Pentonville Prison: Case Study (Edexcel GCSE History)

London’s Pentonville Prison was a new type of prison built in the 1842. It incorporated the ideas of reformers like John Howard and Elizabeth Fry. It also used the latest technology, including modern ventilation and heating systems. Between 1842 and 1877, 90 new prisons were built on the model of Pentonville.

Pentonville’s prisoners spent as many as 23 hours a day alone. People hoped that this separate system would help prisoners to change their ways.

Prisons punished the most serious criminals. Because of this, some demanded that prison conditions be tougher. This was based on the belief in a ‘criminal type. In 1865, the government responded to these concerns, introducing the silent system.

Deterrence

Retribution

Rehabilitation

Pentonville Prison was a serious punishment. Its prisoners carried out hard, repetitive labour, like breaking rocks. Many thought this would be enough to put people off committing crimes

Many saw the isolation and boredom of life in Pentonville Prison as a way to make criminals ‘pay’ for their crimes

Many thought that the solitude of Pentonville Prison would give prisoners a chance to reflect on their crimes, turn to religion and reform their ways

Strengths

Weaknesses

Less physical illness: because Pentonville Prison was cleaner than previous prisons, disease did not spread as much

Mental illness: continuous isolation increased people’s risk of depressiion, psychosis and suicide. In the first eight years at Pentonville Prison, 22 prisoners went mad, 26 had a nervous breakdown and three killed themselves

The right level of punishment: many believed that Pentonville Prison was neither too harsh nor too lenient

Lack of education: Pentonville prisoners were not taught any skills that they could use once released. This limited their chances of rehabilitation

No chance of prisoner corruption: the lack of communication between prisoners meant that hardened criminals could not negatively influence minor ones

Expensive: keeping prisoners in individual cells was much more costly than having them mixed together