Usually, life behind bars is pretty uneventful, but Josh Duggar’s been riding an emotional roller coaster for the past few weeks.
First, Josh’s lawyers made progress on his appeal, finally reaching the stage where they were able to make oral arguments to a panel of judges.
But it might have been hard for the convicted sexual predator to receive updates on the hearing.
That’s because Josh is currently in solitary confinement, having been caught smuggling contraband into his cell.
Insiders say officials caught Josh with a cell phone, which is obviously a major violation of prison rules.
Now, he’s suffering the consequences for his transgression with a lengthy stay in the Special Housing Unit (SHU), otherwise known as solitary confinement.
Obviously, Josh is one of the worst people on the planet, and he deserves every bad thing that’s happened to him in recent years.
But solitary confinement is a controversial method of discipline that’s been blasted by some critics as a form of psychological torture.
In most cases, prisoners in solitary are denied any contact with other human beings.
This level of isolation has been known to result in complete psychic breaks in just a matter of days, and it looks as though Josh will be held in solitary for eight months while he awaits a disciplinary hearing.
“Inmates sanctioned to a disciplinary transfer, inmates requiring greater security, and unverified protective custody cases must remain in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) for a period of eight months with clear conduct,” reads a statement on the prison’s website.
“This eight-month period begins after the inmate has completed any disciplinary segregation time.”
So you can see why his family might be even more worried about Josh than usual.
(Granted, if the Duggars had worried more about him before he got arrested, they might have been able to prevent some of his atrocities, but that’s a conversation for another time.)
Of course, no one is more concerned than Josh’s wife, Anna Duggar.
She had been visiting him every week — this despite the fact that doing so required her to make the eight-hour drive from Tontitiown, Arkansas to Seagoville, Texas.
Now, however, Anna has likely gone several weeks without seeing Josh — and she might not lay eyes on her husband until sometime this summer.
Anna was such a constant presence in the visiting room that it seems other inmates’ loved ones have already taken note of her absence.
“We’ve seen Anna at visitation fairly regularly,” a source told the Daily Mail.
“I’ve spoken to Anna a couple of times. Normally the only thing I’ve seen is Anna and then their kids. I don’t really know anybody else.”
Prison officials don’t make public statements about disciplinary action taken against inmates, but there’s no reason to believe that Josh will be treated any differently than others who have had to undergo the ordeal of solitary.
“I would be very surprised if he has been released, as most of the people in there have been in there for months,” the family member of an inmate told UK tabloid The Sun.
“He has to wait until he has his disciplinary hearing.”
Hopefully, Anna will use this time to reflect on whether she still wants to be married to this loser.