In the past, prisons were not conceived as houses of punishment. It was used as a contemporary place for individuals while awaiting trial. Then, they would be released or punished on the spot once the verdict was delivered. In 18th Century, it was not called a prison but jail. Long-term imprisonment was only applied for particular offense such as debt.
For example, if there was wealthy individual refusing to pay and play at situs judi poker http://128.199.145.222, they might be persuaded by the prospects of imprisonment. Thus, they would be more obliged to reach agreement to pay. Long-term imprisonment to the poor who had debt was not seen as rationale act because they wouldn’t be able to pay if they were imprisoned. That was why it was poor individuals who often being imprisoned a long time for small sums of money.
Harsh Punishments
Harsh punishments were what applied in the past before 18th Century. However, it led to the rethink of the role of prison and its effectiveness in bringing justice. Throughout the centuries, there has been development of prison and imprisonment system. Government especially in America reconsidered the function of punishment. They included several main considerations which are more theological, practical, political and philosophical. Prison reforms were promoted to find out if imprisonment truly could deter the crimes.
Along with the promotion of prison reform, lots of people had concern for the principle as for practice emphasizing on death penalty. As for theological view, people at that time believed that some human beings were destined wickedness. Therefore, the punishment had purpose for retribution. They believed that a criminal’s soul that was debased could not be reformed.
In the past, prison was not an effective kind of punishment to deter crime. In fact, it raised another problem such as corruption because lots of prisoners especially the wealthy ones were expected to bribe their keepers so they got minimally adequate treatment. Those who had no money were often left dying or neglected. Those were dangerous settings and that’s why prison reform is necessary.
Prison reform is expected to bring decency in prison. Imprisonment should not deprive prisoners from staying healthy and being treated with dignity. The main concern of prison reform is humane treatment. Prison reform is expected to bring balance to main interests. They are the prevention of crimes, the reformation of the criminals, and the protection of the public. It is not easy to promote prison reform. It is such a challenging act but it’s not impossible to reach.