Construction of the Prisons
Essay Preview: Construction of the Prisons
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Introduction
Prisons and jails have been around for many of centuries. The prison system was created in order to control men and women, even children that were convicted of a crime. The prison system evolved from Ancient Greece to the Modern Time into the prison system we know today. Our current prison system would not be the way it is if it were not for the Ancient civilization and their ideas of a prison. The prison system has evolved through the construction of the prison, rehabilitation of the prisoner, and the rights of a prisoner.
Construction of the Prisons
In Ancient Greece if you were a prisoner, you were placed into a poorly isolated building and had wooded blocks attached to your feet, (History of Prisons, 2013). They had two builds for their criminals, one was in the town and he held the prisoners who were convicted of a minor crime and a second building further away from town for the more dangerous criminals, (Allen, 2003).
The Romans were a little bit harsher in the prison. They were underground with no light, not bedding to lay just the pavement. They were also small and claustrophobic. The prisons were disgusting, covered in filth, and had pure darkness. As time evolved so did the prisons. They were no longer underground and some prisoners had the opportunity to buy thing to make their confinement a little better.
When Henry II constructed the first prison for England in 1166, the prison system was the first draft of the English legal system, (History of Prisons, 2013). In the early 1860s prisons were reformed, they were provided with food, bedding, clothing, and even time outside. The building were updated to have cooling and heating when necessary.
Prisons today are kind of the same. There is more security, different building for children, women and men. They are proved more material to better themselves such as a library, a computer and religion. I feel there might be more opportunities for prisoners than there are for non-criminals.
Rehabilitation of the Prisoner
Rehabilitation was not common in Ancient Greece. You either stayed in prison for life or most common punishment was to be exiled or banished from your town. Prisons were not a place to help prisoner, they were there to get them off the streets and keep the citizens safe. It was all about punishment and revenge.
Rehabilitation did not get big until the 1960s and 1970s. Prisoners were encouraged to learn new skills that could help them in the real world. They would provide doctors that would help them with psychological problems that make it difficult for them to be out in public. One way to provide rehabilitation is to offer education programs in hopes they will not convict again.
The sad thing about prisons and rehabilitation in the 21st Century is that there is not a great