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

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Philosophy: Rehabilitation

The Reformatory Era was based on the use of indeterminate sentences and a belief in the possibility of rehabilitation, especially for youthful offenders.Two noteworthy corrections leaders that ushered in the Reformatory Era were Captain Alexander Maconochie, the warden of Norfolk Island, a prison off the coast of Australia, and Sir Walter Crofton, hed of the Irish prison system. Under Maconochie, a system of marks was used through which prisoners could earn enough credits to buy their freedom. The mark system placed responsibility for winning an early release on the inmate. Crofton built off of the idea of early release, creating a program of progressive stages. Inmates who entered Irish prisons had to work their way through four stages, the last of which allowed prisoners to live and work in the community under the occasional supervision of a “moral instructor.”

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