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The first prison is opened in Pennsylvania it is called Walnut Street Jail.
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(Late 1700s)
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"The first experiment in solitary confinement in the United States begins at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia"
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Michigan becomes the first state to abolish the death penalty for all crimes except treason.
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The first statutory provision for separate male and female prison institutions was passed.
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"The first Women’s Prison opened its doors in Indiana . Two types of penal institutions were established for women: the traditional penitentiary model was based on custodial and punitive measures; and the model that emphasized reform was based on the notion of reforming and rehabilitating inmates."
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Nine states abolish the death penalty for all crimes or strictly limit it.
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The use of cyanise gas is intorduced as an execution method
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In 1930 there were just over 13,000 inmates
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Executions reach the highest levels in American history - average 167 per year.
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"The federal government opens Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay to house the nation's worst criminals."
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24,360 inmates
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"The Prisoners’ Rights Movement began during this period. Prisoners sought enforcement of their constitutional rights through the writ of habeas corpus and the Civil Rights Act" Many still argue that prisioners do not deserver the treatment they recieve.
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Support of capital punishment reaches all-time low. A Gallup poll shows support of the death penalty at only 42%
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two officers at a Marion Ill prison are killed on the same day. The warden at the time decided to be the first prison to start "permanent lockdown". Inmates are in their cells 23 hours a day. Within a few years other states adopt this lockdown.
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Total population 219,087
breakdown
Inmates By Race
White: 130,414 (59.5 %)
Black: 81,268 (37.1 %)
Native American: 3,974 (1.8 %)
Asian: 3,431 (1.6 %) Inmates By Gender
Male: 204,463 (93.3 %)
Female: 14,624 (6.7 %)
