Running head: PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF PENITENTIARIES 1
Purpose and History of Penitentiaries
Kimberly Washburn CJA/234 September 7,2012 Edward C. Ley PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF PENITENTIARIES 2
Purpose and History of Penitentiaries In this paper it will discuss the purpose and history of penitentiaries. Some of the topics, that will be discussed will be the history of punishment, the history or prison development, the comparison of the Pennsylvania system and the Auburn system, and the impact and involvement of prison labor over time. In the 1800s, prisoners would have to serve set amounts of time in crowded prisons, and there was little care of rehabilitation or preparing them for being released. The first half of the twentieth century, the criminals continued to be confined in prisons with an under determinate sentences, but there was a developing emphasis on work and with the possibility of rehabilitation. (Scribd. (2012)) About the middle of the twentieth century, the prison sentences began to be for indeterminate terms, the prisons then accentuated rehabilitation programs, and the parole board experts decided when a prisoner could be released based on their readiness for the returning to the community. The parole board was a move that made a major change in the sentencing structure, and the philosophy, it not only had an effect of the prison operations, but also effected the supervision that was given to the offenders that they received once they were released. This approach lasted until the last two decades of the twentieth century. Until the late 18 th century, prisons were mostly used for the confinement of debtors who were unable to meet their obligations, was a holding place of the accused persons that were waiting to be tried, and of convicts that were waiting for their sentences of either death or banishment to be put into effect. Slowly imprisonment came to be accepted not only as a way for holding these persons, but as a means of punishing the convicted criminals. Back in the 16 th
century a number of houses of correction had been established back in England and on the purpose to reform the minor offenders. Its main emphasis was on the strict discipline and hard PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF PENITENTIARIES 3
labor of the offenders. Because of the unsanitary conditions, as well as the lack of provisions for the welfare of the inmates, in the houses of correction caused widespread agitation and brought about changes in the methods of handling criminals.(Scribd. (2012)) Solitary confinement became the ideal form of imprisonment, in the 18 th century, they believed that the solitude helped the offender to become penitent and that penitence then would result into reformation in the offenders. It was first tried in the United States at the Eastern State Penitentiary, which was opened in Cherry Hill in Philadelphia in 1829. Each prisoner in that institution remained in his cell or its adjoining yard, working alone at trades, such things like weaving, carpentry, or shoemaking, and was allowed to see no one except for the officers of the institution and sometimes a visitor from the outside.( Seiter, R. (2011). This method was known as the separate system and became the model for most institutions that were constructed in other U.S. states as well as through much of Europe. Then there was the development round about 1840 of the mark system by Captain Alexander Moonachie at Norfolk Island, which was an English colony that was located east of Australia.( Seiter, R. (2011). In place of the prisoner being required to serve a fixed sentence, they were required to earn marks or credits proportional as to the seriousness of their offense. The credits could accumulate through good conduct, hard work, and study; they could be denied or subtracted for indolence or misbehavior. After the prisoner had obtained the required number of credits they were eligible to be released. This system emphasized on training and performance, rather than contracted on solitude and was a good mechanism toward reformation. The Pennsylvania system opened its first two prisons known as the Western State Penitentiary in Pittsburg in 1826, and the Eastern State Penitentiary in Cherry Hill just outside of Philadelphia in 1829.(Seiter, R. (2011). Western Penitentiary was built in an octagon with small PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF PENITENTIARIES 4
dark cells, inside cellblocks to provide solitary confinement, with no labor possible. It was then remodeled in 1833 to provide cells on the outside of the blocks to allow light through windows and this increased the cell size, which allowed inmates to labor within the cell. Eastern Penitentiary was built with seven cellblocks extending from the hub in the center of the prison walls. Each of the cell blocks were long and narrow, with cells on the outside and a corridor down through the middle.( Seiter, R. (2011). The cells had a door through the wall into a small recreation yard, in which the prisons were allowed brief exercise periods by themselves each day. Pennsylvania system was known as the separate and silent system because the silence was enforced and the inmates were not allowed to see or talk with each other at any time for any reason. Pennsylvania system had several problems with it and its methods, first, was it was almost impossible to keep inmates from seeing and communicating with one another. Second, it was very expensive to operate, because as the requirement to keep inmates separate this meant that a increased the number of staff was needed. Third, there was very limited productivity by the inmates, which was the main requirement to work alone in their cells, this did not allow much in the way of production of good for resale which was desired out come. Fourth, opponents of the operation of the Pennsylvania prisons stated that solitude imposed on the inmates made many of them mentally ill. Finally, the planned operations was changed, they put two inmates together in the same cell so they could learn from each other. The Auburn System which then opened its prison in New York in 1817. The cells were back to back and stacked five tiers high to make it easier to keep inmates separate. But the design did not allow for the recreation yards for use by the individuals as did the Eastern Penitentiary. (Seiter, R. (2011). Auburn adopted the separate and silent system from the Pennsylvania PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF PENITENTIARIES 5
system, but because of the problems that Pennsylvania had were too serious they opted to do it differently. So in 1823, Auburn changed and began its unwieldy design and made if more efficient to operate. Auburn officials determined they would continue to keep the inmate in separate cells at night, but allowed them to congregate during the day. This being the case Auburn system became known as the congregate and silent system, but the officials continued with the silence and strict discipline. (Seiter, R. (2011). The first half of the nineteenth century, the Auburn style of silence, hard labor, separation at night, congregation during the day to maximize production of goods, and the strict discipline was the approach that became adopted by most of the American prisons.
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References Question.com. (June 2012). What is the difference between Pennsylvania system and the auburn system? Retrieved from http://www.question.com/what-is-the difference -betwee- pennsyliva-19686.html Scribd. (2012). History and Development of Prison. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/40472015/History-and-Development-of-Prisons Seiter, R. (2011). Corrections: An introduction (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.