corrections chapter 1

Chapter 1: Early History

2000 B.C. to A.D. 1800

Corrections in America, Twelfth EditionHarry E. Allen, Edward J. Latessa Ph.D., Bruce S. Ponder

© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

2

Overview

Who are the offenders and what shall we do with them? Rapid changes in the field of corrections Large growth in number of offenders



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Behavior as a Continuum

Proscribed

Prescribed

Folkways

Mores

Laws



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Figure 1.1The Continuum of Behavior

◄◄◄Negative Positive►►►

Proscribed Prescribed

Discouraged Encouraged

Laws Mores Folkways Mores Laws

Behavior



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Redress of Wrongs

Retaliation Blood Feud Vendetta



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Redress: cont.

Retaliation becomes a system of law Tribal customs

Exchange of money Or of property

Atonement Lex salica (or Wergeld) Rank or social status plays a role Still in use in some Middle-Eastern Countries



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Fines and Punishment

Tribal leaders, elders, and, later, Kings play roles in fines and punishments

Requires “public action”



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Early Codes

Babylonian and Sumerian Codes Lex talionis (eye for an eye), based on Sumerian

Codes (1860 B.C.) Code of Hammurabi (1750 B.C.) . . . 500 years

before Book of Covenant (1250 B.C.) The Hammurabic Code was the first comprehensive

attempt at “codifying laws of nations”



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Greek Codes

The Code of Draco

Concept of public good more important than individual injury or vengeance

The Code of Draco

Concept of public good more important than individual injury or vengeance



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Sixth Century A.D. Roman Emperor Justinian wrote his “Code of Laws”

“Code of Laws” creates the scales of justice

Codes: cont.

Roman Codes



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The Middle Ages

Vast changes in social structures and growing influence of the church in everyday life

Sinner had to repay two debts . . . one to society and one to God



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Middle Ages: cont.

Concept of Free Will . . . Responsible for one’s own actions Concept of crime as an offense against the victim gave way to

offense against society



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Middle Ages: cont.

Wergeld was replaced by:

Friedensgeld: administration of punishment became the responsibility of the King



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Middle Ages: cont.

Punishments

Capital = Death! Corporal Punishment –– any physical pain except

death Often matched with crime Liars’ tongues cut off Thieves’ hands cut off



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Punishments: cont.

Ducking stool Flogging Canning or the Skull Crusher Stocks Pinchers The Grill The Sweatbox The Bird Cage

Prisoners were suspended until they confessed The Pillory



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Deterrence?

Widespread use of capital and corporal punishment in the Middle Ages was seen as a deterrence



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Emergence of Secular Law

Conflict arose between Christian philosophers (law made in heaven) and those who supported “Public Good” concepts

St. Augustine (4th Century) recognized the need for justice, but only as decreed by God



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Concepts of Justice Expanded by Thomas Aquinas (13th century)

By recognizing true laws: Eternal law (lex eterna) Natural law (lex naturalis) Human law (lex humana)

All for the common good



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Concepts: cont.

Kings and Monarchs tried to detach themselves from divine law

This created great conflict



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Concepts: cont.

Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) was one of the first to see that prevention may require more than deterrence . . . the foundation of modern criminology and penology

Died on the executioner’s block by not bending to King Henry VIII



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Concepts: cont.

Punishments were to: Repay society Expiate transgressions with God

Did not stop the spread of crime



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Early Prisons

Detention has been a social institution from earliest of times Only recently, concept of imprisonment for “punishment in

and of itself” established Romans used offenders as slaves to build the public works

infrastructure Mamertine Prison . . . 64 B.C. (dungeons below the Roman

sewers) After fall of Rome…castles, fortresses, and town gates used

as places of confinement Christian churches were also used as places of confinement

For transgressions of Canon Law Penitence



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Workhouses

Bridewell established 1557 Based upon work ethic Parliament required in 1576 that “Bridewells” be

established in every county Workhouses by the 17th and 18th century were

riddled by disease, filth, and near starvation conditions

The concept of “out of sight, out of mind” prevailed



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The Age of Enlightenment/Reform

Scales of Justice begin to tip toward the state in the 17th and 18th centuries

By the end of the 17th century England still had some 800 executions a year



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Dawn of the 18th Century

Giants in philosophy recognize the essential dignity and imperfections in human beings

Montesquieu and Voltaire . . . The French Humanists:

In Montesquieu’s Persian Letters, he revealed to the public the abuses of criminal law

Voltaire challenged in trials, the concept of legalized torture, responsibility, and justice



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Classical School Established

Casare Beccaria’s An Essay on Crimes and Punishment is published (1764)

This transitions thinking from punishment to corrections



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Beccaria: cont.

Beccaria’s main points: Greatest good for greatest number of people Crime is an injury to society Prevention is more important than punishment



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Beccaria: cont.

No torture, right to speedy trial, to bring forth evidence Not social revenge, but punishment for

deterrence Punishment to match severity of crime Property vs. people Improved facilities and expanded use of

imprisonment



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Beccaria: cont.

Four of his ideas were incorporated into the French Code of Criminal Procedure (1808) and into the French Penal Code of 1810

Beccaria's four points: Innocent until proven guilty Right not to self incriminate Right to employ counsel Right to prompt and speedy trial and, in most cases, trial

by jury



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Bentham and

the Hedonistic Calculus

Advocated graduated penalties to match the crime

Individual’s conduct could be influenced in a scientific manner

Hedonistic Calculus: More pleasure Less pain



31

John Howard

Was appointed sheriff in 1773, encountered horrors and was appalled by the conditions in hulks and gaols

Suggested reforms in his State of Prisons (1777) John Howard Society… linked with reforms



32

Houses of Correction: Workhouses and Gaols

Workhouses were not intended to be a penal institutions, but for the training and care of the poor

In practice, the workhouse and penal institution became synonymous

Gaols (Jails) . . . have a grim and unsavory history



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Exporting the Problem

England deported offenders to American Colonies and Australia

A form of banishment American Revolution ended transport to America Over 135,000 felons were transported to Australia

between 1781 and 1875



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Hulks: A Sordid Episode

Old ships used to confine offenders Conditions on hulks were worse than gaols and

workhouses



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Early Cellular Systems

Jean-Jacques Vilain’s Maison de Force at Ghent, Belgium

Separated women and children from hardened criminals All had to work . . . ”If any man will not work, neither let

him eat The “Hospice of San Michele” was one of the first

institutions for juvenile boys and youths under twenty

It had separate cells for sleeping and a central hall for work

Silence was required ”



36

William Pennand the Great Law

American Colonies were governed by codes similar to those in England, with corporal and capital punishment

William Penn, leader of the Quakers, brought the concept of more humanitarian treatment to America, Italy, and England



37

Early Prisons

Simsbury Prison An abandoned copper mine in Simsbury,

Connecticut; became one the earliest state prisons (1773) . . . and produced the first riot in 1774!

Walnut Street Jail The first true correctional institution in America was

established in 1790 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania



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Walnut Street

Walnut Street continued some of the concepts of the Charter of William Penn (1682) All prisoners bail-able Those wrongfully imprisoned could recover double

damages Prisons were free of fees for food, etc. Lands and goods of felons were to be liable for

confiscation and double restitution for injured parties All counties were to provide houses



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Pennsylvania System

The Quaker’s efforts were known as the “Pennsylvania System”

Walnut Street Jail was copied extensively, in at least 10 states



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Summary

Punishments pass from individual action to: Blood feud Abstract action by a bureaucracy in the name of the

state First real attempt at a prison (Walnut Street Jail) Quakers’ compassionate efforts

corrections chapter 1

Documents

twelfth edition

upper saddle

walnut street

early prisons

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american colonies

latessa ph

william penn