This lesson introduces prison reform and traces the early development of incarceration as a form of punishment. It matters because the purpose and conditions of imprisonment have changed over time, and debates about humane treatment remain central to criminal justice.
Prison reform refers to efforts to improve prison conditions, make penal systems more effective, reduce reoffending, and develop alternatives to incarceration. Reform can also support people affected by crime and help people leaving prison return to their communities.
All flashcards
Penitentiary
An institution originally intended to encourage penance, religious reflection, and self-reform.
Rasphuis
A Dutch workhouse model where inmates commonly spun, wove, or made cloth.
Auburn system
A prison model with separate cells at night and silent group work and meals during the day.
Rehabilitation
An approach that addresses factors contributing to offending and supports a person's return to society.
Decarceration
Reducing reliance on prisons as a response to crime.
Quiz questions
What prison abuse did John Howard criticize in *The State of the Prisons*?Answer: Acquitted people could remain jailed because they could not pay jail fees.
What change did Britain's Prison Act of 1877 make?Answer: It transferred prisons from local control to national administration under the Home Office.
How did the Auburn system organize prisoners' daily lives?Answer: They slept in separate cells and worked and ate together in silence during the day.
What did the U.S. Supreme Court uphold in *Brown v. Plata* (2011)?Answer: An order for California to reduce its prison population because health care was constitutionally inadequate.
What does decarceration mean in prison policy?Answer: Reducing reliance on prisons as a response to crime.
Based on the Wikipedia article Prison reform, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.