John Augustus's Parole System

745 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Historical development of the juvenile justice system

In 1841, while observing a Boston Police Court, John Augustus requested that the judge permit him to be the sponsor for an offender about to be sentenced. The court agreed to his request, and the convicted offender was sentenced to his custody. Augustus, who is considered the father of probation, continued his efforts and develop several features that often characterize probation today. First, he selected offenders who were charged with their first minor offense. Second, he assumed responsibility for an offender only after a careful examination of the facts of the case and the history and character of the defendant. Next, he agreed to send the offender to school, or to help him gain employment and housing. Finally, Augustus developed a system …show more content…

The offender must abide by rules and conduct that are specified by the paroling authority and enforced by a parole officer. These rules are in effect until expiration of the parolee’s sentence. If the parolee breaks a rule, parole may be revoked and the offender will be returned to prison. Reformers such as Alexander Maconochie (marks system), Sir Walter Crofton (ticket-of-leave) and Zebulon Brockway contributed to the idea that the penal system should help offenders in the transition back in society. Currently, there are several considerations that go into the decision to parole a person from prison. First, there is the political issue of how much time the offender should spend in prison to satisfy the public demand for retribution and punishment. Second, the issue of rehabilitation must be considered. Is the person “cured”- rehabilitated. Finally, the decision to release a person on parole must take into consideration prison overcrowding and the limited number of prison bed …show more content…

They are ran by either the local sheriff departments or a jail administrator under the auspices of the county or city administrators. Jails served two major functions, first they hold suspects who have been arrested and are awaiting disposition of their case. The second major function of the jail is the confinement of misdemeanor offenders who have been sentenced to less than a year of incarceration.
The Juvenile Justice System In the early part of the 19th century, we were torn as a society when it came to how to criminally punish juveniles. There were those people wanted to see justice done with juvenile offenders, and those who were not wanting to see them incarcerated, especially with adult offenders. Quakers in New York City sought to establish a balance between those two opposing viewpoints. In 1825 they found it the first House of Refuge. Houses of Refuge were workhouses that separated juvenile offenders from adult offenders. The children worked an eight-hour day the various trades in addition to attending school for at least four hours a day. Around the middle of the 19th century the house of refuge movement evolved into a slightly more punitive reform school, or reformatory approach. The goal of the reform schools was again to segregate young offenders from adult criminals; incarcerate the young offender and removed them from their adverse home environment until they were reformed; help young

Show More
Related

  • American Changes between 1825-1850

    397 Words  | 1 Pages

    In addition to extending social and political equality for women and the means to economic affluence for the poor (through education), a number of reforms also extended to various oppressed groups of freedom and justice. Abolitionists in the North sought to emancipate slaves in the cotton-cultivating South through the use of moral suasion as revealed by Patrick Reason’s engraving showing the deprivation of the Negro race in regards to their rights as humans, and later, political freedoms. The penitentiary movement began by Dorothea Dix reformed the nation’s prisons and insane asylums to improve the living conditions and treatment of criminals, paupers, and emotionally disturbed persons. Separate penitentiaries were later instituted for the reformation of juvenile delinquents. Instead of “confining without distinction the more and less vicious”, where the latter can learn “little but the ways of the wicked”, their separation will salvage the less vicious through “religious and moral instruction” and “render them valuable members of society”.

    Read More

  • What Are The Pros And Cons Of Probation And Parole

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    Parole is a controversial issue because its vase ways to debate the challenges and problems that will exist. It’s like a side effect to medication based on one’s effectiveness belief. In like manner, the public media allows others who aren’t immediately effected to become tertiary, and secondary victims. It is the door to open opinions. An inmate is released from a sentence given parole and then assigned a parole and probation officer. The one thing that will make probation and parole successful is the supervision of the program and rehabilitation or residential treatment center. This will support the goal to maximize the good behavior and minimize the harmful behaviors of individuals. Probation is a good program because it’s a form of rehabilitation that gives inmates elevate space to obey rules and regulations. On the contrary, probation is risky just like any new diet plan that people use to

    Read More

  • Is Parole Ineffective of Effective in Curbing Recidivism?

    2253 Words  | 5 Pages

    All the laws, which concern with the administration of justice in cases where an individual has been accused of a crime, always begin with the initial investigation of the crime and end either with imposition of punishment or with the unconditional release of the person. Most of the time it is the duty of the members of constituted authorities to inflict the punishment. Thus it can be said that almost all of the punishments are an act of self-defense and an act of defending the community against different types of offences. According to Professor Hart “the ultimate justification of any punishment is not that it is deterrent but that it is the emphatic denunciation by the community of a crime” (Hart P.65). Whenever the punishments are inflicted having rationale and humane factor in mind and not motivated by our punitive passions and pleasures then it can be justified otherwise it is nothing but a brutal act of terrorism. Prison System: It has often been argued that the criminals and convicted prisoners are being set free while the law-abiding citizens are starving. Some people are strongly opposed the present prison and parole system and said that prisoners are not given any chance for parole. Prisons must provide the following results: Keep dangerous criminals off the street Create a deterrent for creating a crime The deterrent for creating a crime can be justified in the following four types Retribution: according to this type, the goal of prison is to give people, who commit a crime, what they deserved Deterrence: in this type of justification, the goal of punishment is to prevent certain type of conduct Reform: reform type describes that crime is a disease and so the goal of punishment is to heal people Incapacitation: the...

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Private Probation

    1757 Words  | 4 Pages

    Globokar, J. L. (2017). The Politics of Punishment: A study of the Passage of the 1925 Federal Probation Act. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 56(8),

    Read More

  • Progressive Movements in the 19th Century

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Progressive Era ignited one’s greater desire for family unity however, teenager delinquency was increasing. Judge Benjamin Barr Lindsey is noted for one’s contribution to the American family with the creative plan of Juvenile Court Systems which was formed in 1901(Campbell, 1978). Judge Lindsey wanted to insure that minors would not be punished through adult judicial systems. The Juvenile Court Systems currently offers more services than originally planned. Juvenile Court provides services which protects neglected and abused minors and also is responsible for collecting child support payments.

    Read More

  • Juvenile Justice

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although putting juveniles into institutions, for many juvenile offenders occurred in the first decades of the 1900s, extensive use of probation for juveniles existed as well. As it does today, probation gave a middle ground nature for judges connecting release and placement in an institution. By 1927, trial programs for juvenile offenders existed in approximately every state. In the 1940s and 1950s, reformers attempted to improve the conditions found in most juvenile institutions. Alternatives to institutions emerged, such as forestry and probation camps. These camps provided a prearranged setting for male juvenile offenders, while emphasizing learning and occupational skills. Though, the efficiency of these options as alternatives to incarceration was dubious since they were not obtainable to the worst offenders. Yet, these changes marked the start of formal, community-based instruction that would turn out to be more extensive in following decades.

    Read More

  • Foster Care

    2804 Words  | 6 Pages

    In the year 1562, there were laws enacted that allowed the placement of poor children into care services until they were old enough to care for themselves. When the idea came to the U.S. not many children liked the idea of being placed into a foster home. They were often abused and exploited. However, this was allowed by law and the homes were considered better for the children because unlike almshouses children were taught different trades, and were not constantly exposed to bad surrounding and immature adults. Various forms of indenturing children persisted into the first decade of the century. Benjamin Eaton became the nation’s first foster child in the year 1636, he was 7 years old.

    Read More

  • Mental Health Probation Essay

    2041 Words  | 5 Pages

    the malefactor accountable for their crime(s). The probation also tries to lower the cost of

    Read More

  • The Juvenile Justice System

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    The historical development of the juvenile justice system in the United States is one that is focused on forming and separating trying juveniles from adult counterparts. One of the most important aspects is focusing on ensuring that there is a level of fairness and equality with respect to the cognitive abilities and processes of juveniles as it relates to committing crime. Some of the most important case legislation that would strengthen the argument in regard to the development of the juvenile justice system is related to the reform of the justice system during the turn of the 19th century. Many juveniles were unfortunately caught in the crosshairs of being tried as adults and ultimately receiving punishments not in line with their ability to understand their actions or be provided a second chance.

    Read More

  • History of the Juvenile Justice System

    2654 Words  | 6 Pages

    Before the Progressive Era, children who were over the age of seven were put in jail with adults. In the early part of the 1800’s reformers started to become concerned with the overcrowded environment in the jails and prisons, and the corruption young kids were experiencing when locked up with adult prisoners. The Progressives in the late nineteenth century started to push for universal reform in the criminal justice system (Myers, 2008). The Progressives looked to move away from the penalizing aspect and more towards a rehabilitative system, with regard to the rectification of delinquent children and adolescents. A specific group of Progressives, called the "child savers," focused the majority of their attention on finding and curing the causes of juvenile delinquent behavior. The child savers group viewed the juvenile offenders as adolescents in need of care and direction, not punishment (Myers, 2008). In In re Gault (1967), Justice Fortas summed up the views of the child savers: “The early reformers were horrified by adult procedures and penalties, and by the fact that children could be given long prison sentences and thrown in jails with toughened criminals. They were overwhelmingly convinced that so...

    Read More

  • Current Issues in the Correctional System

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    The correctional system is not a perfect system as it does not address the key issues that cause offenders to continue to be imprisoned after only one year of release. The system has been evolving from a punishment base system from the 1970s to a complex system designed to beyond the punishment to deal with the rehabilitation of the criminal mind. This allows the individual offender to recognize their faults, receive treatment and be released from the correctional system as a productive member lacking terminal deviant behavior.

    Read More

  • Juvenile Justice System

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    Late eighteenth and early nineteenth century was the beginning of creating a difference in the way delinquents were handled. Historically, an offender who was above seven years of age was imprisoned together with the adults. Though an offender who was between seven and fourteen years of age was presumed as one who is not able to form the required criminal intent it gave the prosecutor room to prove otherwise. A house referred to as the New York House of Refuge was established by reformers in 1824, and it was meant to curb the problem of sending a child offender to an adult jail. In 1899 a juvenile court was established in Cook County, Illinois and another one in April 1905 in Birmingham (Shore). There was an educational reform movement that advocated for reform in juvenile justice. The movement was referred to as the Society for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency. The main issue that legislation and movements sought to address was the separation of delinquents from the adult offenders. In a case of an adult offender the court looks at the act committed. However, with the emergence of juvenile courts the focus is on the delinquent who is viewed as a child, and who needs to be helped. In the spirit of ensuring that trials against children were handled in a speedy and in a confidential manner, children below fourteen years were tried immediately before two magistrates (19th Century Bedford Gaol).

    Read More

  • America’s Prisons and Their Effects On Society

    1532 Words  | 4 Pages

    Every civilization in history has had rules, and citizens who break them. To this day governments struggle to figure out the best way to deal with their criminals in ways that help both society and those that commit the crimes. Imprisonment has historically been the popular solution. However, there are many instances in which people are sent to prison that would be better served for community service, rehab, or some other form of punishment. Prison affects more than just the prisoner; the families, friends, employers, and communities of the incarcerated also pay a price. Prison as a punishment has its pros and cons; although it may be necessary for some, it can be harmful for those who would be better suited for alternative means of punishment.

    Read More

  • Presentence Investigation Essay

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    He believed that the object of the law was to reform criminals and to prevent crime and not to punish cruel or of revenge.”Augustus’s leadership led the Massachusetts legislature to establish the nation’s first probation law in 1878. By authorizing the Mayor of Boston to appoint a member of the police department to serve as a paid probation officer, this statute formalized the practice of extending probation to "such persons as may be reasonably be expected to be reformed without punishment." The law was expanded in 1891 with the creation of an independent state wide probation system. By the time that the National Probation Act was passed in 1925 creating a Federal probation service, the majority of states had probation statutes.”(The History of...) A PSI shall be conducted and a PSI report prepared after the offender has been found guilty of a felony. “As part of the PSI, the field agent shall

    Read More

  • Juvenile Justice

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    Juvenile Justice The Juvenile Justice System as it typically functions in America's thousands of jurisdictions is the subject that will be covered. The Juvenile Justice System is defined as that "sociolegal process having responsibility and authority for public reaction to current juvenile delinquency and deterrence of future juvenile delinquency, including within that process the public and private agents, agencies, laws, rules, and policies having to do with juvenile delinquency"(Weiner, 1987, p.12). This paper will deal with the history of the juvenile system, the need for the juvenile system, juvenile court functions, parents in court and programs that have worked, along with ones that haven't. Because the first formal juvenile court was so labeled on July 1, 1899, which would make the Juvenile Justice System nearly a century old.

    Read More

More about John Augustus's Parole System

Open Document