Prison Reform from 1780-1860

Names: The Hospice of San Michele and The Maison de Force
-Both prisons were in Ghent Belgium. Inmates were whipped and were forced to follow the rule of silence. Those prisons were was was the "idea" of what was the ideal model of what a prison should've been at the time.
- John Howard was an activist, he fought for prison reform. He inspected jails to make sure that prisoners were being treated well enough to survive.

Gaols/Jails- They were small prisons with few inmates, they were operated as a free system.

Parole- Many prisoners were already receiving clemency, pardons and early release for good behavior. It began in just reformatories but spread everywhere. It started in 1800 and is still used today.

Detention center: Children began to be thrown in jail with women and men, after the war in 1812 juvenile centers began to get built called juvenile detention centers, used to correct child behaviors rather than hold criminals.

Louis Dwight endorsed the auburn system, he helped spread the system, he would have officials visit the prisons periodically so they could check the conditions and make sure the inmates weren't treated badly.

Auburn system- would put the inmates to work all day and had a communal dining hall so they wouldn't go into a bad mental state and commit suicide. There was strict control and a rule of silence was required.

America was said to have the two best prisons (Even though the conditions weren't great).
-the conditions started to improve, less cruel punishments and the auburn system began to mainstream.
- people began to think that society and not just the individuals were to blame for crime.

Overcrowding -Prisons began to get overcrowded, and it was also a place where society was putting crazy people.
- There was poor quality of the facilities and treatment of the inmates.
- that information was brought to the Massachusetts legislature by a common woman named Dorthea Dix.
Insane Asylums -Dr. John Galt set up an insane asylum to house crazy people instead of having to put them in prison with others and hoping it'll cure their insanity.

Reform began after free women began protesting and leading campaigns to separate women from men in prisons.

John Augustus was a shoemaker who advocated for fair treatment of criminals. He would house criminals who were supposed to go to prison. He would then go to court with them once they recovered. If their probationary program was satisfactory the original sentence what was given would be suspended. The actual legal statute for probation was passed by Massachusetts in 1878