Reformatory Era (jan 1, 1876 – jan 1, 1890)

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Captain Alexander Maconochie and Sir Walter Crofton made huge innovations in the corrections system. Maconochie started a system of makrs through which prisoners could earn credits to buy their freedom through good behavior. As a result of this, Maconochie earned the title of "father of parole."

Sir Walter Crofton noticed Maconochie's innovations and as head of the Irish prison system, began his own form of parole. His involved four stages before an inmate could earn their freedom. Crofton's system was based on the idea that convicts could not be rehabilitated without successful reintegration into the community.

As a result of their innovations, Gaylord B. Hubbell, warden of a New York prison recommended indeterminate sentences be used in American prisons and it was later adopted in the Elmira Reformatory prison. Unfortunately, the reformatory "proved a relative failure and disappointment" as many inmates re-entered their lives of crime after release. Despite this, the principles it established remain important today. - Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century

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