Muncy Way: The Reformatory Ideal at the End of the 20th Century

• NCJ Number: 219901
• Journal: Prison Journal Volume: 87 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2007 Pages: 271-294
• Author(s): Matthew Silberman
• Date Published: September 2007
• Length: 24 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Based on a survey and interviews with women incarcerated at the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Muncy in 1999, this article describes the gendered nature of prison life and the way in which treatment programs for women were transformed from an emphasis on restoring moral virtue to fallen women to providing therapy for the mentally ill.

Abstract

At the end of the 20th century, the reformatory ideal still played an important role in shaping the daily routines of incarcerated women at Muncy, Pennsylvania’s only maximum security prison for women. Strong traditions associated with the reformatory movement led to the development of several new therapeutic programs designed to meet the special needs of female offenders. In the meantime, a growing demand for equal treatment led to a more custodial regime and the demand for parity in programming expanded opportunities in training and education. The outcome was an increasingly coercive therapeutic regime in which women were expected to change their attitudes and behavior as parents, address their addictions, and seek therapy for their mental illnesses. No longer were women subject to indeterminate sentencing under the Muncy Act (1913). Instead, they were required to complete a variety of therapeutic programs designed to address their special needs to make parole. Opened in 1920 as the Industrial Home for Women, the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Muncy was dedicated to providing opportunities for women to return to society better prepared to fulfill their household duties. Throughout the 20th century, patriarchal, cultural, and legal traditions played an important role in shaping the lives of incarcerated women in Pennsylvania’s only maximum security prison for women. Despite efforts to bring parity to women’s prisons, the reformatory ideal still played an important role in shaping the daily routines of incarcerated women in Pennsylvania at the end of the 20th century. Relying on data from a survey of interviews conducted with women incarcerated at Muncy in 1999, this article describes the way in which rehabilitation programs for women were transformed from restoring moral virtue to fallen women to providing therapy for the mentally ill. Tables, references