Prison Reform In The 1800s

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Introduction:
Today in the U.S 68% of criminals are released from prison and are returning to crime free life. In the 1800’s only 5% of criminals were released. John Howard was the one who started prison reforms. He observed prisons which led him to write a book called The State of the Prisons in England. His book inspired a law that led to the construction of the first British prison designed partly for reform. Thus led to the U.S improving their prisons. The U.S needed these reforms greatly to help criminals recover from their mistakes instead of being killed. Prison reforms changed America greatly. It gave people a second chance to improve the world not to destroy it. The creation of prison reforms significantly changed the lives of the …show more content…

In 1876, Zebulon Brockway became a superintendent of the nation's first reformatory in Elmira, New York. Elmira held male offenders from the age 16-30. These were men who were serving their first prison term. Brockway thought that if it was their first time in a prison then they had more of a chance recovering, and learn from their mistake. Elmira was supposed to let the convicts have rewards. The prison would have different grades, and each time you moved up a grade you would have nicer conditions. If they happened to break a rule they would have to be moved to a lower grade. The inmates would earn their way out of prison. This was supposed to have the inmates want to be good so they could be released. Elmira prisoners would receive points for their work. As soon as an inmate earned enough points, he became a candidate for parole. Under parole system, a prisoner was required to find a job at his trade when he was released from prison. He would also have very strict behavior rules to follow. Such as avoiding criminal companions and alcoholic beverages. The offender was closely watched for 6 months once they were let out. If he could follow the rules then he would be fully free again. Education was a big part of Elmira. Inmates would teach in elementary classes. Visiting teachers from Elmira college taught advanced classes. Such as Bookkeeping, history, and literature. Inmates were kept busy all the time. Some worked at Carpentry, plumbing, shoemaking, or brush making. Others worked at tailoring, drafting, sign painting, or weaving. Elmira became the model for the reform movement in the last decades of the 1800's. This method or program was copied by many states. Eventually, though Elmira became overcrowded and discipline was hard. This lead to inmates being whipped and tortured. This was most common for people with mental or physical disabilities. Then the education started to fail. Also, inmates would fake

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