Event – Detail Past

At a time when prisons were still new, and nearly every prison in the country followed the same model of confinement, Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary (opened in 1829) was known for its exceptional reliance on long-term solitary confinement. Eastern was criticized for its exceptional reliance on what was seen as an inhumane, expensive, and ineffective approach to confinement. Why did it persist in its deviance? This talk discusses how Eastern became a “deviant prison” and the work its administrators performed to protect their embattled prison for decades.

This is a virtual event

Athenaeum Members Free

Non Members $5