Solitary, or closed-cell, confinement—that is to say, complete seclusion every day for nearly twenty-three hours out of twenty-four—is now, sir, as you, but not all men, know, endured by every convict (persons sentenced to penal servitude for three years and over) during the first three, six, or nine months of his sentence, according to class—star, intermediate, or recidivist, and for the first month of their sentence by all prisoners (except juveniles) sentenced to hard labour. Closed-cell confinement for women convicts lasts four months.
It is the object of this letter to urge on you the complete abandonment of this closed-cell confinement, save where it is rendered necessary by the conduct of the convict or prisoner after his arrival in prison.
In order to demonstrate the weakness of the case for its retention, I shall first quote certain paragraphs from the Report of the Departmental Committee, 1895, over which you, sir, presided. (The italics are my own.)
52. “We do not agree with the view that separate confinement is desirable, on the ground that it enables the prisoner to meditate on his misdeeds. We are, however, disposed to agree that the separate system as a general principle is the right policy. The separate system rests on two considerations only. It is a deterrent, and it is a necessary safeguard against contamination. But we are not of the opinion that association for industrial labour under proper conditions is productive of harm. On the contrary, we believe that the advantages largely outweigh the disadvantages. . . . Subject to this condition” (careful supervision) “and to a proper system of classification, Colonel Garsia, a prison official of great experience, stated in his evidence that there was no danger whatever in associated work. . . .”
53. “. . . We think that this limited form of association is desirable for several reasons. (1) It is a welcome relief to most prisoners from the dull and wearying monotony of the constant isolation which forces men back on themselves, and in many cases leads to moral and physical deterioration. (2) It can be made in the nature of a privilege liable to suspension, and would be, therefore, a satisfactory addition to the best kind of available punishment. (3) It materially lessens the difficulty of providing and organising industrial labour in prisons. Prisoners can be taught trades in classes, and they can then work in association under proper and economical supervision in regular workshops or halls provided for the purpose. (4) It is more healthy. It is desirable that cells should be untenanted for some hours in the day, and in any case it is better that work which produces dust should not be carried on in the cells.”
55. “In recommending a wider adoption of associated work, we must admit that several competent witnesses expressed disapproval of the principle. . . . But upon cross-examination, it did not appear that they could sustain their objection to associated labour properly supervised, and they seemed to us to have formed their opinion rather because separation has been the accepted rule of the prison system than on any experience of failure of the associated system. . . .”
76. “In the consideration of several matters contained in the reference we had to touch upon the practice of confining convicts for nine months’ ” (now, 1909, three, six or nine) “solitary imprisonment either in local or convict prisons. . . . The history of it is interesting and suggestive. It was originated in 1842 by Sir James Graham, then Home Secretary. . . . We shall show how complete a change in the apparent object of the practice has since occurred.”
77. “. . . The convict was to undergo eighteen months’ solitary imprisonment, but he was to be freely visited by chaplain and prison officials . . . he was to be kept in a state of cheerfulness; hope, energy, resolution, and virtue were to be imparted to him, and he was to be trained to be fully competent to make his own way and become a respectable member in the penal settlements. . . .”
78. “In 1848 it was determined that, eighteen months being too long a period for isolated confinement, a system should be introduced based on a period of separate confinement, followed by a term of associated labour, with a maximum of twelve months. This was reduced by Lord Palmerston in 1853 to nine months. The original intention of Sir J. Graham, which was that this period should be primarily of a reformatory character, appears fifteen years later to have been lost sight of. . . .”
79. “It would appear from Sir J. Jebb’s evidence in 1853 that the main object of the separate (solitary) confinement had come to be deterrence. . . .”