Humanitarianism - Reforms of The Humanitarian Movement - Prison Reform

Prison Reform

In the 18th century, prisons were, in the words of Henry Fielding, "sewers of idleness". Prisons were farmed out to private persons whose object was simply to make a profit. "Women were thrown in the same common ward as men; first offenders with hardened recidivists; inoffensive civil debtors with muggers... ten year old boys with homosexual rapists".

The leading reformer was John Howard (prison reformer) whose great work, The State of Prisons in England and Wales with preliminary observations and an account of some foreign prisons was published in 1777. Howard was High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and was shocked by the horrors of prison life and the callousness of gaolers. Not only were gaols indescribably dirty but were so overcrowded that great numbers of prisoners died each year from gaol fever.

In his work, Howard argued that prisons should be sanitary and secure. The keeper should be the paid servant of Justices. There should be separate cells for sleeping, in order to break down the corruption that came from the random aggregation of prisoners. Prisoners should have useful work to do in proper workshops.

Romilly, then a young man, was greatly influenced by Howard. Writing to a friend John Roget in 1781 he said of Howard, " the author .. made a visit to every prison and house of correction in England with invincible perseverance and courage; for some of the prisons were so infected by diseases and putrid air that he was obliged to hold a cloth steeped in vinegar to his nostrils .. and to change his clothes the moment he returned. After having devoted so much time to his painful employment here, he set out on a tour through a great part of Holland, Germany and Switzerland to visit their prisons…".

From the 1770s to 1791 statutes were enacted designed to give effect to Howard's views and proposals but the Justices responsible for their implementation failed to do so. It was not until Peel's Gaol Act of 1823 that a foundation was laid for a humane prison system.

After Howard's death in 1790 the leading reformer was Elizabeth Fry (1780–1845) who began visiting Newgate, which was particularly infamous for its treatment of women prisoners. She arranged for food and clothing and with material she provided taught them how to make clothes.

Prison reform has had many vicissitudes. Some of the early theories of reform with their emphasis on solitary confinement in reaction to the 18th century congregating of prisoners, were erroneous. Nevertheless, the great divide in prison reform is, without question, the humanitarian reforms of the late 18th and 19th centuries.