From “Revolutionary Adventure” to “Not Great, Just Better”: The Fight to Remove Juveniles from Pennsylvania’s Camp Hill Prison

Abstract

This study focuses on a notable historical flashpoint in the history of deinstitutionalization, the removal, by Jerome Miller in the mid-1970s, of more than 400 juveniles from Pennsylvania’s Camp Hill prison, a facility that incarcerated juveniles with adult prisoners. It draws on a combination of archival research and in-depth interviews with individuals who played a role in the prison’s closing and the development of new community alternatives. Miller and the reformers aspired to revolutionary change but had to settle for successfully removing juveniles from an antiquated prison and developing a patchwork system of community alternatives. This research sheds light on the goals, strategies, and impact of 1970s-era deinstitutionalization reformers who attempted to transform a juvenile justice system that seemed impervious to change.