Evolving Function: Early Use of Imprisonment as Punishment

• NCJ Number: 226284
• Journal: The Prison Journal Volume: 89 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2009 Pages: 10S-34S
• Author(s): Norman Johnston
• Date Published: March 2009
• Length: 25 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For additional articles in this special issue see NCJ-226283, and NCJ-226285-87

Annotation

This article examines the historical uses of imprisonment from its earliest recorded use 3,000 years ago to recent times.

Abstract

A work edited by Confucius notes the building of prisons around 2000 BCE. Although public or private prisons have always existed, their regular use as punishment rather than simply detention before trial--or in some cases, without trial--is more recent. The occasional use of prison as punishment in Greece and Rome spread to other parts of Europe; it was practiced more widely in England at an earlier date than in most countries. Houses of correction influenced either by English or Dutch models sprang up, especially in Belgium, Sweden, and Germany. Although intended for petty criminal offenders, they might also have housed disobedient children, lepers, orphans, or the mentally ill. Special institutions for juvenile delinquents were established gradually in Europe. The last two decades of the 18th century saw a remarkable concentration of influential reformers, who sought reform in the criminal law and reduction in the use of capital punishment and harsh prison conditions. In America, although William Penn achieved progress in more humane punishments in Pennsylvania, stricter punishment returned when he died. With the growth of the U.S. population and the associated increase in the need to house convicted criminals, new prisons continued to be built. Variations on the Auburn cellblock with multiple tiers of cells became common in the various States. Later changes in inmate populations, overcrowding, and a relaxation of discipline procedure led to problems of control in large-capacity prisons. In the late 20th century, this resulted in the design of small-capacity housing units. Hand in hand with the expansion of prison systems went more highly differentiated institutions in terms of security level, age of inmates, gender, and mental health status. 55 references