Mass Prison Era Research Paper

The first major historical development of the U.S. courts was would be the Penitentiary Era (1790-1825) The Walnut Street Jail was America’s first real prison in Philadelphia. The prison was ran by the Quakers who thought that prison should be a place where offenders should may make amends with society and accept responsibility for their misdeeds. (Schmalleger, 2009) The Quakers elements of philosophy included rehabilitation and deterrence which is still used to this day. Penance was the primary methods of rehabilitation because of this all of the offenders were put into solitary confinement, so they would be left to think of their crimes. The Quakers even had high walls put up to let the offenders go out to get exercise daily, eventually
During this time an experiment was done at the Auburn prison involving 83 men. They were sent into solitary confinement on Christmas day of 1821 and were not released until 1823 and 1824. This experiment did not allow for exercise or handicrafts like the Philadelphia prison did. From this experiment five of the 83 died, one went insane, and another attempted suicide and the rest became “seriously demoralized.” (Schmalleger, 2009) Because of lower costs and simpler facilities that the Auburn prison required that was the style that created the Mass Prison
Prisons. While attempting to make prison life better for inmates and get them ready to enter society Zebulon Brockway brought ideas from Captain Alexander Maconochie of Australia and Sir Walter Crofton head of the Irish prison system. Combing styles from both prisons the reformatory style was born in the U.S. According to Maconochie prisoners could earn enough credits to buy their freedom with good behavior. Sir Walton Crofton’s theory was that prisoners had to work their way through four stages. On the fourth and last level the prisoners were allowed to live and work in the community along with a “moral instructor.” At any time this could be revoked ant the prisoner could go back until their original sentence was finished. (Schmalleger, 2009)The importance about this era is when the Elmira Reformatory opened in 1876 in Elmira, New York. Taking ideas from both Maconochie and Crofton the reformatory had a system of graded stages that required inmates to meet educational, behavioral and even were offered trade training such as telegraph, tailoring, plumbing and carpentry. Although this reformatory was considered a failure its principals are the foundation that we use in our prisons today; indeterminate sentencing, parole, trade training, education, and primacy of reformation over punishment are all part of the foundation of present day prisons. (Schmalleger,