Why Prisons?
According to the editors, the establishment of prisons was to fulfill four purposes: deter crime, provide the community with retribution, reform the criminal (or deviant), and incapacitate dangerous criminals.
Punishment in the Time of Aristotle and Plato
The law on homicide dates back to around 620 B.C. In Athens, the Greek city-state that has been the most documented, the types of punishment they inflicted was mostly in the form of retribution. A criminal could be stoned to death, thrown off a cliff or bound to a stake and left to suffer a slow death. The Athenians also punished criminals in material ways by confiscating their assets and destroying their home.
Plato argued that correction should be the primary focus, not retribution. He wrote that criminal acts are done out of ignorance and that perpetrators should be taught to act according to law and what is acceptable in civilization. Plato's ideas didn't take hold until the European Middle Ages.
Disagreement with Religious Doctrine in the 12th and 13th Centuries
Christians experienced widespread dissent during this time and many people who spoke against the accepted religious doctrine were imprisoned for "heretical depravity." These criminals were only executed in extreme cases, but most commonly they would be convicted and imprisoned for life. Joan of Arc is a famous and well-known example of this time and was burned at the stake.
Corporal Punishment
Whipping was the most common early form of corporal (bodily) punishment, and was considered the least severe. The floggings were usually carried out publicly when added an element of shame to the punishment. Moving up in severity was burning the prisoner's skin with a hot-iron brand. The mark left behind was sometime an image incorporated into the city's coat of arms, or the mark of a king or judge. It also served as an identifier for repeat offenders. The most severe form of corporal punishment was mutilation, such as a cut in the cheek, removing of hands, blinding or, most commonly, cutting off an ear.
Punishment Theater
Much of the retribution and punishment for prisoners was doled out in publicly staged events. The death penalty was a well-staged performance that was created to deter crime and justify the punishment. Public officials, court officers and religious leaders all attending a death imposed by the court. Some towns increased the event's drama by marching the condemned prisoner through the town in a long procession to the staging area. The appeal of the public executions waned around the 18th century.
Convicts Imported to America as Slaves
About 50,000 British convicts were shipped to America between 1718 and 1776. Most were condemned for vagrancy but most were convicted of grand larceny. These convicts were mostly males in their 20s and were sold for a third the price of an African slave. The most frequent destinations for these convicts was Maryland and Virginia.
This history of prisons and how we view the purpose of incarceration is a fascinating study is social science that spans all of civilization. The Oxford book gives a comprehensive look that anyone interested in the history of prisons and punishment will appreciate.
