Elmira Reformatory

History

When the Elmira Reformatory opened, it rejected nineteenth-century penology's ideals of silence, obedience, and labor. Elmira's goal would be to reform the convict—its methods would be psychological rather than physical. Instead of coercing with the lash, Elmira would encourage with rewards, and mass regimentation would yield to classification and individualized treatment. Instead of fixed sentences to fit the crime, the indeterminate sentence would be adjustable to fit the criminal.

Judges—convinced of Elmira's merits—sent inmates faster than they could be paroled. Additions to the original 504 cells were made in 1886 and again in 1892, raising the total to 1,296, but by the late 1890s there were nearly 1,500 occupants. In 1970, the reception center was administratively joined to the main facility, and the complex was renamed the Elmira Correctional and Reception Center. Although no longer a reformatory, Elmira's concentration on younger offenders continued into the early 1990s, when the Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) established facilities for those under twenty-one in the Washington, D.C.-New York hub. Elmira's population currently averages around thirty-five years of age. It is now a general confinement facility for adult males and operates a modern correctional program along the lines laid down by Brockway.

Prisons versus Reformatories

A primary difference between prisons and reformatories was the sentencing structure that was used in each. Prisons during this time set fixed (or “determined”) sentences. These sentences were reduced by “good time” that was earned, generally one day served for one day of good time. Reformatories introduced the concept of indeterminate sentences, which inmates could shorten by exhibiting good behavior while in prison. Elmira quietly redefined the term reform, which until then had been understood only in purely religious terms. Through teaching rather than preaching, they downplayed religious conversion in favor of the more realistic goal of law-abiding behavior.

Training and Education

The main emphasis of the reformatory system was on reforming youths through vocational training and academic education. Reformers believed that an education and job skills that could be used after release would lead to reform of the offenders. Beginning in 1878, several educated inmates taught elementary classes six nights a week, and a professor from Elmira Women's College conducted courses in geography and the natural sciences for advanced students. The next year, six public school teachers and three attorneys were engaged to teach elementary classes, and advanced classes were expanded to include geometry, bookkeeping, and physiology. A professor from the Michigan State Normal School was recruited as “moral director” to begin courses in ethics and psychology. Lectures in history and literature were added in the early 1880s. In 1882, a summer school was started. Throughout the period, Elmira attracted prominent visitors as “Sunday lecturers.” In 1888, an entire building was set aside as a trades school and, by 1894, instruction was provided in thirty-four trades.

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