William Penn: A Pioneer of Criminal Justice
What did William Penn have to do with America’s modern correctional system?
Without the work of multiple founders, the correctional system wouldn’t be what it is today. Many people had a hand in the founding of America’s early correctional system. Their contributions served as a blueprint for what America’s system looks like today. Whose contributions cannot be forgotten is none other than William Penn. William Penn made multiple contributions to the structure and morals of today’s modern correctional system.
William Penn created one of the original correctional philosophies throughout his time as the leader of the Quakers, which was henceforth entitled the Great Law of the Quakers. The Great Law of the Quakers was in effect from 1618 until 1718 when it was regrettably repealed and replaced with other legislation that resulted in harsher criminal codes reverting to violent morals.
William Penn made great strides in Pennsylvania to reduce capital punishment for weaker crimes and replace it with hard labor and time out from regular society, in a secluded setting. These are measures that William Penn deemed more sufficient and productive. I appreciate this model as it shows many examples of an effort to rehabilitate offenders and give them purpose, something that they may not have been allowed prior to Penn’s legislation. William Penn also created a revolutionary correctional concept of compensation for the victims and the victim’s families after a crime has been committed.
Again, this is something I also see being used time and time again in America’s modern correctional system. Whether it is garnishing prison wages or adjusting the commissary accounts of prisoners to reflect their crime and the economical/emotional toll that it took on a victim or the victim’s family. The most recent example of this concept is the previous judgment of the Parkland shooter to avoid any profiting off his crimes and in order to compensate the victim’s families. William Penn’s work on the early correctional system made way for these judgments in the modern world.
William Penn also created the Walnut Street Jail, which was the first penitentiary, a concept coined by Quakers to represent a place in which criminals can be secluded and reflect on their wrongdoings. The design of Walnut Street Jail gave way for many other prisons to be created and developed not only Pennslyvania’s correctional system but quickly influenced areas around it. Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with these given strides by Penn. While I do concede that William Penn was able to create a less violent correctional system and penitentiary experience, many modern studies show the effect of solitude to be damning for mental health struggles as well as repeat offenses.
In conclusion, William Penn made many unforgettable strides in crime control that affected both the early correctional system and paved the way for today’s correctional system. As the leader of the Quakers, Penn founded his own correctional philosophy, worked for more humane criminal punishments in place of capital punishment, coined and constructed the first penitentiary, and instituted his own legislation that was regretfully repealed entitled the Great Law of the Quakers. All in all, William Penn’s strides toward a better early correctional system have done more positive than negative in my opinion in terms of the formation of today’s correctional system.
Works Cited
ABERLE, ROBERT. Administration of Justice: An Introduction to the Criminal Justice System in America. KENDALL HUNT, 2021.
