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*reform prisons to make them more humane and effective (prison reformers). | *reform prisons to make them more humane and effective (prison reformers). | ||
The (non-abolitionist) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_reform prison reform movement] is linked with names such as John Howard and Elizabeth Fry in Britain, Thomas Mott Osborne in the United States, and [[Heinrich Balthasar Wagnitz]] in Germany. From a wider perspective, though, the whole history of the modern prison system has been one of continuous reform ideas and experiments, including the invention of the separate and the silent systems in Philadelphia, Pa., and Auburn, N.Y., in the late 18th and early 19th century, and their succession by the Irish System and many others that were all directed at making prisons work (better). | |||
The (slightly abolitionist) movement for prison reduction is driven by a certain scepticism towards the possibility of making prisons as humane and effective as they were intended to be. Former prison director and later professor of criminology Andrew Rutherford argues for a radical reduction of the prison system in his 1987 book Prisons and the Process of Justice. | |||
The movement to abolish prisons once and for all as a means of punishment is not very visible today, to say the least. To find convinced prison abolitionists one has to turn to the usual suspects like the Quaker community and similar religious groups. Outside of their realm, the small [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_Black_Cross Anarchist Black Cross] continues its frail existence. | |||
pose prisons because they house non-violent offenders (e.g., thieves and swindlers instead of just murderers and rapists), incarcerate mainly poor people and ethnic minorities, and do not generally rehabilitate criminals, in many cases making them worse.[citation needed] As a result, the prison abolition movement often is associated with humanistic socialism, anarchism and anti-authoritarianism. | |||
The reasons for this weakness are not difficult to detect: | The reasons for this weakness are not difficult to detect: | ||
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#In spite of their comparatively young age as an institution, prisons managed to be perceived by the wider public as a legitimate part of a quasi-natural social order. | #In spite of their comparatively young age as an institution, prisons managed to be perceived by the wider public as a legitimate part of a quasi-natural social order. | ||
Penal system reforms: | Penal system reforms: | ||
Substituting incarceration with supervised release, probation, restitution to victims, or community work. | Substituting incarceration with supervised release, probation, restitution to victims, or community work. | ||
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Abolitionist views[edit] | Abolitionist views[edit] | ||
Unbalanced scales.svg | Unbalanced scales.svg | ||
In place of prisons, some abolitionists propose community-controlled courts, councils, or assemblies to control the problem of social crime.[who?] They argue that with the destruction of capitalism, and the self-management of production by workers and communities, property crimes would largely vanish. A large part of the problem, according to some, is the way the judicial system deals with prisoners, people and capital. They argue that there would be fewer prisoners if society treated people more fairly, regardless of gender, color, ethnic background, sexual orientation, education, etc. | In place of prisons, some abolitionists propose community-controlled courts, councils, or assemblies to control the problem of social crime.[who?] They argue that with the destruction of capitalism, and the self-management of production by workers and communities, property crimes would largely vanish. A large part of the problem, according to some, is the way the judicial system deals with prisoners, people and capital. They argue that there would be fewer prisoners if society treated people more fairly, regardless of gender, color, ethnic background, sexual orientation, education, etc. | ||
Arguments made for prison abolition[edit] | Arguments made for prison abolition[edit] |