Authorized Visitors to Prisoners in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania law included among authorized visitors to prisons members of the Philadelphia Society for alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons.
Topic Collection: Philadelphia Society
The Philadelphia Society for alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, a civic society founded in 1787, inspected Pennsylvania prisons and made personal visits to prisoners in Eastern State Penitentiary.
Prison Visiting and Prison Theater
Unlike communication with family and friends, prisoners’ communication with social elites potentially generates knowledge and authoritative conflict.
Philadelphia Society Favored Institutionalized Communication
The Philadelphia Society favored institutionalized communication with prisoners and disfavored prisoners’ communication with family and friends.
The Philadelphia Society, for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons
The Philadelphia Society for alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, founded in 1787, continues to the present as the Pennsylvania Prison Society.
Philadelphia Society Linked to John Howard
The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating Miseries of Public Prisons eagerly sought attention from the famous prison reformer John Howard.
19th Century U.S. Civic Institutions Concerned with Prisoners
Philadelphia, Boston, and New York in mid-19th century had active, well-supported civic groups concerned with prisons, prisoners, and prison discipline.
Teeters’ Typology of Prisoners’ Visitors
Negley Teeters, a leading criminologist, favored lay prison visitors over family, friends, and professional humanitarians.
Visits to Prisoners in Eastern State Penitentiary, 1846-1903
Visits per year and per prisoner by members of the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, 1846-1903, with some per visitor data. Visits to prisoners by moral instructor employed by Eastern State Penitentiary.