History of the penal system
Back to Topic
Click to Print
Useful Websites
Glossary Term Selection
Prison is just one of a number of sanctions available to the courts to deal with those who commit criminal offences. Imprisonment today is the harshest sanction available, but this has not always been the case.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries sanctions for criminal behaviour tended to be public events which were designed to shame and deter; these included the ducking stool, the pillory, whipping, branding and the stocks. At the time the sentence for many other offences was death.
Prison tended to be a place where people were held before their trial or while awaiting punishment. It was very rarely used as a punishment in its own right.
Evidence suggests that the prisons of this period were badly maintained. Men and women, boys and girls, debtors and murderers were all held together. Many people died of diseases such as gaol fever, which was a form of typhus.
The most important innovation of this period was the building of the prototype house of correction, the London Bride...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites
