Prison Systems

1. Prison Systems Unit 6.2

2. The Emergence of Prisons Prisons: state or federal confinement facility having custodial authority over adults sentenced to confinement.

3. The Emergence of Prisons A. The Penitentiary Era (1790 – 1825) 1. The early influence on imprisonments was by the Quakers when in 1790 they converted Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Jail into a Penitentiary.

4. The Penitentiary Era (1790 – 1825) 2. They intended to introduce religious and humane principles into the handling of the offenders. 3. They saw the prisons as an opportunity for penance – and viewed them as places wherein offenders might make amends with society and accept responsibility for their actions.

5. The Penitentiary Era (1790 – 1825) 4. The inmates were held in solitary confinement and were expected to wrestle with the evil spirits they harbored. 5. Penance was the primary vehicle through which rehabilitation was anticipated and the study of the bible was strongly encouraged.

6. The Penitentiary Era (1790 – 1825) 6. Solitary confinement was the rule, and the penitentiary was architecturally designed to minimize contact between inmates and between inmates and staff. 7. Exercise was allowed in small high-walled yards attached to each cell.

7. The Penitentiary Era (1790 – 1825) 8. Eventually handcrafts were introduced into the prison setting, permitting prisoners to work in their cells. 9. In the early 1800’s penitentiary were built around the Pennsylvania model which incorporated solitary confinement, handcrafts, and opportunities for reflection into a rehabilitation model.

8. The Emergence of Prisons B. The Mass Prison Era (1825 – 1876) 1. As prison population began to grow, solitary confinement became expensive.

9. The Mass Prison Era (1825 – 1876) 2. The New York State Prison at Auburn was one of the first large prisons to abandon the Pennsylvania model. It introduced the congregate but silent system, under which inmates lived, ate, and worked together in enforced silence. 3. The Auburn system relied on workgroups rather than solitary handcrafts and reintroduced corporal punishment into the handling of offenders.

10. The Mass Prison Era (1825 – 1876) 4. It also depended upon whipping and hard labor to maintain the rule of silence.

11. The Mass Prison Era (1825 – 1876) 5. The Auburn system was the site of an experiment on solitary confinement. Eighty three men were placed in small solitary cells on Christmas Day of 1821 and were released in 1823 and 1824. Five of the 83 died, one went insane, another attempted suicide, and others became “seriously demoralized.” It provided an effective basis for condemnation of the Pennsylvania system. The experiment, however, did not accurately simulate the conditions in Pennsylvania. It allowed for no handicrafts or exercise and placed prisoners in tiny cells.

12. The Mass Prison Era (1825 – 1876) 6. Most American prisons built after 1825 followed the Auburn architectural style and system of prison discipline. 7. A number of European governments sent representatives to study the two systems and concluded that the Pennsylvania system was more conducive to reformation.

13. The Emergence of Prisons C. The Reformatory Era and the birth of Parole (1876 – 1890) 1. This era grew out of practices innovated by two correctional leaders of the mid 1880’s: Captain Alexander Maconochie and Sir Walter Crofton

14. The Reformatory Era and the birth of Parole (1876 – 1890) 2. Captain Alexander Maconochie and Norfolk Island. a) Norfolk Island was an island off the coast of Australia. Prior to Captain Alexander Maconochie’s arrival, disease on the prison was rampant, fights among inmates left many dead and injured, sanitary conditions were practically nonexistent, and the physical facilities were not conducive to good supervision.

15. The Reformatory Era and the birth of Parole (1876 – 1890) b) The prisoners were those who committed other crimes after being sent to Australia therefore making them “doubly condemned inmates.”

16. The Reformatory Era and the birth of Parole (1876 – 1890) c) Maconochie worked to create conditions which would provide incentives for prisoners to participate in their own reformation. He developed a system of marks to be earned or lost for good behavior or bad behavior. This mark system made it possible for early release. It led to the recognition of the indeterminate sentence as a useful tool in the reformation of offenders. It also later earned Maconochie the title “father of parole” for its similarity to the practice of parole.

17. The Reformatory Era and the birth of Parole (1876 – 1890) 3. Sir Walter Crofton and the Irish system a) Crofton was convinced that convicts could not be rehabilitated without successful reintegration into the community. b) He set up a program of progressive stages. Inmates who entered the system had to work their way through four stages.

18. The Reformatory Era and the birth of Parole (1876 – 1890) c) The first or entry stage involved solitaryconfinement and dull work. d) In the second stage prisoners worked on fortifications at Spike Island.

19. The Reformatory Era and the birth of Parole (1876 – 1890) e) The third stage placed the prisoners in field units that worked directly in the community on public service projects. Unarmed guards supervised the prisoners. f) The fourth stage was called the “ticket to leave.” It allowed the prisoners to live and work in the community under occasional supervision of a “moral instructor.” It could be revoked at any time up until the expiration of the offender’s original sentence.

20. The Reformatory Era and the birth of Parole (1876 – 1890) 4. The Elmira Reformatory a) In 1870 the National Prison Association held its first conference and called for a reformation of American prisons. b) In 1876, the Elmira Reformatory was opened in Elmira, New York.

21. The Reformatory Era and the birth of Parole (1876 – 1890) c) The state of New York passed an indeterminate sentencing bill which made it possible for the early release of prisoners who earned it. d) Because reformation was believed to be more likely among the young offenders, Elmira accepted only first time offenders between the ages of 16 and 30.

22. The Reformatory Era and the birth of Parole (1876 – 1890) e) A system of graded stages required inmates to meet educational, behavioral, and other goals. Education was mandatory and trade training was available in telegraphy, tailoring, plumbing, carpentry, and other areas. f) The reformatory proved to be a disappointment and failure as many inmates reentered the life of crime following their release.

23. The Emergence of Prisons D. The Industrial Era (1890 – 1935) 1. An option to cost going up due to prison overpopulation inmate labor was found to be potentiality profitable and the ear of the industrial prison in America was born.

24. The Industrial Era (1890 – 1935) 2. Northern prisons in the United States were characterized by the high thick walls, guard towers and smokestacks rising from within these walls. These prisons smelted steel, manufactured cabinets, molded tires, and turned out many other goods to the open market.

25. The Industrial Era (1890 – 1935) 3. Southern prisons in the United States which were devastated by the Civil War tended more toward farm labor and public works projects. The south used inmate labor to replace slaves who had been freed during the war. 4. The Great Depression of the 1930’s brought with it a call for an end to prison industries.

26. The Industrial Era (1890 – 1935) 5. Under the state-use philosophy, most states still permit the prison manufacturing of goods which will be used exclusively by the prison system itself or by other state agencies, or which only the state can legitimately sell in the open market. An example of the latter would be state license plates, who sell is a state monopoly. Goods used within the system itself could be prison clothing, vegetables and farm animals to feed inmates, soap, and some office furniture.

27. The Industrial Era (1890 – 1935) 6. The following six systems of inmate labor were in use by the early 1900’s: a) Contract System – Private business paid for the rent of inmate labor. They provided the materials and supervised the manufacturing process inside of prison facilities.

28. The Industrial Era (1890 – 1935) b) Piece-Price System – Goods were produced for private businesses under the supervision of prison authorities. Prisons were paid according to the number and quality of the goods manufactured. c) Lease System – Prisoners were taken to the work site under the supervision of armed guards. Once they were there, they were turned over to the private contractor, who employed them and maintained discipline.

29. The Industrial Era (1890 – 1935) Public Account System – This system eliminated the use of private contractors. Industries were entirely prison owned, and prison authorities managed the manufacturing process from beginning to end. Goods were then sold on the open market. State-use System – Under this arrangement, prisoners manufactured only goods which could be used by other state offices, or they provided labor to assist other state agencies.

30. The Industrial Era (1890 – 1935) f) Public Works System – The maintenance of roads and highways, the cleaning of public parks and recreational facilities, and the maintenance and restoration of public buildings.