The Purpose of prisons

Prisons have long been the place of confinement for the punishment and rehabilitation of criminals. Indeed, incarcerating individuals has a long, sordid history.As long ago as Old Testament times, prisons in Jerusalem were used for detention to confine individuals until corporal or capital punishment could be administered.

Prisons and dungeons were used over centuries to hold prisoners who were then transported out of the country, killed, or left to die. Special prisons were built to house specific prisoners. Debtor's prisons, for example, were places where debtors were held until they paid their debts. Penal colonies were formed to exile prisoners from the general population by locating them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory where wardens or governors had absolute authority. Historically, the British and French colonial empires used North America, Australia, and other parts of the world as penal colonies. Regardless of the type of prison, the purpose was to isolate the prisoner from society and mete out punishment through a regimen of strict discipline, including but not limited to forced labor.

Britain holds the distinction of leading the way for prison reform. British prison reformer Howard John (1726-1790) had great influence in improving sanitary conditions and securing humane treatment in prisons not just in England but also throughout Europe. He was responsible for persuading the House of Commons in 1774 to enact a set of penal reforms and improvement in conditions. At the time, prisons were known by the term "penitentiary," suggesting that the purpose was penance by the prisoner, including rehabilitation through education and skilled labor. The modern age of prison reform continued in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Incarceration of individuals as a form of punishment, not simply as a holding state until trial or death, was a true break with the past. In North America, two notable women-Elizabeth Fry and Dorothea Dix-advocated for humane treatment of the prisoners and spearheaded prison reforms, including the individualization of treatment, psychiatric assistance, professionalization of correctional officers, the introduction of work release programs, and constructive labor and vocational training.

Whereas in the past labor was introduced in prisons chiefiy as punishment and to keep discipline among the inmates, such work is now considered a necessary part of the rehabilitation of the criminal.

The chief types of prisons in the United States (with similar institutions in other countries) are the local jail, for pretrial detention and short sentences, and the state and federal penitentiaries for convicts with longer sentences. Special penal institutions house juveniles, the criminally insane, and the military. Modern prison systems include different types of security levels (maximum, medium, minimum). Yet, even in the 21st century, prisons are used as a tool of political repression to detain individuals considered "enemies of the state."