Pennsylvania Correctional System

When America first began to develop its correctional system, society placed a central focus on physical punishment to discipline offenders. However, Quakers in Pennsylvania during the late 18th century began a reform movement to allow for a suitable alternative. As a result of this movement, the correctional system in Pennsylvania began to move towards the use of prisons and penitentiary houses to imprison offenders. These reforms led to two different systems of prisons within the United States: the Pennsylvania System, and the Auburn System. In 1818, Pennsylvania started a radical shift that culminated in the Pennsylvania System; prisons were established in which each inmate was placed in single cells, structured in semicircles, for the entirety of their sentences. The system prevented association and communication between prisoners, and facilitated total isolation. The Western State Penitentiary, built in 1827, first embodied this system. Inmates only had one hour per day for exercise, and forced to work hard labor in solitary confinement for the rest of the day. This experiment failed in the 1830s due to inadequate cell conditions for the prisoners. However, the system continued in the form of the Eastern …show more content…
While both systems’ basis of discipline lay in silence and harsh punishment, the Auburn System distinguished itself by being more cost effective while still achieving similar results to the Pennsylvania System. The Pennsylvania System’s need for total isolation required extra furnishing that the Auburn System could do away with. Furthermore, the Auburn System’s tiered structure meant that prisoners could be housed in a more efficient method. Congregate living conditions tend to drain less money than isolated conditions. Thus, the states adopted the Auburn System, and have continued innovations such as solitary confinement for unruly inmates, military regimentation, and congregate working conditions to this