2S2 



PRISON I.ISril'I.IMv 



Joseph, in Egypt, was in prison, ami Egyptian nonu- 



V 1 XIX n * enw testify clearly that prisms were 



, -j- ( TO! C 001111011 " l ' 11 ' ^i'le many centuries 



Am! KepVj. before. In Chinese annals prisons are 



mentioned a thousand years before 



the time of Joseph, and doubtless they have been 



necessity wherever an organized government has 

 been maintained. 



Prior to the present century, however, prison man- 

 agement with rare exceptions seems to have been 

 little clue than organized cruelty. The founder of 

 Christianity had taught that mercy to prisoners was 



sign of nis coming, and had inculcated the remem- 

 brance of prisoners as brethren in bonds, but yet 

 in the practical administration of prisons the hearts 

 of rulers seem to have been hardened, nnd darkness 

 reigned supreme. It is true the church did Home- 

 thing, and under Constantine and succeeding Christian 

 emperors the bishops were authorized to visit prisons 

 witn a view to their amelioration, and under Theo- 

 dosius II. and Ju-tinian. eriminal codes were some- 

 what improved, but the results were not large, and 

 prison reform as a continuous entity had no abiding- 

 place upon the earth until the beginning of the 

 present century. 



When we remember that through the Christian cen- 

 turies the typical prisons were the Mauiertine at Rome, 

 the Tower in London, the Bastille in France, the Spiel- 

 berg in Austria, the Plombs of Venice, and the dun- 

 geons of the Inquisition, we may rest assured that the 

 norrorsof prisons, in all ages, cannot well be exaggerated. 

 The dark ages of prisons were very dark, and their 

 annals are an interesting and instructive study, but the 

 purview of this article is modern and local rather than 

 ancient or general, and will be confined almost entirely 

 to the United Slates of America. The history and man- 

 agement of prisons in Europe and other countries of 

 the Eastern Hemisphere have been fully and clearly pre- 

 sented in the ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA. which 

 should be consulted by those who desire additional 

 information upon this topic. 



Penology as a practical science, and a positive force 

 in the world, in the main, had its origin with John 

 Howard. As Paul was the apostle of Christianity to 

 the (j entiles, so Howard was the apostle of prison re- 

 form to modern nations. As Paul was converted by 

 special revelation on his way to Damascus, so Howard 

 was converted by the revelations of Bedford gaol. 

 Both served the same master, and both died as martyrs. 

 Paul in the Mauiertine prison at Rome, and Howard 

 in a lazaretto at Kherson, near the Black Si a. 



The investigations and revelations of Howard at- 

 tracted attention in all civilized countries, but curiously 

 the fruition of his work, to any large extent, began in 

 America. Howard began his work in 1773. and his 

 first report was made in 1774. On Feb. -, 177r>. the 

 first Prison Reform Association in the world was or- 

 ganized in Philadelphia. It was called ''The Phila- 

 delphia Society for Assisting Distressed Prisoners;" 

 but in Beptmaber of the following year the British 

 army entered this city, and (he society was dissolved. 



Ten years later. May 8. 17H7, peace being restored. 

 the society was reorganized, and has continued its 

 beneficent work until the present. 



The fact that over one hundred prominent men of 

 Philadelphia (among whom were Benjamin Rush and 

 Benjamin Franklin) signed the original constitution of 

 the society on the day of its adoption indicates the 

 roused condition of public sentiment at the time, and 

 enables us to understand the reasons for the rapid prog- 

 ress made in the amelioration of the criminal laws of 

 Pennsylvania, and in the improvement of prisons. 

 The impelling motive of the society is indicated in the 

 closing paragraph of its first appeal to the community 

 for funds to carry on its work : "To n people pro- 

 fessing Christianity it will be sufficient only to mention 

 that acts of charity to the miserable tenants of prisons 

 are upon record amongst the first Christian duties. 



From ladies therefore whom Heaven has blessed with 

 affluence and the greater gilt of sympathy from gen- 

 tlemen who acknowledge the obligations of humanity 

 and from the followers of the compassionate Saviour of 

 mankind, of every rank and description, the society 

 thus humbly solicits an addition to its funds." 



IViicips a more thorough transformation in the 

 character of a penal code, by jieacclul legislation, 

 is not recorded in the world s history than that , 

 which took iilace in the penal code oi Pennsylva- 

 nia during the eighteen years immediately Micccod- 

 ing the Declaration of Independent When the Rev- 

 olution commenced, nearly a score of crimes were 

 capital. High treason, petit treason, murder, robbery, 

 bur.L'lary, rape, sodomy, malicious maiming, man- 

 slaughter by stabbing, witchcraft, arson, and a second 

 conviction of any crime except larceny, counterfeiting, 

 or passing counterfeit money or bills of credit, coun- 

 terfeit gold or silver coin, were all punishable with 

 death ; out by 1791 such progress had been made that 

 it was ordained that no crime should be punished with 

 death except murder in the first degree. 



The Pennsylvania society began its work on the very 

 day of its organization by securing the release of a 

 prisoner held in violation of law and followed it up 

 by persistent and continuous efforts fora more humane 

 administration of prisons. The city prison of Phila- 

 delphia secured special attention, and the society pro- 

 tested against its abuses in vigorous language : (I) that 

 the clothing of the prisoners was insufficient : ( - J) that 

 the daily allowance to prisoners committed for trial 

 was only half of a four-penny loaf, while those de- 

 tained as witnesses had no allowance at all ; (3) no pro- 

 vision was made for decent lodging, the inmates of the 

 gaol lying indiscriminately upon the floor, unless sup- 

 plied witn something better by their friends; (4) the 

 indiscriminate intermingling of criminals, untried pris- 

 on, rs. and debtors was another monstrous abuse, and 

 led in many instances to the conversion of debtors and 

 innocent parties into criniinals ; (5) that parents were 

 allowed to have their children with them in gaol, and 

 young offenders were exposed to the corrupting influ- 

 ences of association with confirmed and reckless vil- 

 lains ; (f>) it was presented as a radical evil that a large 

 proportion of prisoners were unemployed ; and further 

 it was maintained that labor, even in the public streeuJ, 

 was preferable to sheer idleness within the walls. 



In view of these considerations the society recom- 

 mended "The classification of prisoners, and as far 

 as possible individual reformation with labor in seclu- 

 sion, and the interdiction of all intoxicating drinks." 

 And so energetically were these points pressed upon 

 the Legislature that on April S, 1790, an act was i : 

 to reform the penal code of the State. By this aet the 

 principle of separation was recognized so far as " hard- 

 ened and atrocious" offenders were concerned, and in- 

 toxicating drinks were entirely prohibited. In 17'. | 4 

 this ac.t was amended so as to require the separation 

 and seclusion of all convicts, and, as has already been 

 staled, the death penalty was abolished in all ea 

 cent for murder. 



The society did not stop here, for we find them in 

 1796 pressing upon the Legiatatara the abolition of ex- 

 acting fees as a condition of liberation from imprison- 

 ment. Also the subject ion of prisoners to the pillory, 

 the whipping-post, the branding-iron, and cropping, 

 together with exposure to the gaze and taunts of the 

 rabble with external marks of degradation such as the 

 clog and chain upon the neck or leg. When we re- 

 member that all these occurred twenty years before 

 Elizabeth Fry exposed the horrors of Newgate in 

 London, and nearly thirty years lie fore remedial legis- 

 lation was obtained from t lie British Parlianient.it is 

 apparent that the State of Pennsylvania wa.s in ad- 

 vance of all other civilized countries in the matter of 

 prison reform. 



As the years went on additional improvements were 

 secured in the criminal laws of Pennsylvania, until at 



