Historical Context: How Have Philosophical Foundations Changed Over Time and Why Does It Matter? (From Current Issues in Parole Decisionmaking: Understanding the Past; Shaping the Future, P 23-29, 1988, Peggy B Burke -- See NCJ-114954)

• NCJ Number: 114958
• Author(s): P B Burke
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 7 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Corrections
• Corporate Author: Cosmos Corporation
• Sale Source: National Institute of Corrections; National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis of the history of incarceration and parole emphasizes that the modern prison is a relatively recent concept and that the rehabilitative ideal as well as other factors underlie the use of parole.

Abstract

Banishment, public shaming in the stocks, and whipping were common punishments in the colonial period. Later, Quaker reformers conceived of imprisonment both as a punishment for crime and as a mechanism for repentance. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the medical model formed the basis of corrections. Parole boards were charged with monitoring progress toward rehabilitation and to timing release accordingly. The tumult and change of the 1960's brought dissatisfaction with the criminal justice system, including parole. Social science research also began to question society's ability to rehabilitate. In the 1970's, groups with varying philosophies about crime and corrections joined together to work to abolish parole and to establish a philosophy of desert. The 1980's brought further changes, with an emphasis on incapacitation to control crime. These historical developments show that the controversies surrounding parole are part of broader debates in society regarding the purposes of criminal justice and criminal sanctions.