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Juvenile Detention Centers
Reformers begin tossing out the idea of moving children and young adults out of jail and into a juvenile detention center. Child imprisonment is very much thrown into question as they seek an alternative punishment for young people. -
Auburn Prison Disaster
The Auburn prison suffered an increase in prisoner suicide leading to a reform in how prisoners are treated. It led to better discipline policies and the beginning of rewards for good behavior. Rules were changed to be less strict and prison turned into a better environment. -
Boston Prison Discipline Society
Formed by Louis Dwight, this society helped to push for laws that made fair and proper treatment to prison inmates recquired. It helped to get better living conditions and focused on prison as more of a rehabilitation process than a punishment. -
Solitary Confinement
The first experiment in solitary confinement is conducted at Eastern State Penitentiary, where inmates are held in cells by themselves with only a bible. This method was susposed to encourage inmates to repent of their wrongdoings. Unfortunately, it led to most of them going mad and comitting suicide. -
Best Prisons in the World
By 1835 America was considered to have two of the best prisons in the world located in Pennsylvania. European reformers looked to the U.S. for a new system of building and upkeeping prisons. -
Dorothea Dix's letter to the Massachusetts Legislature
Dorothea DIx, a leader of the prison reform movement sends a letter to the Massachusetts legislature asking for better treatment and upkeeping of prisons. She addressed the issue of violence in prisons and asked for that to be disspelled. -
Eastern Lunatic Asylum
Before the Eastern Lunatic Asylum was created, mentally disabled people were just thrown into jail with the rest of the criminals and wrong doers. This caused major problems between the various types of inmates. In response to this a separate housing system, the asylum, was established for mentally handicapped people. -
Parole
The first idea of parole is offered in New York, instead of getting a full sentence, inmates who displayed good behavior would be allowed to go on leave. -
Recreation and Movies
Thomas Mott Osborne introduces recreation and movies to the prison schedule allowing for inmates to get excercise and down time. -
Alcatraz
World famous Alcatraz Prison outside of San Francisco is opened in 1934 and houses the nations worst criminals. Most are forced to labor work outside on the grounds, but some of the worst are sent to D-Block, the corridor in the prison for solitary confinement.
