history of prisons
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Transcript history of prisons
History of American
Prisons
Mrs. Auvil
Social Studies 9
Vocabulary
Penitentiary- from the Latin word
for remorse
Quakers- religious group William
Penn was a part of (nonviolent
group)
Prison- a public building used for
the confinement of people
convicted of serious crimes
400 - 1000 A.D. Punishments
Peasants (poor people)
couldn't pay fines
Led to corporal punishment
Whipping
Branding
Torture
1400’s England
King Henry VIII
started executions,
banishment,
mutilation,
branding, and
flogging for
criminals
Anywhere from
murderers to
robbers
First Prisons
In Europe, prisons were only
used to hold people before they
went to court
Meant for a short
time only
The State of Georgia
Debtors, people who owed
money to the king of England
(King George), were sent to live
in Georgia… our first “prison”
Georgia cont.
Between 1717 and 1775, at least
10,000 convicts were sent to the
Georgian colony
This was not a punishment though
because they made friends with the
Native Americans and had a good life
James City, Virginia
First American jail house in
colonies
1600’s
James City Prison
Criminal paid for his crimes by
giving up his land and belongings
No property?
Go to prison and work there until victim
is paid off.
Original Prisons
1820- Walled institutions
“penitentiaries” replaced physical
punishment
They were:
Overcrowded
Dirty
Inmates attacked each other regularly
Original Prisons, cont
All people together (old, young,
black, white, men, and women)
Sheriff had a bar with very expensive
liquor for them to buy
There were fees to have cells locked,
unlocked, get food, have heat, and
clothes
1776
Prisons who were
waiting for their
trial might have
traded their clothes
for liquor.
When the trial
wasn’t until after
winter they froze to
death!
Prostitution
“Certain” women
purposely got
arrested so they
could have access
to drunk male
prisoners with
money!
Death Penalty for…
Murder
Denying “the true God” (going
against religion of state)
Homosexual acts
Kidnapping
Prison and Fines for…
Cheating on a spouse
Rape
Debtors
Quaker Prisons
Quakers of
Philadelphia came
up with concept of
penitentiary
Purpose was to have
criminals reflect on
their crime and
become truly sorry
Quaker Prisons cont.
Their idea was solitary
confinement
Hoped criminals would reflect and
pray
Called Pennsylvania System
This was the FIRST long-term
prison in the world!
Philadelphia Society for
Alleviating the Miseries of
Public Prisons
1783- Benjamin Franklin (and
some others) started to change
the cruel punishments of criminals
Created the Society in 1787
Now called Pennsylvania
Prison Society
Walnut Street Prison
(First Prison in USA!)
Started in 1790
Pennsylvania
System of prison
design (solitary
confinement)
Become
overcrowded
because of
increased industry
and cities
Walnut Street Jail
Reduced crime rate
131 in 1789 to 45 in 1793
Reduced escapes to ZERO in first 4
years
Walnut Street Prison cont.
Had workshop teaching trades
Large rooms (18 feet square) for
30-40 occupants
Samuel Wood (first warden)
Closed in 1835
Problem with this system:
Solitary confinement caused
Nervous breakdowns
Suicides
They thought silence would cause
the prisons to not pick up each
others bad attitudes
Auburn Prison (in NY)
1821- New system
of prisons:
“Auburn System”
Inmates work 10
hours a day, 6 days
a week
Gives sense of
purpose, discipline,
and order
Auburn System
Three classes of
prisons:
1. Always in solitary
confinement
2. Allowed to work
and have occasional
free time
3. Largest groupworked and ate
together during the
day, separate cells at
night
Auburn System SCARY!
Punishment with whip
to back
Inmates helped build
Sing Sing Prison, NY in
1825 and NO ONE
tried to escape
They slept outside with
no supervision!
Eastern Penitentiary
System
Took down a cherry
orchard to build it, so
located in Cherry Hill,
PA.
Opened in 1829 (not
finished until 1835)
Promoted EXTREME
isolation
Caused suicides
Modern Prison?
Each cell had its own small exercise
yard attached
Central heating (even before the US
Capitol)
Flushing toilet in each cell (before
the White House)
Shower baths
(first in the USA!)
Which is better?
Auburn System proves better than
Pennsylvania System
Civil War Era
1861-1865
Harsh and brutal
Started two other systems:
Contract System- sold inmates work
to local businesses
Convict-Lease System- sold inmates
as slaves to businesses (state gave
up supervision and control)
Elmira Reformatory, NY
1888-1920
Z.R. Brockway (warden) created
“new penology”
Elementary education for illiterates
Library hours
Elmira College faculty teach inmates
Vocational training shops
Mid-1930’s Freedoms
No more red and
white striped
uniforms (wore all
grey instead)
Mingle around yard
for 1-2 hours a day
Got movies and
radio
Visitors and mail
Prisoner Rights
In 1971, the Supreme Court gave
prisoners some rights:
Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Religion
Freedom from Restraints and Solitary
Confinement due to beliefs, religion, or
race
Opportunity to wash, have clean
bedding, clothes, heat, cooling, light, and
nutrition
Habeas Corpus
Law that protects people from
being put into prison (or locked
up) for wrong reasons
Security First, Rights
Second
Mail may be searched
Reading material may be denied
Newspapers may be edited
(meaning cut out so only certain
things can be read)
Ankles and wrists may be shackled
when they are moved
“Good Time”
This is credit for time served on
good behavior
Used to reduce sentence length
One day of “good time credit” for every
three days that he/she behaves well