The deviant prison: Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary and the origins of America's modern penal system, 1829-1913

"At a time when prisons were still new, and nearly every prison in the country followed the same model of confinement, Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary (opened in 1829) was known for its exceptional reliance on long-term solitary confinement. Eastern was criticized for its excepti...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rubin, Ashley T. (Author)
Format: Print Book
Language:English
Published: Cambridge New York Port Melbourne New Delhi Singapore Cambridge University Press 2021
In:Year: 2021
Online Access: Table of Contents
Availability in Tübingen:Present in Tübingen.
UB: KB 21 A 1406
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Parallel Edition:Electronic
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Summary:"At a time when prisons were still new, and nearly every prison in the country followed the same model of confinement, Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary (opened in 1829) was known for its exceptional reliance on long-term solitary confinement. Eastern was criticized for its exceptional reliance on what was seen as an inhumane, expensive, and ineffective approach to confinement. Why did it persist in its deviance? This book traces the process by which Eastern's criticized method of confinement became institutionalized for its administrators. Often working against the opposition of the local penal reformers and state legislature, Eastern's administrators fought both publicly and behind the scenes to maintain their unique approach because of the particular value it offered them. Ultimately, this study retells the history of nineteenth century prison innovation and diffusion from the perspective of those actors most demonized within the penal field. It offers multiple lessons for understanding penal trends, including the way in which anxiety that about significant penal change shapes penal actors' decisions. It also illustrates how organizations, including state-run organizations, can continuously defy legal, penal, and cultural norms in ways standard organizational theories cannot explain"--
Physical Description:lvi, 356 Seiten Illustrationen
ISBN:9781108484947
9781108718882