About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

50 Prison J. 2 (1970)

handle is hein.journals/prsjrnl50 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITORIAL Early in 1970, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania discontinued operation of the Eastern Penitentiary, familiarly known as Cherry Hill. For 141 years this massive institution, designed to provide separate and solitary confinement, had housed tens of thousands of prisoners. Now, passed over by advances in correctional thought and the erosions of time, the prison stands out as a gothic reminder of another age. When Negley K. Teeters, foremost chronicler of this venerable prison, learned of its belated demise, he suggested that it would be appropriate for The Prison Journal to recognize the historic occasion with a special issue. The editor promptly agreed and requested that he write a brief history of the famous prison. History, however, rarely marches to the tune of editorial desire. Scarcely had the ink on Teeters' manuscript dried, when the City of Philadelphia began operating the institution as a detention center. As activity sprang up once again within the towering prison walls, it was difficult at first to reconcile one's observations with Teeters' poetic vision of the ancient prison-silent and mute. But in a larger sense, Teeters' words hold true. As Thorsten Sellin, who has contributed an essay on the European antecedents of the Pennsylvania System of prison discipline, so aptly put it: Teeters' article will be appropriate in spite of the continued occupation of the institution. Presumably its days as a penitentiary are gone. In addition to the articles by Sellin and Teeters, we have in David J. Rothman's essay a useful perspective on how deviancy was viewed in the 19th century. In a brief concluding piece, Melvin S. Heller and Marvin E. Wolf- gang have commented on the legacy of Cherry Hill, on some of those features of early correctional thought which remain viable and appli- cable today. We have also included a biography of an early prisoner at Cherry Hill. First published in 1844, this sanguine and often ingenuous narra- tive should be read in the context of the supporting essays. It speaks directly to the aspirations of a correctional era now passed. It speaks in muted voice to the problems of the present. History will judge the Society's primary responsibility for this now repudiated 'pioneering' effort in the penology of the early 19th century. Let it be hoped that current 'revolutionary' trends generate a corre- sponding dedication to service, yet greater insight into the workings of men and the ends of justice.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most