Prison Reforms in the 1800's

  • Juvenile Offenders

    Children were being thrown into jails with both women and grown men with atrocious conditions. However after the War of 1812, juvenile centers began to get built called juvenile detention centers. These were used to try and correct child behaviors rather than just harbor criminals.
  • Auburn System instilled

    Inmates that committed high crimes were often put in solitary confinement, however in 1821 out of 80 inmates that were put alone, a good portion of them commited suicide or had a mental breakdown, Because of this Aubrun switched to a more disiplinary route and started to put the inmates to hard work all day and had a communal dining hall so the inmates would not go into a bad mental state.
  • Boston Prison Discipline Society

    Set up by Louis Dwight and was a major endorser of the Auburn system. It help to spread the Auburn system and had officials visit the prisons periodically so that they could check the condtions and make sure that the inmates wern't treated excrushiantingly bad. Didn't make the prisons much better but lead to more reforms in the future.
  • More Reforms

    America said to have 2 of the best prisions even though the conditions were not great. However, the prisions started to improve, for example there was less cruel punishment and the Auburn system was mainstream in most all prisons due to Louis Dwight's campign in Boston to spread it. There was now "salvation" in prisons and the Sabbath School which helped the inmates further penitence. Started the idea that society and not just individuals were to blame for crimes.
  • Eastern Lunatic Asylum

    The prisions were overcorwded and a place where society put crazy people without any other regard. The poor quality of the facilities and treatment of the inmates(ex.beatings and whippings) were brought up to the Massatchutes Legislature by a sickly common women named Dorthea Dix. Dr. John Galt set up an insane asylum to house crazy people rather then keep just throwing them in prision with the hopes of curing the insanity.