Discuss Manuel Montesinos and Georg Michael von Obermaier and their contributions to discretionary release and the development of parole

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In 1835, Col. Manuel Montesinos was appointed governor of the prison at Valencia, Spain, which held about 1,500 convicts. He organized the institution using military-type discipline, and he encouraged prisoner vocational training and education. The novelty of his plan was that there were practically no officers to watch the prisoners, who nevertheless made few, if any, attempts to escape. Each prisoner could earn a one-third reduction in the term of his sentence by good behavior and positive accomplishments. The number of prisoner recommitments while Montesinos was governor was significantly reduced. Despite all his efforts, the law that allowed this program was subsequently repealed, and Montesinos ultimately resigned.
Georg Michael von Obermaier became governor of a prison in Munich, Germany, in 1842, where he found approximately 700 rebellious prisoners being kept in order by more than 100 soldiers (Wines, 1919). In a short time he gained the men's confidence, removed their chains, discharged nearly all of their guards, and appointed one of them superintendent of each of the industrial shops. His success in reforming prisoners was so great that reportedly only 10% of prisoners relapsed into crime after their discharge. He was aided by two favorable circumstances: Many of the men had no fixed term of imprisonment, and discharged inmates were supervised by prison aid societies.