Penitentiary Ideal and Models of American Prison Essay

Penitentiary Ideal and Models of American Prison - Essay Example They were based on rehabilitating an individual both emotionally and mentally which set in contrast with the physical punishments practiced in typical jails. The most important goal of the penitentiary was to develop habits of industry in an inmate convicted of felony by the enforcement of rules and practice of humane punishments. There were two types of American prison models popular in the history named the Pennsylvania and Auburn models. What with the obscene cleaning conditions and inhuman punishments practiced in the Auburn prison model, both mind and body of a prisoner can get contaminated so that the chances of rejoining the society as a healthy individual plummet down for an incarcerated individual. Now, the Pennsylvania prison model introduced by the state of Pennsylvania almost from the start has been considered by the prison researchers to be closer to what could be called ideal as its â€Å"goals were toward the  development  of more humane procedures and practices dealing with criminals† (Experts column, 2012). The practical implementation of this idea stressed on keeping the prisoners separated from each other and treating them in isolation unlike the auburn system in which the jails are always overcrowded with every kind of inmates. It is claimed by Foster (2005) that good intentions underlined the formation of the Pennsylvania model which used Quaker reformative imprisonment as a way of treating inmates. Quaker reformative imprisonment focused on â€Å"isolation of inmates, fair treatment, and opportunity for work, reflection and reformation† (Foster, 2005). The benefits offered by this rehabilitative model in contrast to the Auburn model were that there was less chance for an inmate of getting severely physically harmed, there was no overcrowding, there was cleanliness, and efforts were made to reform the inmates mentally also. The disadvantages of the Auburn system are that more severe punishments