Penitentiary Systems Seen from the Historical Perspective

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present the penitentiary systems which functioned in XVIII and XIX centuries. At the beginning the author makes an attempt to define the very concept of a penitentiary system and points to the existing inconsistent classification of penitentiary systems. The next part of the article is devoted to the characterisation of individual systems. The first one to be discussed is the oldest system of shared incarceration. Then the cell system is discussed with its two variants: the Pennsylvania and the Auburn system. Next the progressive system is presented, including its English and Irish variants. As the last one the system of American reformatories is discussed. The characterisation of all the systems included their ideological grounds, their execution in practice as well as the reasons why some of them turned out to be totally erroneous.