Forms Of Constraint: A History Of Prison Architecture, Norman Johnston
Recently, while visiting the site of the Territorial Prison in Laramie Wyoming [1], I had the opportunity to pick up this obscure but interesting book, which looks at the history of imprisonment through an analysis of the architectural design of prisons from their historical beginnings. For a variety of reasons, I have long been interested in prisons [2], and my longstanding interest in matters of architecture and its social implications meant that this was a book that struck my interest, especially since I had never seen a book that dealt with the architectural history of prisons on a systematic basis. Despite the fact that this book was demanding in terms of its language, and seemed to assume a great deal of knowledge in the sociology of penology from its readers, it is a book that richly rewards those (presumably few) readers who have an interest in the historical development of prisons and the various factors that influenced their design and construction, and the often wide gap between plans and ideals and the actual practice of prisons in operation.
In terms of its contents, this book is divided both chronologically and topically. In order, the chapters deal with makeshift prisons, religious and monastic imprisonment, the earliest reform movements in the early modern period, English prisons between 1780 and 1835, North American prison reform before 1850, Western European prisons from 1835 to World War II, Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Americas from 1835 to World War II, and then a look at postwar prisons around the world. The author, in an admirable grasp of the available literature, examines who designed prisons, the language of imprisonment from its sketchy and inexact beginnings to the contemporary period, the efforts of idealists and often religious reformers to ameliorate the conditions of prison, the problem in many societies of prison being a better life than could be had on the outside, the tension between various societal attitudes towards criminals, and the various constraints that prison design suffered with regards to providing life and care for prisoners, being a place of constraint and punishment, as well as the desire to reduce cost through either Spartan conditions or the provision of work in order for a prisoner to repay a supposed debt to society. In order to undertake this monumental and ambitious task, all of which takes about 160 large pages of small print-text and extensive endnotes, the author shows a grasp of architectural design, has a grasp of a wide variety of primary documents from building plans to diaries and letters about prison, and shows a grasp of worldwide prisons (except for Africa, which is largely left out, due to the lack of documentation about imprisonment) that is truly impressive.
At its core, the author examines a fundamental divide within society concerning prisoners. According to one school of thought, prison is designed to be unpleasant and rigorous, and anything that makes prison less unpleasant, or that makes prisons beautiful and elegant glamorizes crime and trivializes its results. Often this particular school of thought rejects the high amount of expense paid to build and maintain prisons and demands that those expenses be reduced through either work or through more rigorous and unpleasant conditions. According to another school of thought, though, prison is designed to rehabilitate people and provide opportunity for learning and reflection, and even if the hopes of these idealists are seldom realized, occasionally those ideals lead to the development of various schemes in order to improve prison conditions, even at considerable expense, at least until a lack of success leads to the next wave of cynical cost-cutting and overcrowding. The author, unsurprisingly, takes the side of idealists in urging prison designs that show an understanding of the pressures and consequences of group living, minimize the physical and psychological risks to prisoners and guards, that provide a stimulating and humane environment with a variety of colors, surfaces and spaces within the constraints of preventing escape, and that are modest in size to avoid the problems of overcrowding. Whether these recommendations are to be followed depends on a wide variety of circumstances, not least of which is the will of society itself and the ability of nations to pay for imprisonment. All too often, the world’s prisons have been, in the words of a 19th century Chilean inspection tour: “inseguro, insalubre y ruinoso” (insecure, unhealthy, and ruinous) (134). Even prisoners deserve a better life than that.
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/prisoner-of-chillon/
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/the-prisoner/
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/prison-towns/
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