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The penal system during the 19th century
Effects on prisoners after wards.
The prison(s)
During the 19th century, the Victorians were very concerned about crime because the crime levels rapidly increased towards the 18th century and continued to rise through the 19th century. The amount of offenses increased by thousands every year. One of the many attempts to stop the growth of crime had been the severe punishments such as hanging people or transporting the to different locations.
Convicts lost their respect along with any status they had before being imprisoned. Since England had debtors’ prisons they had many convicts in just that area alone, because many people at the time were in debt. After being released they were treated with less respect than the average person, sort of how things are today when people come out of prison.
What is Debtors Prison
Marshalsea Prison the map was one of the first debtors prisons.
Debtors prison is where people who couldn't pay taxes, rent or debt where sent to work off what they owed. Once in debtors prison they were then put to work to make baskets and other mass produced items. Normally if a debtor had a family they would accompany him.
Who were sent to Debtors' Prisons?
Prison conditions
Jails were usually dark and covered in filth. There wasn't any separation of the men and woman, the young or the old, they were all herded together.
People who were sent to debtors' prisons were people who were unable to pay off their debts/taxes. They were sent to the prisons because of the large debt that England had, so if they could not pay off their own debts they had to be sent to prison. People who had less debt though were given a little more “freedom” to do certain things while being imprisoned than others.
There were two types of prisons:
Debtors Prison: Where people who couldn't pay taxes (etc) would come and work off what they owed.
Convectional Prison : Where people who commit petty crimes are sent.
In the early 19th century prisons were dreadful, overcrowded, filthy places. As time passed the conditions improved little by little from the start of the century. Prisons were often overcrowded and prisoners were sometimes housed in old buildings. The buildings were damp, unhealthy, and unsanitary. All kinds of prisoners were held together. including men, women, children, the mentally insane, serious criminals, petty criminals, and those awaiting trial.
During the 19th century, an offender experienced physical pain and torture as punishment for commiting crimes. The purpose was to discourage people from commiting those crimes and to humiliate the offenders. In the 20th century one issue was the focus on political and social climate of the penal system. During the 1950's and 60's civil rights issues were everywhere, including the penal systems. Low reforms focused on how inmates were treated in prison. Some prisoner even protested against certain inhumane conditions.