Penitentiary Ideal and Models of American Prison

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The original idea for the penitentiary system came from the religious leaders of colonial America. It derived its name from the word penance, a word meaning to repent for one’s wrongdoings. While in essence the earliest intentions of the penitentiary was as a place to hold convicted criminals, its other objective was to be a place of spiritual healing. The Pennsylvania Quakers were among the most influential reformers of the colonial prison system. Among them was a man named Thomas Eddy, who helped write the original penal code for the state of New York in 1796. With the establishment of the code in place, the first state prison was opened in New York City in 1797. He was the first administrator of the facility and also advocated for facilities to be built for the mentally ill. The two most notable penitentiary models in the early nineteenth century are the Eastern State and Auburn models. The Eastern State, or Pennsylvania, system was named after the Eastern State Penitentiary, which was opened in Philadelphia in 1829. It is considered to be the first true penitentiary in the United States. The purpose of this system of punishment was to keep prisoners separate from each other. It was believed that by enforcing solitary confinement on the prisoners that they would have time to reflect on the error of their ways as a part of their “rehabilitation”. Prisoners were required to do manual labor. The design of the prison was such that there could never be any interaction between inmates. Interaction between guards and inmates was also not permitted, and prisoners were forbidden from having visitors as well. The original plan for the building was to be seven one-story cell blocks but before the prison was even finished, it was over capacity. This forced an end to the solitary confinement system and was operated as a congregate facility from 1913 until its closing in

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