During the 16th century, a certain number of correction houses were established in Europe for the rehabilitation of delinquents and minor vagabonds; They strictly strict discipline and hard work. Over time, imprisonment has been accepted as an appropriate method to punish condemned criminals. Poor sanitation in these institutions caused generalized diseases among prisoners, who were generally detained without equality, without any consideration of sex or legal status. Epidemics epidemic typhusKnown as “prison fever”, sometimes killed not only prisoners but also jailers and (more rarely) judges and lawyers involved in trials. Modern prison developed at the end of the 18th century in part in reaction to the conditions of local prisons of the time.
Emergence of the penitentiary
THE concept of prison as penitentiary (that is to say as a place of punishment And personal reform) was recommended during this period by the English lawyer and philosopher Jeremy Benthamamong others. The appalling conditions and official corruption in many local prisons in England and Wales at the end of the 18th century were exposed by the English prison reformer John Howardwhose works The state of prisons in England and Wales (1777) and A report of the main Lazarettos in Europe (1789) were based on large trips. The indignation of the public that Bentham and Howard helped to generate led to a national inspection system and the construction of “condemned prisons” for those who are serving longer sentences. Consequently, at the beginning of the 19th century, penitentiaries were established in the American states of Pennsylvania And new York.
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As the use of the new type of prison has expanded, the administrators began to experiment with new methods of rehabilitation of prisoners. Lonely detention Criminals have been considered an ideal, because it was believed that loneliness would help the offender to become a penitent and that penance would lead to rehabilitation. In the UNITED STATES The idea was the first implemented has Penitentiary of the Eastern State In Philadelphia In 1829. Each prisoner remained in his cell or in his adjacent court, worked alone in professions such as weaving, carpentry or cord, and saw only the officers of the institution and an occasional visitor from the outside. This prisons management method, known as “separate system” or “the”Pennsylvania system“, Has become a model for criminal institutions built in several other American states and in a large part of Europe.
A competing philosophy of prisons management, known as “silent system” or “the”Auburn system», Acamed roughly at the same time. Although the constant silence was strictly applied, the distinctive characteristic of this system was that the prisoners were allowed to work together during the day (at night, they were confined to individual cells). The two systems bound at the base of the base premise This contact between the convicts must be prohibited in order to minimize the poor influence that prisoners may have on each other. The vigorous competition between supporters of the two systems followed up to around 1850, when most American states had adopted the silent system.
The concept of personal reform has become more and more important in penologyresulting in experimentation with various methods. An example was the brand systemwhich was developed around 1840 by the captain. Alexander Maconochia at Norfolk Islandan Englishman criminal colony east of Australia. Instead of serving fixed penalties, prisoners had to win credits or “marks”, in amounts proportional to the severity of their offenses. Credits were accumulated By good conduct, hard work and study, and they could be hidden or subtracted for indolence or bad behavior. The prisoners who obtained the number of credits required became eligible for the Liberation. The brand system has prefabricated the use of indeterminate sentencesindividualized treatment, and speech. Above all, it emphasized training and performance, rather than solitude, such as the main reform mechanisms.
Other refinements in the Mark system were developed in the middle of the 19th century by Sir Walter Crofton, director of Irish prisons. In its program, known as Irish systemThe prisoners progressed through three stages of confinement before being returned to civil life. The first part of the sentence was purged in isolation. After that, the prisoners were assigned to group work projects. Finally, for six months or more before the release, the prisoners were transferred to “intermediate prisons”, where they were supervised by unarmed guards and gave enough freedom and responsibility to demonstrate their aptitude for the Liberation. The release nevertheless depended on the good continuous conduct of the offender, who could be returned to prison if necessary.
Many characteristics of the Irish system have been adopted by reformatories built in the United States at the end of the 19th century for the treatment of young people and first offenders. The leaders of correction house The movement recommended the classification and segregation of various types of prisoners, an individualized treatment emphasizing vocational education And industrial employment, indeterminate sentences and awards for good conduct, and parole or conditional release. The philosophy of the reform has gradually permeated the entire American prison system and the American innovationsIn combination with the Irish system, had a great impact on European prison practices, leading to innovations such as the Borstal system rehabilitation for young offenders in the 20th century.
The purpose of imprisonment
There are a number of reasons accepted for the use of imprisonment. An approach aims to dissuade those who otherwise commit crimes (general deterrence) and to make it less likely that those who serve a prison sentence commit crimes after their release (individual deterrence). A second approach focuses on the program punishment or obtaining punishment of those who have committed serious crimes. A third approach encourages the personal reform of those who are sent to prison. Finally, in some cases, it is necessary to protect the public from those who commit crimes – in particular of those who do it persistently. In individual cases, all or part of these justifications may apply. The growing importance of the concept of reform has led certain penitentiary systems to be called correctional institutions.
This description of imprisonment applies mainly to European countries and North America. In China The imprisonment was historically used as a means of reforming the minds of criminals, and he forced prisoners to work to support the state. Imprisonment in the Soviet Union Likewise, it has become a method to force the so-called enemies of the state to work in its name and, in doing so, to recognize the error of their ways. Developing countries were faced with a different challenge because they were faced legacy of colonial domination. Given the difficulty of replacing the structure and organization of an existing penitentiary system, many countries therefore had trouble implement Efficient forms of punishment that were also decent and human.
