NCJ Number
207441
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 44 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2004 Pages: 759-770
Editor(s)
Geoffrey Pearson
Date Published
September 2004
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article examines the penal practice of cellular isolation in English prisons from 1878 to 1921, and the resiliency of this practice during this time period.
Abstract
In 1878, the new English governing body, the Prison Commission, established principles of efficiency, uniformity, and economy in prison discipline. English regimes between 1878 and 1921 prisons were deliberately designed to restrict communication between prisoners. This was viewed as an enforcement of loneliness, thereby rendering the prisoner docile and tractable, prone to remorse, and amenable to rehabilitation. By restricting communication, the prisoner was deprived of the solaces and reinforcements of association. The lack of communication was consistent with the purposes of discipline and reformation. However, there were many critiques of this emphasis on cellular isolation from the beginning. Research indicated that constant confinement could lead to mental incapacitation, and that it could drive an individual back to himself and his own defects, grievances, and needs. After 1921, there was a strengthening to move away from cellular isolation, and there was increasing emphasis on the value of interaction in association within a prison community. Even with the influence of the new Liberalism in the 1920's and 1930's, cellular isolation as a penal practice remained highly resilient and deeply affected policy and practice. References