Describe the history and significance of Statesville Prison.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Stateville Prison in Illinois. It was built as a panopticon in 1925 in reaction to the deplorable conditions of the old Joliet, Illinois, prison built in 1860. Joliet was overcrowded, and the Stateville Prison was also built to relieve that overcrowding, but ironically, by 1935 Stateville itself was full at 4,000 inmates and the population at Joliet had not been reduced at all. In a reformist state such as Illinois at the time (juvenile court reform began here, and it was one of the first states to initiate civil service reforms), Stateville was conceived as a place where inmates would be carefully classified into treatment programs that would address their needs and perceived deficiencies, where inmates could earn good time and eventual parole. Inmates were believed to be “sick,” and a treatment regimen provided by the prison would address that sickness and hopefully “cure” them so that they might become productive members of society. Thus, correctional institutions would use the “medical model” to treat inmates. Even though it was built as a maximum security prison, Stateville’s conception fit the definition of a correctional institution, where inmates were not to be merely warehoused, but to be corrected and treated. However, though inmates in the Illinois system were classified and good time was available for those who adhered to the rules, there was little programming available, the prison was crowded, it was understaffed, and the staff who were employed were ill trained (Jacobs, 1977). Moreover, the first 10 years of operation were filled with disorganized management and violent attacks on staff and inmates in a prison controlled by Irish and Italian gangs. In essence, and despite the intent to create a correctional institution, Stateville became what is termed a Big House prison. These, according to Irwin (2005), are fortress stone or concrete prisons, usually maximum security, whose attributes include “isolation, routine, and monotony” (p. 32). Strict security and rule enforcement, at least formally, and a regimentation in schedule are other hallmarks of such facilities.