How Were Prisoners Treated In The Late 1800s

introduction

In the early 1800s The prisoners were treated very poorly and were known as nothing because of their outlawed crimes. At one point over two thirds of all prisoners were on the hulks. Conditions in the prisons were terrible. Outbreaks of disease such as cholera killed lots of prisoners during the Prison and Asylum Reform because of the insanitary conditions on board.The water was polluted inside the Thames as they were used for all purposes. Prisoners were chained to their bunks at night to prevent them from slipping ashore. During the day most of them worked ashore, usually on hard labour and to right the wrongs that they had committed either through physical pain applied, often in extreme cruel ways. Dorothea Dix a humanitarian and reformer in the 1800s. She gained evidence on human torture among prisoners and mentally ill at this time. As she gained fame she often viewed workhouses and private homes where they kept people in cages and closets while chained and beaten. She went on to get the government to fund 32 hospitals for the people who were being abused and the mentally ill and wanted to put an end to it.

The United States had a large amount of immigration and a dramatic increase in industrialization. As a reason many needy children wander the streets and became part of criminal actions. At first children who were convicted of crimes were imprisoned with adult criminals. Officials soon realized that children who are locked away with adult criminals showed negative behaviors. The Asylum helped people understand how the mentally ill people are in theropie hospitals to help them. The only people that get incarcerated are the non-ill and the ones who have committed crimes.

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