NCJ Number
134100
Journal
Odyssey Dated: (Fall 1991) Pages: 58-63
Date Published
1991
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The fate of rehabilitative penology in the State of Massachusetts turned with the trial of Dr. Miriam Van Water, deposed Superintendent of the Women's Reformatory at Framingham.
Abstract
Under the guidance of Dr. Van Waters, the Women's Reformatory at Framingham was regarded in 1949 as a model of progressive penology throughout the world. However, her years of experience taught her that criminal justice administration is constantly subject to "public opinion, prejudice, and politics." In the 1940s, evidence of their influence surface with the appointment of a reactionary "law and order" Commissioner of Correction. The strategy to disparage the administration at Framingham was connected to the goal of abolishing rehabilitation and community corrections. If Van Waters was discredited and removed, it was believed that it would intimidate advocates of rehabilitative penology and effectively silence opposition. Penologists have attached great significance to the trial because it illustrates the complex challenges and influences that prison administrators who strive to move beyond punishment must face. 2 footnotes