Meranze Notes PDF

# Meranze Notes ## Chapter 1 - Discusses how public punishment was less favored than private eventually in Philadelphia. - In the 18th century, public punishments weren't typically reported in Philadelphia newspapers - In 1822 a man was hanged for burglary, but mot a lot of public attention wa...

# Meranze Notes ## Chapter 1 - Discusses how public punishment was less favored than private eventually in Philadelphia. - In the 18th century, public punishments weren't typically reported in Philadelphia newspapers - In 1822 a man was hanged for burglary, but mot a lot of public attention was paid to him. - People started to shift towards more private punishment. - People believed public executions were counter-productive - They brutalized and hardened criminals. - Private punishment would be more effective in reformation. - Greater humanitarianism in treatment of criminals. - Confession was a key element of public execution. - In the 18th century, you had to confess to your crime and express remorse before being executed. - This was to: - Reassure the public of justice. - Provide closure for the victim's family. - Save criminals a chance to make amends with God. - Also a way for criminals to resist punishment. - They'd confess to a lesser crime or claim to have been coerced into committing a crime for public sympathy. - **Thomas Mitchell** - 1730 execution. - Accomplice confessed and Mitchell was executed. - Mitchell maintained his innocence. - Shows how confessions were not always sincere. - Confession changed in the context of the penitentiary system. - It was a necessary step in the process of reform. - Was a way to acknowledge wrongdoing and change their behavior. - But could also be a form of coercion by prison authorities. - Could also lead to false confessions from people desperate to gain freedom. ## Chapter 2 - Limits of lesser terror and public punishment. - Prior to the Revolution, public punishment relied on terror and spectacle to deter crime. - Punishment made so severe that it would deter the public and scare them into obedience. - Public chuigeping (kidnapping) and executions were like carnivals. - Public punishment could create sympathy for a criminal. - Pardons were granted at the last minute. - Would show the power of the state to both punish and forgive. - Pardons were like a performance that reinforced the authority of the state. - They also created controversy and raised questions about fairness and consistency of the system. - Shifting public opinion. - Growing sense that public punishment was not the best way to deal with crime. - Reformers wanted more humane and private forms of punishment. - Believed punishment should reform the criminal. - Greater humanitarianism influenced by Enlightenment. ## Chapter 3 - Rise of Walnut Street Jail. - Built in 1733. - One of the first prisons in the US. - Designed for reform & a humane alternative to punishment. - By the 1780s, it was known for filth, disease, and corruption. - By the 1790s, the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons began to advocate for reform. ## Chapter 4 - Reform of Walnut Street Jail. - Reformers wanted prison reform that could be reformed through: - Labor/Hard Work. - Religion. - Solitary confinement. - Solitary - time to reflect and repent. - Hard work/labor - teaches value of industry and supports themselves post-prison. - Changes at Walnut Street Jail. - They cleaned and renovated it. - New rules and regulations were established. - Prisoners classified by severity of crimes/behavior. - Educational and religious programs. - Regression to Corruption. - Fear that criminals would learn bad habits from each other. - They implemented strict silence. - Forbidden to speak even during meals. - Force and spectacle were replaced by discipline and surveillance. - Walnut Street was trying to create a system that would control criminals' minds/bodies. - Was difficult to enforce strict silence. - Criminals would find other ways to communicate. - Criminal networks. ## Chapter 5 - Penitential imagination from 1790s - 1830s. - Public vs. private punishment. - Reformers wanted to make punishment less physically brutal, but more effective at controlling and transforming people. - Eastern State Penitentiary - 1835 investigation uncovered abuse, corruption, and social activity within the prison. - Cost effectiveness of a prison was an issue. ## Chapter 6 - Labor Issue - Selling convict labor power to private interests. - Saw labor as a way to discipline prisoners, teach them valuable skills and industry. - Helped instill habits of industry and offsets the cost of imprisonment and generates revenue for the state. - Contractors who profited from this influenced prison life especially during the "Gilded Age." - Dependence on large-scale contracts created power imbalance between states and contractors. - States were pretty dependent on them. - Consolidation of contracts gave contractors more leverage over states because terminating them could disrupt the entire prison system. - Contractors exploited this by seeking concessions from states. - Prisons prioritized financial stability over prisoner welfare. - The "over-work" system incentivized higher productivity through rewards and punishments. - Failure to meet production targets led to corporal punishment. - Contractors blurred lines of authority and state, and they sometimes gave money to guards to ensure cooperation. - Overseers inflicted punishments & reported punishments on prisoners for whatever reason. - Led to harsh working conditions. - Profit motive distorted "reforming" mission of the prison. ## Chapter 7 - Resistance and reform efforts. - Prisoners found other ways to communicate. - Demanded better treatment and asserted their rights. - Smuggled contraband into prisons. - Tested both the punishments and the efficiency of the surveillance system. - Argued against punishments and maltreatment leading to abolition efforts for prison labor. - Gilded Age contract labor may have enabled inmates to circumvent prison rules. - Encouraged flow of contraband and outside information. - More on Contract Prison system. - The Auburn Plan (1820): - Combined cellular confinement by night with congregate labor during the day. - Prison Factory Systems: - Contract system where manufacturers set up factories inside prisons. - They supplied everything except the workforce & guards (provided by the state). - Piece-work contract: - Manufacturers requisitioned goods from the prison and paid for finished product. - Products quota. - Convict Leasing system: - Entrusted leasing entire groups of prisoners to businesses for fixed periods. - Lessees had complete control over prisoners, including in terms of food/housing. - Lots of abuse. - Many states abolished contract labor after the economic depression of 1873. - They use alternative systems. - State-use system: Prisoners manufacture goods solely for use by government agencies and institutions. - Full abolition: By the early 20th century, most states had curtailed or abolished the contract prison system. ## Chapter 8 - Rise of selling convict labor to private interests. - Prison system failed because isolation and silence made people poorly adjusted. - Eastern State Penitentiary: - Built in 1829. - Embodied the Pennsylvania plan which advocated for complete separation of inmates as a method of punishment and rehabilitation. - Crafted to support "separate system." - Central watch tower: Facilitates effective surveillance. - Cells were spacious and well-ventilated (reflected belief that physical comfort would contribute to prisoners' moral and spiritual development). - Fortress of Solitude: - The design of the prison is a testament to the architecture of a prison. - Composing cels and corner towers. - 1835 investigations revealed various abuses including financial malfeasance, sexual misconduct and the use of cruel and unusual punishments such as iron gags. - Also hall of resurgence of corporal punishment as a form of control. - Quaker convicts were only allowed "eney" punishments, but that replaced physical punishment, but that's not what ended up happening. - Shower baths were used as a medical or disciplinary tool. ## Chapter 9 - Francis Lieber argued that punishments were necessary tools of discipline and inmates' resistance necessitated Eastern State Penitentiary. - Medical professionals played a significant role in corporal punishment. - Physicians justified the gag and shower bath, so this legitimized it. - Debates over transparency and secrecy. - Thomas M. argued that secrecy had no place in a system that claimed to be based on principles of reform. - Citizens have a right to know what's going on. - Moral dilemma of solitary confinement. - Isolation of prisoners to prevent corruption vs. potential harm inflicted by prolonged solitude. - Significant challenge to "penitential imagination." - Investigations revealed a disconnect between ideals of solitary confinement as a means of moral reformation and reality. - More on transition from public to private punishment. - Was first translation from public to private punishment. - Made in 1773. - Went under transformation in 1790s to become a place of reform. - Included separation of inmates by category, introduction of solitary confinement, and labor. - Key features: - Spatial organization: Separates people by gender, severity of crimes, etc. - Solitary confinement. - Labor discipline: To instill habits of industry and provide inmates with skills for future employment. - Became a model for penal reform, but maintaining it was difficult. ## Chapter 10 - Mimetic corruption: - Fear of contagion. - Strict rules for silence in Walnut Street Jail. - Stemmed from belief that conversations among prisoners would spread corrupting ideas. - Segregated spaces. - Controlled communication. - Magdalen Society and fear of female society. - A place for reforming prostitutes. - Managers viewed prostitutes as both a threat and a victim. - Thought their presence in society would corrupt morals. - Prostitution makes you less likely to resist temptation. - These perceptions led to the creation of the Magdalen Asylum. - A secluded institution, designed to isolate and reform women. - House of Refuge and Malleability of youth. - Institution for "juvenide delinquents" who reflected similar anxieties about corruption. - Good way to remove children from environments deemed detrimental. - Architecture as a look for discipline - Panopticon: Layout of Eastern State Penitentiary. - Radiating cell blocks and surveillance tower (structure). - Spatial segregation: Separation based on severity and perceives potential for reform. - Reinforced reformers' belief in the power of environment to influence behavior. ## Chapter 11 - Penitential imagination: Long-term implications of the penitential imagination in American society. ## Chapter 12 - Story of "Hoge" (a prisoner). - Prison publication about prisoners' grievances and concerns. - Responded to complaints about changes to labor classification, even though the system basically had no power over it. - Expressed regret over disciplinary decisions. - Shows a power dynamic shift because convicts holding office are essentially tools of humanity. - Shift in prisoners; tactics. - Moved beyond mirroring reform to deploying and redefining concepts of manliness. - Used manly power and language to negotiate their positions in prison hierarchy. - Loyalty and responsibility are essential. - Secure influence in the prison system. - Award ceremony of warden Moyer. - Prisoner praised/rewarded him for having manly qualities/traits. - Subtly pressured him to have a reciprocal relationship, based on fairness and respect.