Eastern State Penitentiary is believed to be one of the really first prisons established. non merely in the United States. but in the universe. Eastern State was functional for 141 old ages until 1970 when the prison closed down. Located in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania the prison is now a stabilised ruin unfastened to the populace for Tourss. After personally touring the installation I was able to understand the chief intent of the prison. the life conditions and the day-to-day modus operandis of an Eastern State Penitentiary inmate. and attempted flights which is why prisons like Eastern State should non be used in our modern Criminal Justice System.

It was designed for rigorous lone parturiency and had small to no rehabilitation plans. The prison was and still is non temperature controlled. The inmates suffered utmost summers and rough winters while remaining at Eastern State. Their suites were rather little and merely had a bed. some kind of chest of drawers. and a lavatory. The status of the cells. with the exclusion of Al-Capone’s cell which was much larger and more comfy than the remainder of the cells. suggest that the interior decorators of the prison wanted the inmates stay at Eastern State to be unpleasant.

This prison was built for the exclusive intent of penalty. For illustration. Elmo Smith was the 350th individual to be executed by the electric chair in the United States on April 2. 1962. He was besides the last individual to be killed utilizing the electric chair in Pennsylvania. Although the inmates were required to work within the prison walls they did non have aid with the jobs that landed them in Eastern State in the first topographic point. such as intoxicant and drug maltreatment. Therefore the type of penalty that was seen at Eastern State did non maximise the public assistance of persons because inmates were non rehabilitated.

As stated earlier. the inmates worked in the kitchen. infirmary. workshops. and barbershops. In the 20th century you could see an inmate barbershop in about every cell block. The barbershops became a topographic point of socialisation by the inmates and frequently the guards would travel in for a free cut. When I learned this I was shocked that the guards allowed the inmates to hold crisp tools that had the potency of being used as arms. In fact. one narrative we heard on our audio circuit was of a guard who said an inmate pressed his tool to the guard’s cervix and threatened to take his life. The inmate was jesting and the officer was left unhurt but inmates were known to make arms that were used for protection and a manner of threating other inmates.

These arms were called shanks or shivs and prison guards discovered a bulk of them before any injury could happen. Unfortunately there were narratives of inmates killing each other such as Joseph Havel who stabbed his fellow cellmate to decease in the center of the dark. Another of import constituent in the life of Eastern State Penitentiary inmates was the chance to pattern in spiritual activities. Upon entry. every inmate was given a Bible in hopes of one twenty-four hours they would have redemption. Besides. in the beginning of the prison’s life there were hebdomadally spiritual services in every ward that the inmates had the opportunity to listen to from their cells. In ulterior old ages. Christians had the chance to idolize in the chapel during Sundays while Jews had the chance to idolize in the temple. Religious freedom was the lone freedom that the inmates received. They were purely monitored and had to wake. eat. work. and sleep when the guards told them excessively. Although the guards did their best to maintain an oculus on every inmate. the system employed at Eastern State was flawed.

Eastern State Penitentiary was designed for rigorous lone parturiency but that system failed and the population of inmates increased dramatically go forthing the guards outnumbered. They tried to keep surveillance and control of the establishment. One manner they monitored the inmates was utilizing organizing the wards into a Pentagon and holding a ticker tower in the center. This design was flawed because it was impossible for the guard in the ticker tower to see every cell and every portion of the cells. Prison guards at Eastern State hated working in the ticker tower. a place left for new recruits. because they felt more restricted than the inmates. They could non listen to music or read. had small human contact. and had to name their dominating officer every 15 proceedingss to look into in.

Prison functionaries liked to believe that these methods of surveillance worked but there were legion public violences and attempted flights by the inmates. The largest public violence was on January 8. 1961 in ward nine when two inmates over powered an office and so they proceeded to opening other cells. They tried to put their condemnable records on fire. Another illustration was William Francis Sutton who attempted to get away five times. Last. there was the great flight from ward seven. cell 68. Clarence Klinedinst had a repute as a good worker which he used to be transfer to cellblock seven where he started utilizing the tools from work to construct a tunnel. Riots and flights such as these lead to the shutting of Eastern State Penitentiary in 1970. Prisons such as Eastern province should non be used today because. harmonizing to the useful theory of justness. the terminals do non warrant the agencies. A batch of money is put into them when all they do is keep inmates for a figure of old ages and so they are released into the community. With no signifier of rehabilitation the released inmates revert back to offense and are reincarcerated. The rhythm is ne’er stoping and prisons become overpopulated and prone to riots as was Eastern State Penitentiary.