Revisiting ‘America's Penal Experiments’ 100 Years Later
| Published date | 01 October 2021 |
| Author | ASHLEY T. RUBIN |
| Date | 01 October 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12417 |
The Howard Journal Vol60 No S1. October 2021 DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12417
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 29–37
Revisiting ‘America’s Penal
Experiments’ 100 Years Later
ASHLEY T. RUBIN
Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Hawai‘i at M¯
anoa, USA
Abstract: In 1921, American prison administrator and reformer, Spencer Miller, was
invited to describe America’s recent penal developments to the Howard League for Penal
Reform. This article reviews the context of Progressive Era American prisons to better
understand Miller’s remarks and their lessons for prison administrators and reformers
today. It briefly describes the history of American prisons into the Progressive Era as well
as some developments that were most relevant to Miller, viz., the reforms at Sing Sing un-
der famed penal reformer and warden, Thomas Mott Osborne. Next, the article reviews
Miller’s statement to the Howard League for Penal Reform, including his inaccurate de-
scription of prison history, which can be read as a means of emphasising the extraordinary
progress made by Osborne and, implicitly, by Miller at Sing Sing and as an example to
the nation. Finally, it discusses Miller’s abolitionism in the context of similar discussions
taking place today.
Keywords: abolition; penal reform; prison history; Sing Sing; US prisons
One hundred years ago, Spencer Miller, the former assistant warden of
New York’s Sing Sing Prison and an active member of the American Prison
Association, was invited to describe recent penal developments in the
United States to the Howard League for Penal Reform (see Miller 1921).
Addressing his British audience in Westminster on 3 June 1921, Miller fo-
cused mostly on the American penal reforms with which he was personally
most familiar,thus offering a very partial view. To understand Miller’s pre-
sentation, including what sorts of lessons it may have for us today, we must
first understand the context of the American prisons he sought to describe.
Historical Context for Miller’s Address to the Howard League for Penal
Reform
American prisons in the early 20th Century at the tail end of the Progres-
sive Era (roughly 1880 to 1920) were complicated places. Reformers and
prison administrators alike were split between competing visions of what
prisons should look like and how they should – or could – address the
problem of crime (Rothman 1980).
29
C
2021 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
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