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Incarceration Of The Early European Prisons

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The early European prisons were known as workhouses or houses of corrections. Offenders were sent to workhouses to learn discipline and regular work habits. Inmate labor was expected to pay for the facility upkeep and yield a profit. In the 1700’s and 1800’s the workhouses were described as disorderly, inefficient, capricious, and discriminatory. This prison situation led to several reform initiatives (Bohm & Haley, 2012). Beginning in the 1700’s prison reformist declared that punishment should fit the crime in two senses. The first was that the severity of the punishment should parallel the severity of harm resulting from the crime. Second, the punishment should be severe enough to outweigh the pleasure obtained from the crime.…show more content…
This model was based on a military model of regimentation, academics, and vocational training. Institutions for women were established during this time period as well (Bohm & Haley, 2012). Twentieth Century prisons have been dominated by three types. The first type is the so called “big house.” Big houses were six teared cells that house 2500 men. The second type is known as the medical model. Under the medical model inmates were subject to psychological assessments and diagnosis. The main treatments were academic and vocational training, along with therapeutic counseling. The third type was a power vacuum that was filled with inmate gang violence and interracial hatred (Bohm & Haley, 2012). Privatization was established in the 1980’s. Privatization is characterized as the involvement of the private sector to construct and operate confinement facilities (Bohm & Haley, 2012). A 2010 study revealed that 31 state and federal prison systems housed 129,366 inmates in privately operated facilities (Bohm & Haley, 2012). Before confinement, punishments were handled with fines, confiscation of property, corporal punishment, and capital punishment. Punishments were commonly carried out in public to humiliate the offender and deter the public. Banishment and transportation were also used as punishment. Banishment refers to making the offender leave the community and live elsewhere. Many times offenders were sent to live in the
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