityâs physical torture is obvious, I am here to address that even before that it was still very illegal. I know it is fictional! This is just a look into the real life facts and rules regarding prisons because it is interesting to look at Dreamâs punishment and Pandoraâs Vault under the light of these. So keep that in mind while reading this!
Welcome to my ted talk with actual facts and be prepared for quite the ride!
While yes, he has done bad thingsâŚhowever he has not done something so bad that he deserves a punishment so cruel that itâs considered too inhumane for even mass murderers. Like actually! Stay tooned and youâll see what I mean.
His sentence is indefinite solidary confinement. Which is defined by the united nations as:
âthe confinement of prisoners for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact.â
This means his punishment fits the definition for all his time (including visits) except when Tommy was locked inn and now with Quackity (although Iâd consider the last one a turn for the worse). Now that we have that cleared up- lets get into the rule breaking. But first, let me introduce you to The Mandela Rules!
âThe Mandela Rules reinforce human rights principles, including
 the recognition of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman
 or degrading treatment or punishment and effective guidanceÂ
to national prison administrations for persons deprived of their libertyâ
Now that we have established that, lets get into this concerning fact train!
1. In no circumstances may restrictions or disciplinary sanctions amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The following practices, in particular, shall be prohibited:
(a) Indefinite solitary confinement;
(b) Prolonged solitary confinement;
Š Placement of a prisoner in a dark or constantly lit cell;
(d) Corporal punishment or the reduction of a prisonerâs diet or drinking water;
(e) Collective punishment.
YeahâŚpretty clear breaking of 4/5 there. They canât even break e! Not to mention the pretty explicit breaking of d that was probably a surprise. You can count it as them breaking 4/4 if you count the fact that they canât even break e. Rest assured my friend, this is just the beginning.
For the purpose of these rules, solitary confinement shall refer to the confinement of prisoners for 22
 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact. Prolonged solitary confinement shall refer toÂ
solitary confinement for a time period in excess of 15 consecutive days.
Already broken this one too huh. Even visiting days counts because I donât think anyone has been there for hours and I also donât think Samâs interactions would be long enough or count as meaningful human contact. The time with Tommy and Quackity is the only time it dosenât count as solidary. So this is gettingâŚvery much concerinng. But this is still only the start.
1. Solitary confinement shall be used only in exceptional cases as a last
 resort*, for as* short a time as possible and subject to independent
 review, and only pursuant to the authorization by a competent authority. It
 shall not be imposed by virtue of a prisonerâs sentence.
2. The imposition of solitary confinement should be prohibited in the case
 of prisoners with mental or physical disabilities when their conditions
 would be exacerbated by such measures
WoopsâŚso not only is it illegal as a punishmentâŚbut also the âhe is a psychopathâ argument (which is already a bad stereotype, but I wonât get into psychology here. Itâs a common misconception and c!Tommy not knowing is almost to be expected. However please do not say that someone, character or real person, have a mental disorder or illness without proper knowledge about psychology and in the case of characters we shouldnât put labels unless the writer has said that they have taken mental disorders or illnesses into account when making the character) just got yeeted out the window. Actually that argument just took a loop and now is an argument for the other side. It makes sense because as it says: it exacerbates their preexisting mental illnesses. Which is why itâs prohibited.Â
âIn no case may a detaineeâs contact with the outside world be
 dependent on his or her cooperativeness, be used as a disciplinary
 sanction or form part of the sentence.â
 - Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Civil and Political Rights, Including the Questions of Torture and Detention, Âś 43, Commân on Human Rights,
ââŚThe medical officer should visit prisoners held in solitary confinement
 every day, on the understanding that such visits should be in the interests
 of the prisoners â health. Furthermore, prisoners held in solitary
 confinement for more than 12 hours should have access to fresh air for at
 least 1 hour each dayâ - Subcomm. on Prevention of Torture [SPT]
Wow SamâŚit is almost impressive in a dark way just how explicitly these are broken. The Wardenâs very punishments for disobedience just straight up counts as torture. And for the obvious record I highly doubt Quackityâs daily visits to the green bloob counts as anything but âthe interests of the prisonersâ healthâ. You can disagree hereâŚbut I am being very sarcastic.
1. Every prisoner shall be provided by the prison administration at the
usual hours with food of nutritional value adequate for health and
strength, of wholesome quality and well prepared and served.
Raw potatoes every day for the rest of your life..eehhh no thanks. If Dream ever gets out he will probably join me in the 'eating potatoes traumaâ box. As funny as that sounds, it isnât a joke. I was force fed potatoes as a child and I hated it to the point where it gave me a mental block that stops me from eating them as my body just does not want to swallow it. Itâs a problem. But I can joke about it. Maybe Tommy will join us too, although it wasnât really the eating potatoes that caused that traumaâŚrip. Rest in anything but potatoes.
General living conditions addressed in these rules, including those related
to light, ventilation, temperature, sanitation, nutrition, drinking water,
access to open air and physical exercise, personal hygiene, health care
and adequate personal space, shall apply to all prisoners without
I think itâs pointless to say more on that topic as itâs pretty much already summed up. Let us now move over to what are probably some of the qoutes so specific that itâs scary.
âFurthermore, [the Committee] is concerned about the use of solitary
 confinement for indefinite periods of timeâŚ. Full isolation of 22 to 23
 hours a day in supermaximum security prisons is unacceptable
(art. 16).â - Committee. against Torture [CAT]
Oh wow.. talk about on the nose. I shouldâve just started with this one as it pretty much says pretty clearly how it is unacceptable. Like yikesâŚcan you get more specific? It is just downright ridiculous at this point. (-_-;)
âSolitary confinement, when used for the purpose of punishment,
 cannot be justified for any reason, precisely because it imposes severe
 mental pain and suffering beyond any reasonable retribution for
 criminal behaviour and thus constitutes an act defined in article 1 or article
 16 of the Convention against Torture, and a breach of article 7 of the
 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.â
AhahaâŚhaâŚ.yeah for those who justify itâŚthe convention against torture is very much against it being justifiedâŚImagine if the characters could read these rules, thatâd be interesting. Although I am pretty sure they donât follow realism for the imprisonment. As I have already said; this is just an interesting look at the irl rules and how Dreamâs punishment and Pandoraâs Vault stand under light of them.
âNo prisoner, including those serving life sentence [sic] and prisoners on
 death row, shall be held in solitary confinement merely because of the
 gravity of the crime.â
 - Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
LikeâŚthere are no loopholes here. It is so extremely clear that it truly is darkly impressive how the characters donât seem to have a second thought about this. How do you accidentally sentence someone to a lifetime of torture without realizing? If they do knowâŚItâd be very dark.
Btw Tommyâs exile and his time in prison doesnât count as solidary confinement. Just to clear that up.
It amazes me how badly they break these rulesâŚI know they probably didnât take the realism into consideration. However it is still kind of darkly impressive. Especially considering how scary specific they break them too. Even though this is just a interesting (I was about to write fun, however I wouldnât count realizing how inhuman the prison is is 'funâ. But it is interesting) look at Dreamâs punishment and Pandoraâs Vault under the light of real life rules for prisons. (lol my paranoid self have said this so much)
These facts also proves how saying itâs justifiedâŚis kind of morally bad. Not attacking anyone! I just want to also say how while it is pure fiction and the characters in the story can have whatever opinion they want as they are characters. However when it comes to fans approving and justifying it without taking time to consider how it really isnât something that can be justified (real or no). You can have whatever opinion you want, however just maybe take some of what you have learned today and reflect over it? To think twice after having received new information dosenât hurt. I am not here to tell you what to think, so rest easy. Only to share some facts^^ (*so obviously scared of offending anyone*)
I recommend taking some time to look it up yourself if you want to look further into it. The psychological aspects of it is also interesting to look at!
I hope you have learned something here today and found this post and my research interesting! I spent hours on this so I hope you have enjoyed this! I originally posted this on reddit and I was very surprised at how many stopped by to read it and therefore I choose to post it here as well because you learn something and hopefully also gained a new perspective.Â