The History of Prison Reform - 1631 Words

The History of Prison Reform Introduction The evolution of prison reform is a reflection of societys changing attitudes toward crime and punishment. Prisons have progressed from simple places for incarceration where the primary purpose is to protect the public to instruments of punishment where the loss of freedom is penalty for breaking the law, to institutions for reform dedicated to mould the guilty to conform to societys norms. Prisons were among the first public buildings erected in the New World. The city of Boston felt the need of a house of detention when the town consisted of a mere forty homes. Early American prisons were not conceived as houses of punishment. In English and American law, political prisoners and high-ranking prisoners of war were occasionally incarcerated, but few common criminals could expect such treatment. Almost the only time commoners were locked away was while awaiting trial, once a verdict was delivered, they were punished on the spot or released (Lynch, 2011). The eighteenth century transfo rmed not only the physical form of prisons but their function and their place in American consciousness. Discussion Initially imprisonment was a means of detaining debtors to ensure payment, the accused before trial, or the guilty before punishment. Courts imposed sentences including fines, personal mutilation such as flogging or branding, or death (Johnson, 2011). The only offense for which long-term imprisonment was common was debt, thoughShow MoreRelatedHistory of Prison Reform in the US Essay2067 Words   |  9 PagesWhen people think of reform movements, they often look for one key sign, and ask one key question of whether that the reform was a success. Did the reform create a lasting change in the way people view the institution that was reformed? All the great reformation movements, from Horace Mann and his education reforms, to Martin Luther, and the Protestant Reformation, to the civil rights movement, all created lasting change in the minds of the average person. One other reform, often overlooked historicallyRead MoreThe Get-Tough Effectiveness Of Juvenile Recidivism. The1037 Words   |  5 PagesThe Get-Tough Effectiveness of Juvenile Recidivism The reason for this research paper is to examine the history and the purpose the juvenile system. We will also examine the history and effectiveness of the Get- tough Law on juvenile recidivism, followed with the overall conclusion of the research. The Juvenile justice system has undergone many changes since its establishment in the 1890s. These changes were implemented by the desire to have a justice system which is sensitive and responsive toRead MoreCritical Review On Angela Davis873 Words   |  4 Pagesbeen focusing on fighting against the prison system. She is the founder of Critical Resistance, a national organization about prison industrial complex. Her book Are prisons obsolete? explores prison abolition. Are prisons obsolete? is published by Seven Stories Press in 2003. In Are prisons obsolete? Davis explores and critiques the current prison system. She researches and explains slavery, gender structure, the prison industrial complex . She argues that prison are undemocratic because they areRead MoreDo The time, Lower The Crime by James Q. Wilson and Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences Waste Resource by Kevin Zeese1205 Words   |  5 PagesPrison reform has been talked about since the late 1800’s and early 190 0’s with the goal of giving prisoners better living conditions. Today’s issues involving prison reform have caused many debates on whether or not prisons should change their traditional ways and try to find a more suitable solution with prison related problems like overcrowded facility and huge sums of money being spent on these prisons. Two article that are going to be analyzed in this essay are entitled â€Å"Do the time, lower theRead MoreFoucault s Discipline And Punishment1211 Words   |  5 PagesThe eighteenth and nineteenth centuries experienced a surge of social reform movements linked to the Enlightenment, which transformed society into the modern culture seen today. Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish examines how punishment was viewed and enacted prior to the â€Å"humane† awakening of the eighteenth century, while establishing the progression of change that shifted punishment from the body to the soul. Foucault was a student and profess or of philosophy and psychology during the twentiethRead MoreJails and Prisons History and Development Final1591 Words   |  7 PagesJails and Prisons History and Development Introduction Jails and prisons lay at the heart of the Criminal Justice System. These facilities helped forge the concept of rehabilitation. These institutions have changed over time and now reflect the modern methods of housing convicted individuals who need to be reformed or punished. Description of jails The clear concise difference between a jail and a prison is the time limit a convicted person is sentenced to and what offenses were committed. InRead MoreChangjiang Liu Essay 21476 Words   |  6 Pages This childhood memory left a deep impression of segregation on Assata. When discussing the origin of Assata’s radicalness, we can conclude that her childhood memory was one important reason. Shakur saw government as enemy. In her speech Women in Prison: How We Are that is documented in Let Nobody Turn Us Around, she drastically denounced the government that was mainly made up by white people: â€Å"Politicians are considered liars and crooks. The police are hated†(Marable Mullings 509). In other wordsRead MoreAttica Prison Riot and Prison Reform1362 Words   |  6 Pagessleep at night, suddenly disappears? This is exactly what happened during and in the after effects of the Attica prison riot of 1971. The riot created an incredibly immense shift and change not only in the conditions of prisons, but also in the security we feel as American citizens both in our penal system and American government. The Attica prison riot brought about a much-needed prison reform in terms of safety and conditions for inmates, which was necessary regardless of the social backlash it createdRead MoreThe Between Right And Wrong Essay1740 Words   |  7 Pageswho do not do the right t hing, it results in them going to prison. â€Å"Prisons became popular in the 18th century and by the late 19th century prisons were going through the ‘reformatory’ movement† (Prison History, 2016). This movement attempted to reform inmates into model citizens by providing education, work, and counseling. The goal was to give inmates a chance to better their behavior before they get out of the prison. They wanted prison to be a form of rehabilitation in a way. Unfortunately, becauseRead MoreHistory Of The Prison System1067 Words   |  5 PagesThe history of the prison system in the US is very extensive and encompasses nine different eras which include the Penitentiary era, Mass Prison, Reformatory, Industrial, Punitive, Treatment, Community-based, Warehousing, and the Just-desert era. Each era had its own strength and weaknesses that influenced each subsequent era that came after. the idea of a prison system came about from the colonist desire for a more humane method of dealing with criminal offenders. It was a key move away from corporal