Chapter 3
The History of
Corrections in
America
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
The History of Corrections
 The
 The



Colonial Period
Arrival of the Penitentiary
The Pennsylvania System
The New York ( Auburn ) System
Debating the Systems
 Development
West

or Prisons in the South and


Southern Penology
Western Penology



Cincinnati, 1870
Elmira Reformatory
Lasting Reforms
The Reformatory Movement
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
The History of Corrections Cont.
 The


Rise of the Progressives
Individualized Treatment and the Positivist
School
Progressive Reforms
 The
Rise of the Medical Model
 From
Medical Model to Community Model
 The
Crime Control Model: The Pendulum
Swings Again


The Decline of Rehabilitation
The Emergence of Crime Control
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Evolution of punishment
in America, 1600 – 2000 Flow Chart
Medical
Model
1930s - 1960s
Community
Model
1960s - 1970s
Crime
Control
Model
1970s - 2000
Progressive
Period
Colonial
Period
1890s - 1930s
1600s - 1790s
Reformatory
Movement
Prisons in
South & West
Arrival of the
Penitentiary
1870s - 1890s
1800’s
1790s - 1860s
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William Penn

William Penn (1644–1718) English Quaker who
arrived in Philadelphia in 1682. Succeeded in
getting Pennsylvania to adopt “The Great Law”
emphasizing hard labor in a house of correction as
punishment for most crimes
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“Penitentiary”
 an
institution intended to
isolate prisoners from
society and from one
another so that they could
reflect on their past
misdeeds, repent, and
thus undergo reformation.
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Rush (1745–1813) Physician, patriot,
signer of the Declaration of Independence, and
social reformer, Rush advocated the penitentiary as
replacement for capital and corporal punishment.
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principles of the “penitentiary”
 isolate prisoner from bad influences of
society - liquor, temptation, people
 penance & silent contemplation
 productive labor
 reform (thinking & work habits)
 return to society, renewed
 key = solitary confinement
 isolate from contagion
 foster quiet reflection
 punishment, since man is social animal
 cheap  shorter sentence, fewer guards
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“Separate Confinement”

A penitentiary system developed in Pennsylvania in
which each inmate was held in isolation from other
inmates, with all activities, including craft work,
carried on in the cells.
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
competing models

Pennsylvania system

“Separate system”




solitary confinement
eat, sleep, work in cell
religious instruction
reflection upon crimes

reform through


model for Europe
e.g.
 salvation
 religious enlightenment
 Walnut St. Jail
 Western Penitentiary
 Eastern State Pen.
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
competing models

Pennsylvania system

“Separate system”








solitary confinement
eat, sleep, work in cell
religious instruction
reflection upon crimes
New York system





reform through
 salvation
 religious enlightenment
model for Europe
e.g.
 Walnut St. Jail
 Western Penitentiary
 Eastern State Pen.
evolved into
“Congregate system”
hard labor in shops-day
solitary confinement-night
strict discipline
rule of silence

reform through


model for US-economical
e.g., Auburn Prison, 1816
 good work habits
 discipline
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and the winner is…?
Pennsylvania/Philadelphia model
 Europeans applauded and replicated
 New York/Auburn model
 won out in US; more cost-effective labor; state
negotiated contracts with manufacturers
 but neither curbed crime nor reformed offr’s
 various reforms tinkered w/ look, purpose
 but icon of high-walled fortress remained:
Attica, Quentin, Folsom, Sing Sing

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Southern penology
 Devastation
of war and economic hardship
produced 2 results:
 Lease system

Private business negotiated with state for labor &
care of inmates--Kentucky (1825)
 Penal

farms
State-run plantations which grew crops
 To feed inmates
 To sell on free market
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Western developments
 penology
in west not greatly influenced by
the ideologies of the east
 prior to statehood, prisoners held in
territorial facilities or in federal military
posts and prisons
 1852: San Quentin - California’s 1st prison
 1877: Salem, Oregon prison - Auburn model
 western states discontinued use of lease
system as states entered into the union

e.g. Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
the Reformatory Movement
(1870s - 1890s)
 product
of disillusionment with
oppressive penitentiary system
 focus remained  inmate change!
 key features:
 indeterminate sentences > fixed
 offender classification should be
based
on character & institutional behavior
 use early release as incentive to reform
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Hallmarks of the
reformatory movement
 National
Prison Association
 precursor: American Correctional
 strong religious influence (still)
 Cincinnati
Asso.
meeting,1870
 Declaration
of Principles
“reformation is a work of time: and a
benevolent regard to the good of the criminal
himself, as well as to the protection of society,
requires that his sentence be long enough for
the reformatory process to take effect.”
 e.g.,
Machonochie, Crofton, Brockway
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“Reformatory”
 an
institution for young offenders
emphasizing training, a mark system of
classification, indeterminate sentences,
and parole
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“mark system”
a system for calculating when an offender will be
released from custody, based on both the crime &
his behavior in prison
 devised by Alexander Maconochie (England),

at Norfolk Island penal settlement (off Australia, 1840)
at sentencing, offender is ‘given’ a number of
“marks,” based on offense severity
(a “debt” to society, to be “paid” off)
 for release, offender must earn marks via

voluntary labor
 participation in educational, religious programs
 good behavior


adopted in Ireland, never England
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
the Irish system
 developed by Sir Walter Crofton
 derived from Maconochie’s mark system
 four-stage program of graduated release,
based on offender performance
 all sentences served in four stages;
 move “up” w/ accumulation of marks
1.  solitary confinement - all start here
2.  public works prison - begin earning marks
3.  intermediate stage - (like half-way house)
after earning enough marks
4.  ticket of leave - conditional release
= precursor of modern parole
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“reformatory”
Zebulon Brockway


an institution for young offenders emphasizing training,
a mark system of classification, indeterminate
sentences, and parole: 1st time felons (16-30)
 diagnosis, individualized treatment, reform
operation:
  intake interview: determine causes of crime
  individualized work & education program
  mark system of classification (work, school, behavior).
move up OR down, with accumulation of marks:
• begin at grade 2
• can earn 9 marks/mo. for 6 months:
•  grade 1; or
•  grade 3;
• then, 3 mo. good behavior:  grade 2 again.


administrators determine release date
Elmira Reformatory (Zebulon Brockway; 1876-1900)
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Reformatory movement ends
 failed to reform (like penitentiary)
 brutality
 corruption
 not administered as planned
 but, important features survived:
 inmate classification
 rehabilitation programs
 indeterminate sentences
 parole
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
the Progressive Era
(1890s - 1930s)
 age
of reform: set tone for American
social thought & political action until 1960s!
 condemned ills of new urban society--big
business, big industry, urban blight
  faith in science to find answers to
crime, criminal behavior, treatment
  new faith in government action to
eliminate social problems--slums, crime
 trends of period




industrialization
urbanization
technological change
scientific advancement
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the “Progressives”
 socially
conscious, politically active, mostly
upper-class reformers of early 1900s
 attacked excesses of emergent 20th century
- big business, industry, urban society
 believed science (positivism) + state
intervention could/should solve social &
political problems
 advocated “treatment according to the
needs of the offender,” not “punishment
according to severity of the crime”
 subscribed to “positivism”
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“positivist school”
 an
approach to criminology and
other social sciences based on
the assumption that human
behavior is a product of
biological, economic,
psychological, and social factors,
and that the scientific method can
be applied to ascertain the causes
of individual behavior
 subscribed to by Progressives
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
principles of Positivist School
 behavior
(including crime) is
NOT the product of free will.
 behavior
stems from factors
beyond control of the individual
 criminals
can be treated so
they can lead crime-free lives.
 treatment must focus on the
individual & his/her
problem(s).
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“progressive” reforms

2 strategies for CJ reform:
 improve general social, economic conditions
that seem to breed crime
 rehabilitate individual offenders
4
planks in “progressive” platform:
probation (John Augustus, 1841)
indeterminate sentencing (by 1920s, 37 states)
parole (by 1920s, 44 states; 80% of releases)
juvenile courts (1899, Cook County)
 By 1970s, most of these enlightened & wellmeaning reforms seen as having failed to live up
to their promise




Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
The Medical Model
(1930s - 1960s)
a
model of corrections positing that
criminal behavior is caused by social,
psychological, biological deficiencies that
require medical treatment
first serious efforts to implement truly medical
strategies aimed at scientifically classifying,
treating, rehabilitating criminal offenders
 e.g. “medical” programs & institutions

psychology (Karl Menninger)
Maryland Patuxent Institution, 1955
sexual psychopath, sociopath laws
crime as sickness
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
The Community Model
(1960s - 1970s)
 model
of corrections positing goal of CJS:
to reintegrate offender into community
 key features
prisons should be avoided;
prison = artificial environment;
prison frustrates crime-free lifestyle
 need to focus on offender’s adjustment into
society; not just on psychological treatment

 probation
 intermediate sanctions;
(alternatives to incarceration)
 parole
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The Crime Control Model
(1970s - 2000)
 less
ambitious, less optimistic, less
forgiving view of man &
ability of CJS to change him
 crime better controlled by more
incarceration & strict supervision
 precipitating factors




public concern over rising crime in ‘60s
disillusionment with treatment
public clamor for longer sentences
distrust of broad discretion given to
correctional & parole authorities
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th