Opening of the Eastern Penitentiary.—At length the time had arrived, by the opening of the Philadelphia Penitentiary, for the reception of convicts, on the 25th of October, 1829, when the principles of discipline steadily advocated by the Society for the preceding forty years, were to be practically tested under their immediate notice. Heretofore, the only instance of these principles being approximately carried out in a building planned and erected for the purpose, was at Pittsburg, a very inconvenient distance for observation, and beside that, the attempt was there made to introduce the system of separation without labor, which, as might have been anticipated, did not result satisfactorily, and had been the occasion of exciting considerable prejudice against the separate system both at home and abroad.
Subsequently to the opening of the Penitentiary, some small defects in the structure and mode of discipline were revealed by experience, and promptly remedied as far as practicable. That some further improvements may yet be called for, not involving the fundamental principle of absolute separation, is not improbable, as we
have never claimed that our work was perfect. The Annual Reports of the Inspectors placed in charge of the Institution, issued since its opening, afford most satisfactory evidence of the soundness of the principles recognized in its discipline, and our Prison Society, who have with deep interest watched its workings for more than thirty-two years, not only have never had misgivings in relation to it, but have constantly to the present time, been strengthened in the conviction of its being the true system. We are so well convinced of this, that it is deemed worth while, at this point, to introduce a short notice of the system itself; especially as we are aware that many persons both in this country and in Europe, are opposed to its introduction, mainly, as we believe, from a misapprehension of what the system and its results really are. We are the more prompted to this, from a belief that the cause of humanity and of Christian philanthropy, the good of the prisoner and of the community alike unite in calling for its general introduction. This notice, which from the character of the occasion, must necessarily be very brief, may partly assume the form of contrasting it with what is known as the “Auburn,” or “Congregate, silent system,” which is generally believed to approximate most nearly to it.
What the Pennsylvania System is.—The basis of our system is, AN INDIVIDUAL CELL FOR EVERY PRISONER, AND THAT EACH PRISONER SHALL BE KEPT WHOLLY SEPARATE FROM EVERY OTHER PRISONER, DAY AND NIGHT, DURING THE ENTIRE TERM OF CONFINEMENT. The thorough separation here spoken of, must not be misunderstood, however, to mean, or to be, as has been charged, “perpetual solitude,” or “total isolation from the whole world.” The law never designed that it should be so, and its actual character in its practical working is very different from this. It is not
society in itself, or intercourse with his fellow-men (excepting, so far as its privation might be salutary as a punishment,) that is denounced by the system, but it is association and companionship with criminals, with the depraved and wicked, which it is believed, the good, both of the criminal and of the community into which he is to return upon the termination of his sentence, requires, should be utterly prohibited. The social intercourse under this system, is, in point of fact, abundantly sufficient for the health, both of body and mind. Beside that which takes place between the prisoners and the resident Officers and the Inspectors of the prison, by which means each convict receives several visits every day. The following are named by law as “official visitors,” who have a full legal right to visit the penitentiary and enter the cells of the prisoners whenever they shall think proper, to wit: “the Governor, Speaker and members of the Senate, the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and his deputies, the President and Associate Judges of all the Courts of the State, the Mayor and Recorder of the cities of Philadelphia, Lancaster and Pittsburg, Commissioners and Sheriffs of the several counties, and the Acting committee of the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons.” The last of these, as we shall see in the progress of this report, availing themselves of this authority, are untiring in their efforts to promote the social, moral and religious welfare of those confined in our penitentiaries and jails. Thus, by our system, instead of the society of the ignorant, the degraded and the criminal, whose efforts would be directed to dragging them down to still lower depths of vice and infamy, than they might yet have reached;
we give them that of the virtuous, the intelligent and the good, who not only make it their business to see that they have the bodily comforts to which they are entitled; but who are desirous of promoting their reformation with a view to their own real good through the remaining term of their lives, and to securing society against renewed depredations from them after their discharge; and above all, that they may be instrumental, under the divine blessing, in bringing these poor wanderers and outcasts, into a true sense of their past sinfulness, that they may in condescending mercy, be yet brought, by repentance and amendment of life, to work out their soul’s salvation.
There is a keeper to every division of about thirty prisoners, and these keepers are selected with special reference to their fitness, on the score of morals, temper and intelligence. None of the keepers, or other officers in the penitentiary, go armed in any way, there being no occasion for it, as it is morally certain that no revolt, or insubordination, threatening violence, can ever take place. Each prisoner is fully sensible that an effort to escape, must necessarily be unsuccessful, and therefore, he never broods over its possibility, nor devises plans to subdue his keeper, or even murder him, if need be, to effect it. On the contrary, the whole system is one of kindness, it might almost be said, between the prisoners, the keepers and the visitors. The prisoner, knowing he is powerless, becomes passive, and there being nothing to rouse his vindictive or other evil passions, he is soon brought, in his quiet retirement, to view his past life in a very different light from what he ever did before. And also, as the society of the bad, which he formerly coveted and enjoyed, is shut out from him, his craving for companionship, soon brings him to enjoy the company
of the virtuous and good, which he formerly despised; and consequently, the instruction and counsel which is extended to him by his visitor, will meet with a reception and make an impression, which under other circumstances, we might look for in vain. And in the moment of contrition, when the poor outcast is brought to abhor himself, and would fain pour out his soul before God, it may be in the presence of his visitor and religious instructor, there is no hardened and depraved associate with him, to sneer at his supposed weakness and prompt him to reject the proffered mercy.
Here, also, the rudiments of education can well be imparted, and as there is nothing to distract the attention, the lessons make an impression such as is never witnessed in the community at large, much less in the congregate system of imprisonment. Our visitors to the Penitentiary frequently witness examples of this, which are truly remarkable. Many who had grown up without any literary culture, not being able to write or even to read the simplest matter on entering the Prison, in the course of even a few months have become capable of writing quite a good hand, and of reading with facility. Some of them, who in their previous lives had felt the process of education to be altogether a repulsive task, and therefore had failed to make any advance, and had even been brought to believe that the ability to read and to write was a mystery, which was, and always must remain to be, beyond their power to fathom—here find themselves to be capable of comprehending the lessons presented to them; and as the curtain begins to rise before this supposed mystery, they see, as it were, a new world open before them—what was formerly a dreaded and repulsive task, becomes a pleasant privilege, and they pursue with avidity the path to knowledge which
is thus opened to them. This change in their condition improves their whole moral character. Also, as time would hang heavily on the prisoners if without employment, they freely perform the work allotted them, accepting it rather as a privilege and a blessing, than as a penalty, as is the case under the congregate system, whether silent or otherwise. And, as it is with regard to what may be called common school learning, so it is in respect to acquiring a knowledge of the mechanic arts there introduced, being necessarily a few only—such as shoemaking, cane-seating of chairs, cabinet making and weaving. They soon become masters of these, and the task allotted them being moderate—after the accomplishment of which they are credited with “overwork”--some individual prisoners, on their discharge, have been paid upwards of 250 dollars, which stood to their credit on the books. In a recent instance, a prisoner, on his discharge after a three years’ sentence, was so paid 213 dollars.