A brief history of prisons

Prison systems play an important role in guaranteeing citizens their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, by incarcerating those in society who have behavioral problems. Prisons also protect those who violate the law of mob rule, also sometimes called mob justice. Clearly, this makes prisons an indispensable element of our society.

Before the reform movement, there were no prisons in America as we traditionally think of them today. Most of the criminals were punished by flogging, whipping, executions, or other forms of border justice. In my opinion, this kind of “justice” violated a person’s Fifth Amendment rights.

Reformers were the first in this country to defend institutions for those with mental or behavioral problems. One result of those efforts was a growing and prosperous prison system in the United States during the 19th century. Mark C. Carnes and John A. Garraty affirm in their book, The American Nation, that the motivating spirit of the founders of these places was the humane treatment of the prisoners. These founders also championed the benefits of prisons and other similar institutions both for the occupants of the institution and for society as a whole.

While many of the early prisons were anything but humane, the idea of ​​centralized prisons was correct in my opinion. I believe that criminals should be removed from society as a means to punish the criminal, in addition to protecting society from further criminal acts.

American prisons have been reformed many times throughout history to help them improve inmate housing, rehabilitate inmates, and attempt to eliminate corruption from prisons. While there is still room for improvement based on reports and studies done on prisoner abuse, financial abuse, etc., in general, in my opinion, prisons play a vital role in helping to keep America safe.

(c) 2006, Marcus Barber