Treatment of Prisoners by the Government

By Wells101101
  • 509 BCE

    Roman Republic

    During the years of the Roman Republic the only groups of people that were eligible for torture were slaves and foreigners. The social structure of the Roman Republic affected how some prisoners were treated.
  • 18 BCE

    Hammurabi's Code

    Hammurabi's Code was a set of laws made in Mesopotamia by the Babylonian King Hammurabi. These codes included extreme punishments such as bull whipping, blinding, imprisonment, etc.These codes were important in history (One of the earliest legal cases written, History.com)
  • 1500

    Medieval Europe pt 1

    This time period marked the beginning of legal use of torture to extract information from prisoners while being sanctioned by the government. The methods involved "extorting information through excruciating use of torture" (Torturem.com)

  • Medieval Europe pt 2

    During this time period the rights of prisoners in England were taken by the Earl of Clarendon by him placing criminals in prisons located on islands

  • Age of Enlightenment

    During this time period changes were made to the social and economic structures of the governments regarding prisons. The changes were made in order for prisoners to get better treatment (Only just reason for punishment is to protect society lawfully,Punishment the Enlightenment)

  • American Civil War POW Camps

    One of the first uses of POW camps was during the American Civil War by both the Confederate and the Union armies. The conditions of the camps were terrible with most of the prisoners dying of starvation.

  • WW1 POW Camps

    The POWs that were captured in Germany, France,Britain, etc were treated quite well. In Russia many prisoners endered a "Life altering experience while in imprisonment"(Made From History)

  • Concentration Camps

    These camps were made by the Nazi Germans under the command of Hitler in WW2 in order to kill jews, mentally disabled,homosexuals, and any that Hitler that he saw was beneath him and the third reich. The treatment of the prisoners was gruesome with the guards executing and starving prisoners."As well as placing them in gas chambers" (ushmm.org)

  • WW2 POW camps Japanese

    The conditions of Japanese POW and labor camps were very terrible for the prisoners with constant torture by the guards. In the camps the guards and officials ignored the terms of the Geneva Convention and "made up rules and inflicted punishments at the whim of the camp commander" ( history.net)
  • Period: to

    Prisoners Today

    Today most of the prisoners in prison are treated well with most receiving three square meals a day. However, there are some cases of "Prisoner abuse"(www.hrw.org) in the U.S. For example guards beating up prisoners for no just reason and also many cases of mistreatment.