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Interesting historical look at the length of prison sentencing

By Douglas A. Berman

Recently appearing on SSRN is this interesting new piece providing a distinct window into a notable period in the history of prisons and prison sentences.  The piece is titled "The Origin of Long Prison Sentences in America: A Case Study of Pennsylvania, 1829-1865," and here is the abstract:Penal historian David J. Rothman has described early American prison sentences as "very long" while French emissaries Gustave de Beaumont and Alexis de Tocqueville, writing in 1833, described the American penitentiary system as "severe."  Though there exists a rich body of literature interpreting the birth of the prison, few scholars have written on the length of prison sentences that accompanied this birth. Using the length of prison sentences assigned to 1,727 convicts sentenced to the Eastern State Penitentiary in Pennsylvania in a dozen years falling between 1829 and 1865, this study investigates how long prison sentences were in Pennsylvania, what factors (race, age, gender, nationality, state of origin, recidivist status) affected sentence length, and how sentence length changed over time...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on April 21, 2008 (boomark / email).