box (torture)
{{Short description|Method of punishment}}
{{About|the torture method|other uses of "sweatbox"|Sweatbox (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
The box, also known as a hot box or sweatbox, is a method of solitary confinement used in humid and arid regions as a method of punishment. Anyone placed in one would experience extreme heat, dehydration, heat exhaustion, or even death, depending on when and how long one was kept in the box. Another variation of this punishment is known as sweating, the use of a heated room to punish or coerce a person into cooperating with the torturers.
Use
- Crown Prince Sado of Joseon was executed by being forced into a rice box in July 1762.
- The technique was used by prisons in the Southern United States until late in the 19th century and as punishment during times of slavery.Sheldon, Randall G. [http://www.blackcommentator.com/142/142_slavery_2.html "Slavery in the Third Millennium, Part II – Prisons and Convict Leasing Help Perpetuate Slavery"]. The Black Commentator, Issue 142, 16 June 2005. Accessed 10 June 2009.
- The technique, then known as the "sweat box", was used in the Union Army during the American Civil War.{{cite book|last1=Reed|first1=John D. Billings ; illustrated by Charles W.|title=Hardtack and coffee, or, The unwritten story of Army life|date=1981|publisher=Time-Life Bks|location=[Alexandria, Va.]|isbn=0-8094-4210-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/HardtackAndCoffee/page/146 146]|url=https://archive.org/details/HardtackAndCoffee/page/146}}
- The Tarrafal camp, in Cape Verde, used a small windowless shack as a form of torture against prisoners, most of them convicted of conspiring against Salazar's regime in Portugal.
- The North Vietnamese Army used the technique at the infamous Hanoi Hilton.Moe, Tom. [http://www.nd.edu/~ndmag/moew95.html "Pure Torture"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051222112818/http://www.nd.edu/~ndmag/moew95.html |date=22 December 2005 }} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210845/http://www.plumdigital.com/1_familyart/Pure%20Torture,%20by%20Tom%20Moe.pdf PDF version]). Notre Dame Magazine, Winter 1995–96. Via the Internet Archive. Accessed 10 June 2009.
- In 2008, it was revealed that the U.S. military was detaining Iraqi prisoners in wooden crates, arousing concern of their use as hotboxes.Starr, Barbara. [http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/07/segregation.boxes/index.html "U.S. segregates violent Iraqi prisoners in crates"]. CNN, 7 August 2008. Accessed 10 June 2009.
- The CIA claims that the Chinese government has used "extreme heat" and "sweating" against dissidents.[http://www.tibet.com/Humanrights/HumanRights97/hr97-5.html Torture in Detention Centres and Labour Camps] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060327150122/http://www.tibet.com/Humanrights/HumanRights97/hr97-5.html |date=27 March 2006 }}. "China in Tibet – Striking Hard Against Human Rights", 1997 Annual Report, Human Rights Violations In Tibet. Tibetan Centre For Human Rights And Democracy, 4 February 1998. Accessed 10 June 2009.
- Use of a "sweatbox" has also been reported as a method of punishment in North Korean concentration camps, notably in Kang Chol-hwan's book The Aquariums of Pyongyang.
- In 2009, Marcia Powell, a prisoner at Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville, United States, died of heat exposure after being placed in an outdoor cage for four hours.{{cite news|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/marcia-powells-death-unavenged-county-attorney-passes-on-prosecuting-prison-staff-6499269|title=Marcia Powell's Death Unavenged: County Attorney Passes on Prosecuting Prison Staff |last=Lemons |first=Stephen |date=1 September 2010 |work=Phoenix New Times}}
Hot box torture has been portrayed in numerous films and television shows, including Hell's Highway, Life, Life Is Beautiful, Cool Hand Luke, Stir Crazy, Take the Money and Run, Carbine Williams, The Longest Yard and its 2005 remake, Seven Days, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Von Ryan's Express, Prison Break, The X-Files, Firefly, Sullivan's Travels, My Name is Earl, The A-Team, Farscape, Burn Notice, Batman: The Animated Series, Bates Motel, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Django Unchained, Stranger Things, 1923, Escape Plan, and Nickel Boys. A parody of hot box torture was portrayed by a sandbox in Toy Story 3. Box torture was also used on Josh Groban in Muppets Most Wanted.