Advanced Topics in Corrections

3/37/14

Advanced Topics in Corrections: - 01

Pennsylvania was the leader in sentencing and correctional reform in the early history of the United States. Discuss what groups were associated with this reform.

“The evolution of American prison labor is rooted in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania penal system, originating in 1682 under the leadership of William Penn, was the first state prison system to suggest the replacement of torture and mutilation as punishment for crimes with hard labor in houses of correction. Penn's intentions were not systematically executed when his penal code of 1682 was repealed. As a result, labor in penal institutions was practically non-existent in Pennsylvania during the Colonial Period. However, Penn's efforts were not futile as the penal code outlined in 1682 left a mark on the laws of Pennsylvania and the evolution of prison labor across the nation.”

“When Pennsylvania and other colonies in the New World were settled, prisons were some of the first public buildings that pilgrims erected, not so much to punish criminals, but to house prisoners of war, people awaiting trial and ironically people behind on debts. In the 18th century, a prison more likely was called a jail.”

I didn’t know that fact that back than was to punish them and it was just used to take the war prisoners. I never even when the word jail can from and now I do it was in the 18th century still can’t believe that we had to start that early with having jails.

“The Pennsylvania Prison Society was the first of its kind in the world, and was formed in response to conditions at Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia. Most inmates had no clothing, because they only had clothes to barter for liquor, one of many outrageous charges inmates had to pay in the overcrowded prison. After the society's reform efforts, prisoners were sorted more in accord with their offenses a practice still in effect today. The prison also eased overcrowding and...