Prison reforms

• Before the 18th century, prisons were mainly used for holding a suspect in the run up to their trial.
• The decline of the Bloody Code, and concern about transportation, meant use of prisons as punishment grew.
• Prisons were believed to both act as a deterrent and punishment
• Prisons were believed to make society safer by removing criminals.
• It was widely believed that prisons should involve hard work so criminals could pay society back for their crimes. A common form of hard labour was the treadwheel, where the prisoners walked up a wheel for repeated stints of ten minutes at a time, for eight hours a day.
• There were a number of key government interventions to reorganise the prison system in this period: a. In 1815 it said goalers had to be paid out of local taxes (so they didn’t need to depend on bribes) b. In 1823 prisoners were divided into categories (eg violent / non violent, male / female) c. In 1835 the Goal Act introduced inspection of prisons d. In 1865 the Prison Act said all prisons had to follow national rules
• A number of prison reformers argued that prisons should be less harsh and allow scope for rehabilitation.
• One such campaigner was John Howard, who did the following: a. He became outraged by conditions in Bedfordshire county goal, and in 1774 he began campaigning to parliament. b. In 1777 he wrote The State of Prisons in England and Wales, where he argued for prison reform. c. He recommended decent water and food, Christian teaching, private cells and a wage for prison work.
• Another campaigner was Elizabeth Fry: a. She visited Newgate prison in 1813 and was shocked by the conditions. b. She started teaching sewing and Bible Studies to prisoners to encourage rehabilitation. c. She helped ensure that female warders were employed to work with female prisoners, provided prisoners with furniture and clothing, and writes letters campaigning for wider prison reform. d. In 1817, Fry helped set up the Association for the Reformation of Female Prisoners at Newgate to campaign for better conditions.