American Penitentiary—innovative,
revolutionary penal practice
In brief, during the day, most of the same Colonial
Era gentlemen who attended the Constitutional
Convention convened
after dinner at their favorite voluntary
society—to
do good works. One of those, the Pennsylvania
Prison Society and (PPS),
formed in 1787, developed the "penitentiary system."
The membership included Philadelphia
and Revolutionary Era leaders, including ministers from every major Protestant denomination.
Quakers were prominent, but, theologically, they considered every
person to be a minister.
A major point to reflect upon is the import
of a simple act. Simple, but quite unusual. That is, when Bishop
William White signed documents sent to the legislature, he dropped his
clerical title of "Bishop" and signed
as "William White." Given his social stature, it was obvious
that the legislators knew
that
he was Philadelphia's Episcopal bishop, so how to assess this
de-clericalization? Could you imagine Billy Graham not using "Reverend."
Or Martin
Luther King? Or the host of other contemporary activist ministers?
The more significant characteristic to note
is that the PPS dealt with the "dark
side" issues facing the new democratic republic.
As they penned Memorials to
the state legislature, they creatively imagined an original
and highly innovative "theory
of separate confinement with mild punishments." This
theory guided these men as they faced the daunting
tasks of
finding ways to heal and make whole errant
individual citizens and deliver social justice in a democratic
republic.
What happened? Issues, concerns
and practices that were traditionally religious,
ministerial and pastoral—criminal acts as sins, healing a
wayward soul, visiting with the imprisoned—all were yielded by
the Philadelphia religious community via the PPS and entrusted to the State and its new penal practice of separate confinement.
Continue—PPS
