Abstract
The Pennsylvania Industrial Reformatory (PIR) at Huntington, established on the principles of rehabilitative incarceration that underpinned the new penology of the late nineteenth century, was supposed to be one of the most modern, humane, and enlightened prisons of its day. Yet sensational charges of abuse and mistreatment of inmates within three years of the prison’s opening spurred a months-long investigation in 1892 that attracted national attention. This investigation uncovered the details of daily interactions between inmates, administrators, and guards at PIR, revealing the existence of an inmate culture rooted in institutionalization and state policies gone awry and exposing a wide gap between the theory and the practice of the era’s new penology. The results of the PIR investigation, however, ultimately circumscribed the possibility of systemic reform and helped to further entrench and normalize a punitive punishment regime that prioritized discipline over rehabilitation.
Published Version
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