What is the auburn system

Pennsylvania And Auburn Systems

Pennsylvania and Auburn Systems

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Pennsylvania and Auburn Systems

When American first became a country the plight of the prisoner was not a major concern. As society become more progressive the need to ensure criminal offenders received humane treatment and to ensure the prison system was more efficient. In Pennsylvania this began with the development of a correctional system that began with the building of the Walnut Street Prison. Quakers in Pennsylvania society were insistent that the prison be separated by felons and non felons establishing the very first prison system in the nation. The Auburn System was created as an alternative model to the solitary confinement model of the Pennsylvania system. Instead of being isolated inmates in this system live side by side.

The Pennsylvania System developed out of the efforts of Quakers at the end of the 18th Century. During the early years of the Walnut Street Jail, the goal was to establish workhouses were prisoners worked all day but with the solitary confinement design came the need for inmates to work in their cells (PCI, 2013). Instead of prisoners facing some cruel or physically painful punishment felons would be placed in solitary confinement to reflect on their bad behavior. During the day the prisoners would work and in the evening hours would go to a single cell that contained a bathroom with a toilet and a shower and a small yard for physical exercise. Prisoners ate in their cells and did not see or speak to other prisoners.

The Auburn system was a prison system developed in New York but instead of solitary confinement and hard labor, prisoners were only in their cells through the night. During the day they ate and worked side by side other prisoners. Under the Pennsylvania system the first prison industry was created were prisoners fulfilled jobs in order to pay for their own stay in prison. The Auburn System employed a similar industry type system as the Pennsylvania System but had a more rigid plan. The plan included the striped suit, close cropped hair, lockstep, and harsh punishments, which included beatings and floggings (O’Connor, 2011).

The Auburn and Pennsylvania System required inmates to work long hours and then sit in their cells to reflect on their criminal behavior. While the Auburn System began with the two men cell the Warden quickly switched to the solitary confinement approach of the Pennsylvania System when the two men cell resulted in conflict breaking out. While the goal of hard labor was to correct the behavior of the prisoner the constant isolation of prisoners was counterproductive to creating an efficient and productive labor force. The Auburn System was different from the Pennsylvania system in prisoners worked together in order to accomplish the work they had been assigned.

In the Auburn system prisoners were classified by the crimes they committed which is still employed in the current correctional system. The classification of the Auburn System involved first the most dangerous and hardened criminal being confined to solitary confinement without being able to work. These inmates would only be allowed out of their cell for one hour a day for exercise. The result of the 80 men originally confined to their cells 23 hours a day for two years was inmates committing suicide and going insane from the isolation (Allan, 2010). The second group classification were confined but allowed out several hours a day to work while the last group was nonviolent and worked hard labor eight hours a day. The last two groups were restricted from speaking to other prisoners.

The third classification at the prison where prisoners are placed into the population to work together and eat together and only to be separated at night is the modern way the correctional system function. The Pennsylvania System created a prison system were prisoners were placed in cells and prisoners worked which was a similar design employed by the Auburn System. In both case parts of the prison system were successful while other parts, such as solitary confinement, were less successful.

The Auburn System most closely resembles the modern day prison because prisoners are classified and are not separated from each other socially. The Pennsylvania system did not allow for any mingling with the population and called for complete and utter isolation. The Auburn System only isolated prisoners at night which is customary in modern prisons and so are prisoners working together in a prison industry. While many aspects of the Pennsylvania System have disappeared it provided an example for how prisoners in the correctional system should be treated in the future.

References

Allen, H., Latessa, E. & Ponder, B. (2010). Corrections in America. Upper Saddle River,

NJ: Prentice Hall.

O’Connor, T. (2011). Modern Prison History. Retrieved May 7, 2013 from

http://www.drtomoconnor.com/1050/1050lect01a.htm

Pennsylvania Correctional Industries. (2013). A Historical Overview of Inmate Labor in

Pennsylvania: The Pioneer in United States Prison Labor. Retrieved May 7, 2013 from

http://www.pci.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/history_of_pci/17812