Modern French Prisons : Bicêtre; St. Pélagie; St. Lazare; La Force; The Conciergerie; La Grande and La Petite Roquettes; Mazas; La Santé

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Griffiths, Arthur, 1838-1908

Series:

The History and Romance of Crime

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Modern French Prisons" by Arthur Griffiths is a historical account written in the late 19th century. The book delves into the evolution of the French prison system, particularly focusing on the period following the French Revolution and the subsequent developments in penal practices. Griffiths, who served as an inspector of prisons, discusses the moral and structural dimensions of correctional facilities in France and the challenges they faced in reforming convicts rather than merely punishing them. The opening of the work introduces the topic of prison reform during a transitional period in French history. It outlines the ambitions of the French legislative body post-Revolution to create a new penal system, contrasting with the remnants of a more brutal past. Griffiths narrates historical insights into various notable prisons, including Bicêtre and La Conciergerie, underscoring the dreadful conditions prisoners endured and the ineffectiveness of past punitive methods. Instances of prisoner abuse, the discrepancies between rich and poor inmates, and the lack of reformation strategies highlight the systemic failures of the penal system, setting the stage for deeper examination in subsequent chapters. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Produced by Chris Curnow, Wayne Hammond, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 64.5 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Release date is 2016-01-27