Prison Systems of the 19th Century and the Shaping of Prison Identity

Abstract

The paper analyzes how prison systems of the 19th century influenced the breakdown of prisoners’ previous identity and the formation of prison identity. The focus is on the ways in which these systems organized the serving of imprisonment. It was carried out through isolation, work, supervision, silence, classification, and progressive stages. The interpretation uses the concepts of total institution, prisonization, and labeling. The paper focuses on the Pennsylvania, Auburn, and progressive systems, because each of them organized punishment and everyday prison life in a different way. The analysis shows that the previous identity of prisoners was broken down gradually. This process began already at prison admission, through the removal of personal belongings, supervision of the body, restriction of movement, and loss of privacy. It continued through deprivations and classifications, which deprived the prisoner of freedom and autonomy and at the same time determined his position within the institution. At the same time, prison identity was being formed. It was not a goal set in advance by penal policy, but an effect of prison rules, supervision, and the way the sentence was served. Its main elements were silence, caution, self-control, and acceptance of institutional rules. This shows that the breakdown of the previous identity and the formation of a new one did not take place separately, but at the same time, through the same forms of punishment.