Discuss the evolution of penal institutions throughout early history

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers should first make mention of the earliest types of prisons: cages, stone quarries, dungeons, the dungeons of the Mamertine prison in Rome, prison chambers, asylums, and abandoned buildings. As time went on, institutions such as workhouses, houses of correction, and gaols were built, though they were not much more humane than some of the earliest attempts. In Belgium, Vilain attempted to improve the administration of the workhouse by classifying and separating prisoners according to age and sex, and separating felons from minor offenders. The Hospice of San Michele was one of the first institutions to exclusively handle juvenile offenders and focused on expiation and reform. Finally, the prototype for the modern prison system was born with the construction of the Walnut Street Jail. Though it ultimately failed, the concept was born.