how was prison systems in the 1800s?

Answer 1

Better than now. We actually kept the criminals in jails and didn't waste millions of tax dollars on worthless appeals. They did not have TV and radio and great meals and work out rooms/yards. They actually did hard labor and stayed their sentences. Convicted murderers did not spend 20 years on death row either. They had no Playboys to read. We did not spend a fortune to keep them there either. They all actually had to work all day instead of sitting and laying on their butts all day too.

Answer 2

well i guess it would depend on where u were talking about . in new york at one time in the 1800's they had prisoners on a huge boat that had been used for the military. conditions were crowded unsanitary and many were keppt in solitary for years with out having contact with any other human being. they had no rights and many times were not given due process as they r given today. many prisoners disappeared while inside the walls of the prisons. if u want more information e mail me. i am a criminal justice student lol

Answer 3

Considering the ACLU Communists didn't exist in the U.S. back then, prisoners didn't have any rights. you got fed slop and did what you were told. You kept your eyes looking down and never looked a guard in the eye. Beatings were common and death as well. In Texas when they let you out, they gave you a $ 20 gold piece, a horse and a six gun and put you on your way to behave yourself if you survived being in prison. You worked when and how they told you and slept when they told you. The only book you were allowed to read was the bible. You had heat in the Summer and cold in the Winter. It wasn't anything like today's prisons.

Answer 4

cruel, harsh and an effective deterent, unlike our criminal training grounds of today.

Answer 5

barbaric but effective