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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Journal of Prison Discipline and
Philanthropy, January 1862, by Anonymous
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
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to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
Title: The Journal of Prison Discipline and Philanthropy, January 1862
Author: Anonymous
Release Date: August 3, 2017 [EBook #55253]
Language: English
Character set encoding: UTF-8
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOURNAL OF PRISON DISCIPLINE, JAN 1862 ***
Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Carol Brown, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
book was produced from images made available by the
HathiTrust Digital Library.)
NEW SERIES.] [NO. 1.
THE JOURNAL
OF
PRISON DISCIPLINE
AND
PHILANTHROPY.
PUBLISHED ANNUALLY
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF “THE PHILADELPHIA SOCIETY FOR
ALLEVIATING THE MISERIES OF PUBLIC PRISONS,”
INSTITUTED 1787.
JANUARY, 1862.
PHILADELPHIA:
HENRY B. ASHMEAD, BOOK AND JOB PRINTER,
NOS. 1102 AND 1104 SANSOM STREET.
1862.
NEW SERIES. NO. 1.
THE JOURNAL
OF
PRISON DISCIPLINE
AND
PHILANTHROPY.
PUBLISHED ANNUALLY
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF “THE PHILADELPHIA SOCIETY FOR
ALLEVIATING THE MISERIES OF PUBLIC PRISONS,”
INSTITUTED 1787.
JANUARY, 1862.
PHILADELPHIA:
HENRY B. ASHMEAD, BOOK AND JOB PRINTER,
NOS. 1102 AND 1104 SANSOM STREET.
1862.
TO THE READER.
This being the first number of the new series of “THE JOURNAL OF
PRISON DISCIPLINE AND PHILANTHROPY,” some reference to the action of
the Society in relation to the change from a “Quarterly” to an
“Annual” may be looked for here. We may, therefore, just say, that the
ground upon which the change was proposed, and the manner in which it
finally resulted, will be found to be fully set forth in the latter
part of the “Report,” which is the first and principal article in the
present number. This Report occupies so much space, that the
“Editorial Board” have not deemed it expedient to include in the
present issue much additional matter.
REPORT.
The Editorial Board, in the discharge of the duties assigned them,
have prepared the following “Annual Report,” which they beg leave to
present to the Society for its adoption:
_Introduction._—This being the first time that an Annual Report has
become a part of the regular proceedings of “The Philadelphia Society
for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons,” it seems a fitting
occasion to take a wider range than is generally done in the
preparation of such papers; and especially does it seem proper to
bring into view the origin of the Society—the motives which prompted
its organization, and some of the labors in which it has been engaged
since its establishment, with the fruit of those labors. It will be
seen that being but little known in the community, is not because it
has been without vitality during its existence of nearly three-fourths
of a century, but because it has steadily pursued its benevolent
course, quietly and unostentatiously, not proclaiming its doings, or
coming out before the public, excepting at such times as the
accomplishment of some object of special importance required it.
Before proceeding in the narration, it is proper to mention, that the
examination into the history of the Society during its earlier period,
has been facilitated by referring to a pamphlet which it published
about three years since, containing a sketch of its principal
transactions from its origin to that time.
_Origin and Organisation._—It appears that on the 2d day of February,
1776, a Society of a kindred character was organized in this city,
under the name of “The Philadelphia Society for Assisting Distressed
Prisoners,” which, though not identical with ours, was imbued with a
good measure of the same spirit, and may be fairly viewed as a
forerunner. It embraced among its members some of the most prominent
citizens of that day, and immediately commenced to carry out its
benevolent purposes, and extended relief to many prisoners; but in
September of the following year, the British army entered the city and
took possession of the jail, which caused a dissolution of the
Society, after an existence of nineteen months. The troubles resulting
from the Revolutionary War, prevented any further organized action in
the same direction for a number of years. But finally peace having
been restored, and public attention having been again called to the
condition of prisoners, and to the many abuses which existed, not only
in the manner of administering the penal laws, but also from a want of
proper statutory enactments—a number of benevolent citizens assembled
on the 8th day of May, 1787, and agreed to form themselves into an
Association to be called “The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the
Miseries of Public Prisons.” This meeting was attended by twenty-five
persons, and was composed of men eminent in the community for their
general position, and their enlarged Christian benevolence; and, with
those who came into the arrangement immediately afterwards as original
members, embraced several who, through a continued career of virtue
and usefulness, attained to a good old age before they were gathered
to their fathers, and were consequently personally known to, and their
memory is pleasantly cherished by, many of those still active in the
Society; and it may be said, as regards their example, that, “though
dead, they yet speak.” A few of those who were longest spared to
continue their useful services to their fellow men, were William
White, (Bishop) Thomas Wistar, Zachariah Poulson, Dr. Benjamin Rush,
Thomas Harrison, Dr. Samuel Powell Griffitts, Isaac Parrish, William
Rogers, Jacob Shoemaker, Thomas Rogers, Tench Coxe, Charles Marshall,
and Joseph James.
The reasons which prompted the organization, and the basis of the
action contemplated, can hardly be better set forth than by here
introducing the simple, but eloquent preamble to the Constitution:—“When
we consider that the obligations of benevolence, which are founded on
the example and precepts of the Author of Christianity, are not
cancelled by the follies or crimes of our fellow creatures; and when
we reflect upon the miseries which, penury, hunger, cold, unnecessary
severity, unwholesome apartments, and guilt (the usual attendants of
prisons) involve with them, it becomes us to extend our compassion to
that part of mankind who are the subjects of those miseries. By the
aid of humanity, their undue and illegal sufferings may be prevented;
the links which should bind the whole family of mankind together under
all circumstances, be preserved unbroken; and such degrees and modes
of punishment may be discovered and suggested, as may, instead of
continuing habits of vice, become the means of restoring our fellow
creatures to virtue and happiness.”
The principles thus enunciated at the outset, have controlled the
plans and efforts of the Society from its origin to the present time,
and their truth and value have been abundantly confirmed by large
experience.
The late venerable William White (Protestant Episcopal Bishop of the
Diocese) was elected the first President of the Society, and held the
office until his death, on the 17th of July, 1836, a period of nearly
fifty years. The general sentiment of the community with regard to
this worthy man, was beautifully expressed in an editorial notice
published in one of our daily newspapers, shortly after his decease,
of which the following is an extract:—“If he went forth, age paid him
the tribute of affectionate respect, and children rose up and called
him blessed.”
_Abuses in Prisons._—In the year 1773, John Howard, emphatically
called “the Philanthropist,” entered on his course of self-sacrificing,
and almost unprecedented devotion to the interests of humanity,
particularly as connected with Prisons and Penal Institutions
generally. In the course of his examination into the condition of
these Institutions, which he did by personal visits to most of them,
not only in England, Ireland and Scotland, but in nearly all the
countries of Continental Europe—he discovered that some of the penal
laws in force were so erroneous in principle, and so evil and
oppressive in their practical operation, that he was convinced they
ought to be either wholly repealed, or so amended as to rid them of
their obnoxious features; and also that there was a great want of
salutary legal enactments, regulating the manner of construction and
arrangement of buildings for Prison purposes, and establishing rules
for their management when occupied. And in the Prisons he saw such an
amount of abuse in their administration, and of misery on the part of
those in confinement in them, as often shocked and deeply grieved him.
Many of the scenes which he witnessed, and facts he ascertained, were
truly heart-sickening. A few of which may here be briefly noticed.
Speaking of the dungeons in the Conciergerie in Paris, he says, they
“are totally dark, and beyond imagination horrid and dreadful. Poor
creatures are confined in them for weeks—for months together.” In
another of the Paris Prisons he states “that there are eight dungeons
which open into dark passages. In four of these, 10 feet 8 inches by 6
feet 8 inches, I saw sixteen prisoners, two in irons, and all lying
upon straw.” In the course of his account of the condition of things
at Liege, in Belgium, he says: “The dungeons in the _new_ Prison are
abodes of misery still more shocking; and confinement in them so
overpowers human nature, as sometimes irrecoverably to take away their
senses. I heard the cries of the distracted as I went down to them.
One woman, however, I saw, who (as I was told) had sustained this
horrid confinement forty-seven years, without becoming distracted. The
cries of the sufferers in the torture chamber may be heard by
passengers without, and guards are placed to prevent them stopping and
listening. A physician and surgeon always attend when the torture is
applied; and on a signal given by a bell, the gaoler brings in wine,
vinegar, and water, to prevent the sufferers from expiring. ‘_The
tender mercies of the wicked are cruel._’”
Let us for a moment look at the then condition of a few of the prisons
in England, where we might have hoped to find a better state of
things. Of Cheshire County Gaol, at Chester, he says: “Under the
pope’s kitchen is a dark passage, 24 feet by 9; the descent to it is
by twenty-one steps from the court. No window; not a breath of fresh
air; only two apertures (lately made), with grates in the ceiling,
into the pope’s kitchen above. On one side of it are six cells
(_stalls_), each about 7½ feet by three, with a barrack bedstead, and
an aperture over the door, about 8 inches by 4. In each of these are
locked up at night sometimes three or four felons.”
“In many gaols, and most bridewells, there is no allowance of bedding
or straw for prisoners to sleep on, and if by any means they get a
little, it is not changed for months together, so that it is offensive
and almost worn to dust. Some lie upon rags, some upon the bare floor.”
In the County Gaol at Carlisle,—in one room, he states,—“I saw three
men and four women lodged together.”
In the County Gaol at Gloucester, “there is no separation of the
women…. The licentious intercourse of the sexes is shocking to
decency and humanity. Many children are born in this gaol.” Many
similar instances of a violation of the rules of virtue and decency
are recorded by him.
_Evil of Association._—Howard early became sensible of the great evil
of associating together prisoners of all ages, and of all grades of
criminality, and frequently deplored its corrupting influences upon
the young and less hardened and practised in the ways of crime; and he
remarked that even debtors, when associated with the felons (as they
frequently were), soon became equally depraved with the worst of the
criminals. Seeing this, he urged separation, at night, as _essential_,
and at all times as _desirable_; but he does not seem to have matured
any plan of thorough separation, by which alone these influences could
be effectually guarded against.
Beside from the first, communicating freely the wrongs which he
discovered, as they came to his knowledge, in the year 1777 he
published, in a large volume, his “State of the Prisons.” Thus the
world was put in possession of facts, many of them of so horrible a
character as to awaken an intense interest, and enlist the sympathies
of the benevolent on behalf of the victims of such wrongs, many of
whom were really not guilty of crimes to warrant their incarceration;
and even when guilty, they were still human beings, objects of divine
mercy, and though they had by their conduct forfeited their
liberty,—if the makers of the laws, and those appointed to administer
them, did not feel the force of the Christian obligation, to endeavor
to promote their reform and to care for their souls,—it was but
reasonable to suppose that the common impulses of humanity would have
prompted to extend to them at least as much kindness and bodily
comfort, as are admitted to be due to the “beasts that perish.”
_Prompt action for relief._—By the year 1787, therefore, society
generally throughout the civilized world saw the necessity of a
thorough reform, and legislators were prepared to listen to and
favorably consider, propositions to enact laws, adapted to a wiser and
more humane policy, and consequently our Society was organized at a
time peculiarly favorable for the beneficent labors it contemplated;
and as an evidence of the promptness with which these labors were
commenced and practically carried out, for the relief of unjust
suffering, it may be noted, that at the very first meeting,
information being received through a member, that although an order
had been issued three days before from the Supreme Executive Council,
that a person who had been sentenced to death, but had been pardoned,
should be released from his irons,—they still remained on him,—the
subject was referred to an appropriate committee, who took instant and
successful measures to relieve the prisoner from his fetters, and
effect his discharge from confinement.
_Early contribution to the cause._—As a very gratifying practical
endorsement and encouragement, received by the young Society, just one
year after its establishment, it is proper to mention, that John
Dickinson and wife, then of Wilmington, Delaware (but previously of
Pennsylvania), by deed, dated in May, 1788, after reciting the
formation of the Society, and expressing their desire to promote its
benevolent designs, granted to the Institution some yearly ground
rents, issuing out of premises in Philadelphia, amounting in the whole
to fourteen pounds ten shillings ($38⅔) per annum, which sum (though
not in its original form), still contributes that much towards meeting
our annual expenditures. Several other benevolent individuals have, at
different periods since, contributed liberally towards our funds, both
by bequest and donation.
_Considerations in relation to Penal System._—There is no reason to
believe that the Society, when it first entered on its benevolent
labors, contemplated directing its efforts towards the introduction of
any new system, or effecting any general change in the then prevailing
principles of prison discipline; but as their arrangements for
securing efficient and comprehensive action within their own body
embraced from the outset, a standing committee to visit the prisons
and prisoners, they not only carefully examined and considered the
provisions of the penal laws, but they had full opportunity of
observing their practical operation upon the prisoners, and also of
judging whether the gaols were so constructed and arranged as to adapt
them to their proper purposes. On entering the prisons, the Committee
saw in close association those of the various ages, from the
comparatively far advanced in life, down to mere children; and from
those long practised and utterly hardened in crime, down to such as
had made their first serious misstep, which may have been more from
want of thought than from actual depravity of heart, and they soon
became convinced, that if the community desired the spread of vice and
wickedness, they here had schools admirably adapted to their purpose.
Exactly in accordance with their conviction of what must be the result
of this state of things, crimes were found to increase in number and
boldness, and this association of convicts was apparently the only
adequate cause which could be assigned for it. “This being the evil
(to adopt the language of the ‘Sketch’ referred to), _separation_ was
the obvious remedy; and on this, therefore, as we shall soon see, they
ultimately fixed, as the grand point to be aimed at. Thenceforth,
_separation_ and _employment_ were felt to be the cardinal features of
convict discipline; and even at that day it was maintained, that
though the structures which this principle demanded, might be somewhat
more expensive in the outset, they would, nevertheless, in the end,
pay for themselves with large interest. In saving in police force; in
the avoidance of conspiracies and insurrections; in the dispensing
with violent and exciting modes of punishment; in the power to adapt
the means of improvement and reformation to individual character and
circumstances; in the exemption of the discharged prisoner from
recognition by prison acquaintances; and in the moral and disciplinary
virtue of seclusion in itself considered, were to be found a generous
compensation for any extraordinary outlay.”
_Former severity of the Penal Code._—According to the penal code
existing in Pennsylvania at the commencement of the American
Revolution, nearly a score of crimes were subject to capital
punishment. In 1794, just eighteen years after the Declaration of
Independence, it was ordained that murder in the first degree should
be the only crime punishable with death,—a transformation truly
remarkable, as being accomplished in so short a time.
Many other features of the old code and its administration would, in
these days, be considered in Pennsylvania to be highly barbarous; such
as exposing the offender in the public streets, with the clogg and
chain upon the neck or leg, and not unfrequently on both, or punishing
by cropping or the branding iron, the pillory or the whipping-post,
all of which were at one time conspicuous features of the code and its
administration in our city; and thus the victim was exposed to the
gaze and taunts of the rabble, and almost necessarily hardened by the
cruel system, instead of being reformed. Ten years proved sufficient
to change all this, and instead of these relics of barbarity, to
introduce a more rational, humane, and Christian system, by which
restraints and “punishments were adopted, better fitted to reclaim the
transgressor, and not less effective in penal suffering.”
_Reforms Applied for._—On account of this odious state of things, so
abhorrent to the better feelings of humanity, the Society, as early as
August, 1787, appointed a committee to inquire into the effects
produced upon convicts, then at work in the streets, and also its
influence on society, and to collect such observations as might assist
in correcting any abuses suffered therein. As a result of their
inquiries, the Society adopted a memorial to the Legislature, asking
that private, and even secluded labor should be substituted for that
which had been public and disgraceful in the manner of its imposition.
They also suggested that the mingling of the sexes, and the use of
intoxicating drink in the prisons, were evils requiring legislative
remedy.
_Abuses Indicated._—In the autumn of 1788 the Society indicated the
following defects and abuses in the treatment of prisoners.
1. Insufficiency of clothing for the untried, and that clothes which
the Society had supplied to poor prisoners had been exchanged for rum.
2. The daily allowance to persons committed for trial was only a half
of a four-penny loaf, while those detained as witnesses had no
allowance at all.
A stranger accidentally present at the commission of a crime, without
friends to enter security for his appearance, was committed to jail
for the benefit of the community, and suffered more than the actual
criminal; and what added greatly to this grievance, he was afterwards
detained until he paid the jail fees! The Society earnestly protested
against this practice, and against detaining any prisoners for any
such cause after acquittal. This was one of the abuses which Howard
ranked amongst “enormities.”
3. No provision was made for decent lodging; the inmates of the jail
lying indiscriminately upon the floor, unless supplied with something
better by their friends. It will scarcely be believed that, in the
memory of persons now living, the male and female prisoners in the
jails of this city, were allowed a promiscuous association, and were
even locked up together in the rooms at night. The new Society
remonstrated loudly, and the men and women were soon after confined in
separate apartments. Almost equally incredible is the fact, that
prisoners complained that they were not allowed to purchase
intoxicating drinks where they could get them cheapest, but were
compelled to buy them in the jail at a considerable advance. To obtain
them, they not only stripped themselves, but when new prisoners were
brought in they took their clothing from them by force, and exchanged
it for rum.
4. The indiscriminate intermingling of criminals, untried prisoners,
and debtors, was another monstrous abuse, and led, in many instances,
to the conversion of debtors and innocent parties into criminals.
5. Parents were allowed to have their children with them in jail, and
young offenders were exposed to all the corrupting influences of
association with confirmed and reckless villains.
6. It was presented as a radical evil that a large proportion of the
prisoners were unemployed; and farther, it was maintained that labor,
even in the public streets, was preferable to sheer idleness within
the walls.
In view of these several considerations, and as the result of careful
observation, the Society resolved that “labor in seclusion, and the
interdiction of all intoxicating drinks, were the two principal
elements of the desired reform.”
_Publications; and Reform of Penal Code._—From an early period, the
Society had issued through the press, memorials and addresses in
behalf of its objects, and in 1790 a pamphlet was published, entitled,
“Extracts and Remarks on the Subject of Punishment and the Reformation
of Criminals,” 500 copies of which were distributed among the members
of the Legislature, and other persons prominently connected with the
government, with a view to preparing them to support such reforms as
the observations of the Society had suggested to be necessary. As a
result mainly due to the efforts of the Society, an Act was passed in
April, 1790, to reform the penal code of the State, by which the
principle of individual separation was recognized, though applied
strictly only to “more hardened and atrocious offenders, who are
sentenced for a term of years,” while the introduction of intoxicating
drinks was prohibited under severe penalties.
_Early Advantages of Separation._—Even this very partial separation
resulted so satisfactorily, that one of its early fruits was the Act
of 1794, by which it was intended that not only “the more hardened and
atrocious offenders,” but _all_ convicts should be subjected to
seclusion. But as the number of the cells was not equal to one-third
the average number of the convicts (say thirty of the former to one
hundred of the latter) the Inspectors were obliged to exercise their
discretion. Some of the prisoners, immediately on their admission,
were conducted to their separate cells, and remained in them until
their discharge; and the remarkable and most gratifying fact is on
record, (see Roberts Vaux’s Letter of Sept. 21st, 1827, to William
Roscoe, of Liverpool,) that _the cases thus treated were the only
instances of reformation which continued throughout the lives of the
individuals_, so far as they could be traced, or their condition
ascertained by diligent inquiry.
_Jailor’s Fees._—In the year 1796, the sore evil and reproachful
practice which existed, of the jailors exacting fees, as a condition
of liberation from imprisonment, was taken in hand, and an adequate
salary to the keeper was suggested as the best remedy, so that he
might have no personal interest in any question affecting the liberty
of the prisoner. This wholesome suggestion was not, however, at that
time, as fully accepted and acted upon as its importance demanded.
_Imprisonment of Debtors._—The broad and interesting question of
imprisonment for debt, in its various aspects, came up for
investigation and consideration by the Society in 1798, and resulted
in an Act of the Legislature in the same year, removing some of the
most objectionable features of the existing laws on that subject.
_Instruction of Prisoners._—In the same year, the duty of _instructing
ignorant prisoners in useful knowledge_, which previously to that time
had been almost wholly neglected, both in Europe and this country,
took such hold of our Society that it not only drew forth warm
expressions of sympathy in such efforts, but resulted in an agreement
to allow compensation for services rendered in that behalf.
_Vagrants._—In 1800, the _employment of Vagrants and Convicts_,
and the expense of their support, were made a subject of inquiry, and
resulted in some interesting statistical and other facts being brought
into view.
_Pardons._—The subject of Pardons, also, at this early stage of
reformatory movements, was discussed by the Society with much
interest, and it was its settled judgment that the exercise of the
prerogative at all, excepting in some rare and peculiar cases, was of
very doubtful expediency; and that in the manner in which, in point of
fact, it was generally exercised, it was a positive evil, both as
regards the prisoner and the community. Pardons, it is believed, are
nearly, if not quite, as frequently extended to undeserving, as to
deserving cases; and beside this objection, the mere impression on the
mind of the prisoner that, by effort and importunity, and the aid of
the requisite agencies, he may succeed in obtaining a discharge before
the expiration of his sentence, keeps him in a state of unsettlement,
which entirely unfits him for the wholesome influence which the prison
discipline is intended to exert.
_Prison Library._—One of the next prominent measures was the
establishment of a _prison library_. The Inspectors agreed to pay the
cost of a book-case, and a Committee of the Society was appointed to
purchase proper books and frame rules for their circulation. In referring
to the list reported, we find a large proportion of the selection was from
the higher and more refined department of didactic literature, which,
though intrinsically of undoubted value, we apprehend that many of the
volumes were not adapted to the greater part of the class of persons for
whose use they were intended. Even down to the present time, although the
press is so prolific in its issues, and great judgment has been displayed
in preparing books adapted to the various grades of mind, the task of
making a selection is found to be very difficult. A large proportion of the
prisoners, on entering, prove to be very nearly, if not quite, without
literary culture; and their previous associations have been such, that the
feelings and modes of expression which pervade refined society, are to them
totally incomprehensible. As regards many of these, although they have in
years fully attained to manhood, they are still merely children in mental
capacity and training, and consequently books of the most simple and
elementary character are alone suited to their condition.
_Bibles for the Prisoners._—In addition to establishing the Library,
it was at the same time agreed that the convicts and other prisoners
should be supplied with Bibles and Testaments, and a Committee was
appointed to report on their distribution and its results.
_Digest of Penal Laws._—In 1810, the subject of a general improvement
of prison discipline throughout the State was taken up, and a
Committee was appointed to prepare a suitable memorial; but soon
after, Jared Ingersoll, then Attorney General of the State, was
commissioned to prepare a digest of its penal laws, and the
suggestions of the Society were made to him.
_Sundry Abuses Revealed._—“In January, 1814, the Grand Jury of Bucks
County presented the scanty allowance to poor debtors, as a subject
deserving the attention of the public authorities. Fourteen cents a
day only were allowed for provision, clothing, bedding and fuel, and
even this niggardly allowance was withheld from the debtor until the
creditor received notice of his commitment. For some days, therefore,
they might be exposed to extreme suffering, unless the jailor or some
kind friend afforded them relief. The rations of convicts were one
pound of bread a day, and six cents’ worth of fuel, and one extra
blanket in extreme weather. The subjection of persons committed for
trial to the same fare as convicts, was also presented as a reproach
to the community. It was, moreover, urged, that the manner and amount
of the jailor’s compensation should be such as to remove from him all
temptation to benefit himself at the expense of his prisoner. This
position, which the Society assumed many years before, is one which
the most obvious principles of justice warrant. It extends to
magistrates and arresting officers, as well as jailors. To none of
them should there be offered the slightest temptation to distress or
annoy those in custody, for the sake of profit to themselves.”
_Measures to Obviate Them._—Resulting from the facts and suggestions
thus developed, measures were soon adopted by the Society for
ascertaining the condition of penal institutions in other States, and
steps were taken towards memorializing our own Legislature in behalf
of desired improvements; but definite action on the subject was
prevented, by various circumstances, until January, 1818, at which
time a memorial was adopted, setting forth “the crowded state of the
Philadelphia Prison, and the impracticability of reaching the true end
of all penal discipline therein, and urging the erection of
penitentiaries in suitable parts of the Commonwealth, for the more
effectual _separation and employment_ of prisoners, and so proving the
superiority of that system.”
_Western Penitentiary._—From the time that the principle of
individual separation of convicts was recognized by the Legislature,
in 1790, the legal provisions and the arrangements of the prison had
been so defective, that a full and fair trial of the system could not
be made; yet notwithstanding the impediments it encountered, its good
results were so evident, that the Society deemed it proper to call
public attention to the importance of extending it throughout the
State. This being done, in the same year (1818) the Act was passed,
authorizing the erection, at Pittsburg, of the Western State
Penitentiary, “on the principle of the solitary confinement of the
convicts, as the same is, or hereafter may be, established by law.” In
the passage of this Act, it is rather to be regretted that the term
“separate” had not been used, instead of “solitary,” as it would have
more accurately described what is now emphatically called “the
Pennsylvania System,” and would not have been so likely to aid in the
prejudice towards it, which is entertained by persons in other States
and countries.
_Inquiries from London._—About the same time Dr. Lushington, on
behalf of the London Society for improving the condition of Prisons,
then recently established, requested of our Society information as to
the results of the melioration of our Criminal Code. The reply
expressed strong confidence in the full success of the system, when
the difficulties were overcome which resulted from the construction of
the Philadelphia gaol, not allowing the fundamental principle of
separation to be observed except to a very limited extent, and when
the new Penitentiary, then in progress at Pittsburg, was completed,
the plan of construction of which being intended to especially adapt
it to entire separation of the prisoners from each other.
_Inquiries from New York._—About the same time, a series of
inquiries, tending to the same point, were addressed to us, by a
Committee of citizens of New York. The reply most fully sustained the
efficacy of our more lenient system, so far as facilities existed to
properly carry it out. “Were a Penitentiary established,” they say,
“sufficiently large, and so constructed as to keep the prisoners
separated from each other during work, meals, and sleep (in other
words, perpetual separation), and if no pardons were granted except in
extraordinary cases, its efficacy would soon be self-evident.”
They also referred to the difficulty of procuring suitable employment,
the frequency of pardons, and the deplorable condition of discharged
prisoners, as being very serious, but not really necessary evils. They
regarded the suggestion to extend capital punishment beyond its then
narrow limits, or to resort to transportation, as being evidently
inexpedient.
“The chain was also repudiated, and a fair trial of labor in seclusion
from other convicts, with moderate diet, under suitable agents, was
urged as the wisest, safest, most humane, most efficient, and in the
end most economical mode of dealing with criminals.”
_Memorial to the Legislature to establish an Eastern Penitentiary._—The
investigations of the Society, and their observations of the practical
effect of the reformatory suggestions which they had made from time to
time, so far as they had been carried out, so thoroughly convinced
them of the correctness of these views, that they addressed a memorial
to the Legislature of the State, in January, 1821, setting forth the
tendency of the degrading and sanguinary punishments formerly
inflicted to excite the malignant passions of offenders, instead of
bringing them to a better mind, and thus frustrating the great ends of
law; and then the various modifications of the system, designed to
obviate existing evils.
These modifications, they alleged, had proved quite as valuable as was
anticipated, and clearly demonstrated the superiority of the new
system, if it were fairly tried. They, therefore, urged “the erection
of a new Penitentiary for the Eastern District of the State, so
constructed as to admit of the constant separation and healthful labor
of the convicts.” This was promptly responded to, and in the following
May the law was passed for building the Eastern Penitentiary at
Philadelphia, which is now the model prison on the “Pennsylvania” or
“separate system,” and as such, at this day maintains a prominent
position among the penal institutions of the world, and stands as a
noble monument of the liberality, humanity, and wise economy of its
founders.
_Abuses by Committing Magistrates._—In 1820, and also in 1822, the
illegal and corrupt exercise of power by the Magistrates, which was
most oppressive on the poor and helpless, became again a subject of
inquiry, and a committee was appointed to confer with the Governor of
the State on the subject, and a memorial was soon afterwards presented
to the Legislature soliciting its interference to remedy the evil.
_Discharged Prisoners._—In November of the same year a committee was
raised to consider of and report on the project of establishing an
asylum for such discharged convicts as might be unable to obtain
employment, but it appearing that there were serious difficulties in
the way of carrying it out at that time, it was abandoned.
_Juvenile Offenders and “House of Refuge.”_—At a meeting of the
Society, held January 28, 1823, a committee was instructed to “inquire
into the condition of juvenile offenders, and what relief is needed in
their case.” This being a matter of deep interest, and requiring much
consideration, from its inherent difficulties, the inquiries which
were prosecuted from time to time, as opportunities presented, did not
reach any definite result till January 21st, 1826.
At this time the committee reported warmly in favor of an institution
for their reception, but expressed doubts whether the Society had the
needful means to establish it, or the legal powers that would be
required for its management. It was resolved to call a meeting of
citizens on the first day of February ensuing, before which the
subject should be fully opened. An address was agreed upon to be
submitted to the meeting, in which a brief history was given of the
melioration of the penal laws and institutions of the State, and of
the encouraging result, and a confidence was expressed in a still
further improvement on the completion of the two Penitentiaries—the
eastern and western. “But,” it was added, “as our true policy, as well
as our manifest duty, consists not less in preventing crime, and
checking the tendency to it, than in punishing and reclaiming the
overt offender, the restraint and reformation of children and youth
exposed to criminal habits, becomes an imperative obligation.” They,
therefore, earnestly commended the new project to the meeting of
citizens to be assembled under their call. These views were cordially
responded to by the meeting, and action being promptly taken, resulted
in the erection of a “House of Refuge for juvenile delinquents,” which
was opened for inmates on the 1st of December, 1828, and the benefit
the Institution has conferred on the community, and on the class for
whose reception it was intended, are generally felt and acknowledged.
And it is believed that many individuals, who are now reputable
members of the community, would have been at this time deeply steeped
in criminality, and degraded outcasts of society, if it had not been
for the protecting care and moral training of such an institution,
extended to them in their youthful days, when first tempted to turn
aside from the paths of virtue and rectitude.
_Proposed Improvements._—In July, 1827, in anticipation of the
approaching completion of the Eastern Penitentiary, the Society
appointed a committee to prepare a memorial to the Legislature,
setting forth the importance of carrying into full effect the
_principle of separation, &c._ And in July, 1829, another
memorial was forwarded, embracing the two following suggestions:—
1. That criminal courts be so organized, as that the prisons may be
speedily delivered of all persons held to answer for offences, &c.
2. That provision be made for the complete separation of all persons
committed for trial, or as vagrants, as well as those under sentence.
_Publications Respecting the Separate System._—About this time much
interest was manifested in relation to the character of the discipline
to be established in the new Penitentiary, and it was found that
conflicting views were entertained by persons prominent for their
philanthropy, and their promotion of the valuable reforms of the day.
Several of these advocated separation _without labor_ as being most
prompt and effectual in promoting the reformation of the criminal, and
as admitting of a shorter term of sentence. It may be mentioned,
however, as an interesting and important fact, that our Society never
sanctioned these views. Its whole history, almost from its origin,
contains abundant evidence that a union of _separation with labor_, if
not held to be a _sine qua non_, was at least deemed to be of the
highest importance. With a view to preventing this division of
sentiment on a collateral point, from in any way prejudicing the main
principle of the entire separation of the prisoners, which was
contemplated in the erection of the Penitentiary, a large edition of a
pamphlet, (by our fellow member, George Washington Smith,) clearly
vindicating what was known as the “Pennsylvania System,” showing its
humane and reformatory tendencies, was published and circulated.
_Opening of the Eastern Penitentiary._—At length the time had
arrived, by the opening of the Philadelphia Penitentiary, for the
reception of convicts, on the 25th of October, 1829, when the
principles of discipline steadily advocated by the Society for the
preceding forty years, were to be practically tested under their
immediate notice. Heretofore, the only instance of these principles
being approximately carried out in a building planned and erected for
the purpose, was at Pittsburg, a very inconvenient distance for
observation, and beside that, the attempt was there made to introduce
the system of separation _without labor_, which, as might have been
anticipated, did not result satisfactorily, and had been the occasion
of exciting considerable prejudice against the separate system both at
home and abroad.
Subsequently to the opening of the Penitentiary, some small defects in
the structure and mode of discipline were revealed by experience, and
promptly remedied as far as practicable. That some further
improvements may yet be called for, not involving the fundamental
principle of absolute separation, is not improbable, as we have never
claimed that our work was perfect. The Annual Reports of the
Inspectors placed in charge of the Institution, issued since its
opening, afford most satisfactory evidence of the soundness of the
principles recognized in its discipline, and our Prison Society, who
have with deep interest watched its workings for more than thirty-two
years, not only have never had misgivings in relation to it, but have
constantly to the present time, been strengthened in the conviction of
its being the true system. We are so well convinced of this, that it
is deemed worth while, at this point, to introduce a short notice of
the system itself; especially as we are aware that many persons both
in this country and in Europe, are opposed to its introduction,
mainly, as we believe, from a misapprehension of what the system and
its results really are. We are the more prompted to this, from a
belief that the cause of humanity and of Christian philanthropy, the
good of the prisoner and of the community alike unite in calling for
its general introduction. This notice, which from the character of the
occasion, must necessarily be very brief, may partly assume the form
of contrasting it with what is known as the “Auburn,” or “_Congregate,
silent system_,” which is generally believed to approximate most
nearly to it.
_What the Pennsylvania System is._—The basis of our system is, AN
INDIVIDUAL CELL FOR EVERY PRISONER, AND THAT EACH PRISONER SHALL BE
KEPT WHOLLY SEPARATE FROM EVERY OTHER PRISONER, DAY AND NIGHT, DURING
THE ENTIRE TERM OF CONFINEMENT. The thorough separation here spoken
of, must not be misunderstood, however, to mean, or to be, as has been
charged, “perpetual solitude,” or “total isolation from the whole
world.” The law never designed that it should be so, and its actual
character in its practical working is very different from this. It is
not society in itself, or intercourse with his fellow-men (excepting,
so far as its privation might be salutary as a punishment,) that is
denounced by the system, but it is association and companionship with
criminals,—with the depraved and wicked,—which it is believed, the
good, both of the criminal and of the community into which he is to
return upon the termination of his sentence, requires, should be
utterly prohibited. The social intercourse under this system, is, in
point of fact, abundantly sufficient for the health, both of body and
mind. Beside that which takes place between the prisoners and the
resident Officers and the Inspectors of the prison, by which means
each convict receives several visits every day. The following are
named by law as “official visitors,” who have a full legal right to
visit the penitentiary and enter the cells of the prisoners whenever
they shall think proper, to wit: “the Governor, Speaker and members of
the Senate, the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives,
the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Judges of the Supreme Court,
the Attorney General and his deputies, the President and Associate
Judges of all the Courts of the State, the Mayor and Recorder of the
cities of Philadelphia, Lancaster and Pittsburg, Commissioners and
Sheriffs of the several counties, and the Acting committee of the
Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons.”
The last of these, as we shall see in the progress of this report,
availing themselves of this authority, are untiring in their efforts
to promote the social, moral and religious welfare of those confined
in our penitentiaries and jails. Thus, by our system, instead of the
society of the ignorant, the degraded and the criminal, whose efforts
would be directed to dragging them down to still lower depths of vice
and infamy, than they might yet have reached; we give them that of the
virtuous, the intelligent and the good, who not only make it their
business to see that they have the bodily comforts to which they are
entitled; but who are desirous of promoting their reformation with a
view to their own real good through the remaining term of their lives,
and to securing society against renewed depredations from them after
their discharge; and above all, that they may be instrumental, under
the divine blessing, in bringing these poor wanderers and outcasts,
into a true sense of their past sinfulness, that they may in
condescending mercy, be yet brought, by repentance and amendment of
life, to work out their soul’s salvation.
There is a keeper to every division of about thirty prisoners, and
these keepers are selected with special reference to their fitness, on
the score of morals, temper and intelligence. None of the keepers, or
other officers in the penitentiary, go armed in any way, there being
no occasion for it, as it is morally certain that no revolt, or
insubordination, threatening violence, can ever take place. Each
prisoner is fully sensible that an effort to escape, must necessarily
be unsuccessful, and therefore, he never broods over its possibility,
nor devises plans to subdue his keeper, or even murder him, if need
be, to effect it. On the contrary, the whole system is one of
kindness, it might almost be said, between the prisoners, the keepers
and the visitors. The prisoner, knowing he is powerless, becomes
passive, and there being nothing to rouse his vindictive or other evil
passions, he is soon brought, in his quiet retirement, to view his
past life in a very different light from what he ever did before. And
also, as the society of the bad, which he formerly coveted and
enjoyed, is shut out from him, his craving for companionship, soon
brings him to enjoy the company of the virtuous and good, which he
formerly despised; and consequently, the instruction and counsel which
is extended to him by his visitor, will meet with a reception and make
an impression, which under other circumstances, we might look for in
vain. And in the moment of contrition, when the poor outcast is
brought to abhor himself, and would fain pour out his soul before
God,—it may be in the presence of his visitor and religious
instructor,—there is no hardened and depraved associate with him, to
sneer at his supposed weakness and prompt him to reject the proffered
mercy.
Here, also, the rudiments of education can well be imparted, and as
there is nothing to distract the attention, the lessons make an
impression such as is never witnessed in the community at large, much
less in the congregate system of imprisonment. Our visitors to the
Penitentiary frequently witness examples of this, which are truly
remarkable. Many who had grown up without any literary culture, not
being able to write or even to read the simplest matter on entering
the Prison, in the course of even a few months have become capable of
writing quite a good hand, and of reading with facility. Some of them,
who in their previous lives had felt the process of education to be
altogether a repulsive task, and therefore had failed to make any
advance, and had even been brought to believe that the ability to read
and to write was a mystery, which was, and always must remain to be,
beyond their power to fathom—here find themselves to be capable of
comprehending the lessons presented to them; and as the curtain begins
to rise before this supposed mystery, they see, as it were, a new
world open before them—what was formerly a dreaded and repulsive
task, becomes a pleasant privilege, and they pursue with avidity the
path to knowledge which is thus opened to them. This change in their
condition improves their whole moral character. Also, as time would
hang heavily on the prisoners if without employment, they freely
perform the work allotted them, accepting it rather as a _privilege and a
blessing_, than as a _penalty_, as is the case under the congregate
system, whether _silent_ or otherwise. And, as it is with regard to
what may be called common school learning, so it is in respect to
acquiring a knowledge of the mechanic arts there introduced, being
necessarily a few only—such as shoemaking, cane-seating of chairs,
cabinet making and weaving. They soon become masters of these, and the
task allotted them being moderate—after the accomplishment of which
they are credited with “overwork”—some individual prisoners, on their
discharge, have been paid upwards of 250 dollars, which stood to their
credit on the books. In a recent instance, a prisoner, on his
discharge after a three years’ sentence, was so paid 213 dollars.
There is another point on which, we are aware, that many benevolent
minds, who have merely viewed the “Pennsylvania System” theoretically,
have felt much apprehension—which often amounts to a _conviction_—which
is, that the mental condition of the prisoners, under its discipline,
is liable to serious injury. This, we feel authorized to say, is a
_fatal_ mistake. We use the term _fatal_, because the adoption of this
view tends to prevent the general introduction of the system, which we
think is greatly to be regretted. A practical acquaintance with its
working, proves this apprehension to be wholly unfounded. Close
observation, specially directed to this point, with carefully prepared
tabular statements of the mental condition of each prisoner on
entering and on leaving the Eastern Penitentiary, (as also at
intermediate periods) kept for a series of years, have fully established
the fact, that the prisoners, instead of being injured, have been
decidedly improved in this respect.
_Its Result._—From the foregoing positions the result may thus be
summed up: That many of those who entered the Penitentiary without any
proper sense of their responsibility to their Creator, or their duty
to their fellow creatures, have, as we trust, through the Divine
blessing accompanying the instrumentalities surrounding them, attained
to clear views and conscientious convictions on these points, and have
gone forth into the world with firm resolves that—their Maker
strengthening them—they would thenceforth do nothing which would
grieve His Holy Spirit or wrong their fellow men. And that most of
those who entered nearly destitute of learning, even in its simplest
form, and without a knowledge of any trade by the pursuit of which
they might be able to secure an honest maintenance, have emerged
greatly improved in both these respects, and better fitted for the
duties and responsibilities of life.
_The “Auburn” or Congregate Silent System._—The principle of
“separation,” in the abstract, seems to be very extensively, if not
generally conceded, both in this country and in Europe; but, on
various pleas, it is but partially adopted in practice in the United
States beyond the limits of Pennsylvania, and therefore, as we
contend, fails in effecting the desired results. This partial adoption
under the “Auburn” system consists of confinement in separate cells at
night, but congregation in the workshops, or elsewhere, during the
day—under the positive injunction, however, that when together, the
prisoners shall have no communication with each other by word or sign
of any kind, and this injunction is enforced by the presence of armed
guards, and any breach of it is visited by heavy penalties. This system
is adopted on the strange plea that man is a social being, and he is
therefore entitled to society as a natural right, not seeming to be
aware that, by the restraints imposed, they entirely rob him of his
social character. It reminds one of the Fable of Tantalus, the “Lydian
King, who was condemned to be plunged in water, with choice fruits
hanging over him, without the power of reaching them to satisfy his
hunger or his thirst.” Notwithstanding, however, the strictness of the
watch maintained, the severity of the threatened penalty, and the
example of the actual punishment administered upon those who have in
any way violated this rule of silence, and non-recognition of each
other when together—from the almost irresistible craving for the
enjoyment of some of the rights of social intercourse, which is
stimulated by being brought into the presence of each other—considerable
intercommunication, by various methods ingeniously devised by them, it
is admitted, does, in fact, take place between the prisoners. To
enable the officers in charge effectually to prevent this, and to
maintain the general discipline of the Prison, corporal punishment, it
is believed, is deemed to be an essential part of the system, and this
is consequently frequently administered with great severity. At the
meeting of the American Prison Association, held in the city of New
York in the Autumn of 1860, (at which some of our members were present
as delegates) a New York gentleman, prominent as a philanthropist,
familiar with the character of their Prisons, and who had been one of
the regular visitors at Sing Sing, declared that their Prisons were
like menageries, in which the prisoners were kept and treated as so
many wild beasts, and that, a few years back, the severity of the
punishments at Sing Sing was such, that the stone at the foot of the
whipping-post was always wet with the blood of the victims of the
lash. We trust, however, the discipline is now maintained there by
means less severe. The regulations connected with our system, on the
contrary, entirely exclude the lash, and, excepting in solitary and
very extreme cases, admit of no more severe punishment than
imprisonment in a dark cell, with reduction of food; and we are
assured that a very few days only, of such discipline, are sufficient
to curb and subdue the most refractory—and even this mild punishment
has to be applied very rarely.
_Influences of the Systems Compared._—There is nothing, as we
believe, in the working of our system, which can make the prisoners
_worse_ than when they enter; but on the contrary there is much, the
direct tendency of which is to make them better. We are well aware that
_all_ are not reformed by it, though we thankfully trust that such is
the result with regard to many. Under the discipline of the “Auburn
System,” we can hardly see how reform amongst the prisoners can be
promoted. And we are convinced that there is a mistake in the
confident claim set up, that, as conversation between the prisoners is
almost wholly suppressed, they cannot corrupt each other, and
consequently, if not made better, they at least cannot be made worse.
The very fact that the prisoner, in daily, though silently, meeting in
the workshop a large mass of fellow-convicts, is sensible that he is
surrounded by, and on the same level with, the off-scouring of the
community, degrades him in his own estimation, and silently, perhaps
slowly, but almost inevitably, sooner or later, drags him down, till
he becomes sorrowfully demoralized. In confirmation of this, it may be
mentioned that one of our own members, in the course of a visit a few
months since, at the State Prison at Auburn, was informed by the officer
in attendance, that amongst their convicts there were ministers,
doctors, and lawyers. Upon this, our member inquired if they there
maintained a deportment consistent with their previous position in
society. The reply was: “For a short time they do; but they soon sink
to the level of the most degraded.”
Another point of much consequence, in comparing the “Congregate” and
“Separate” systems, is,—that by the former, each of the prisoners
becomes familiarly acquainted with the countenances of the others, and
consequently, on meeting after leaving the prison, an immediate
recognition takes place between them, and on the principle that “Birds