Thirty Years' Experience of a Medical Officer in the English Convict Service

The treatment of the British criminal world has been the subject of intense scrutiny and interest among senior statesmen and philosophers, as well as philanthropists with a spirit that inspired John Howard in his noble and selfless endeavors. John Howard was an excellent example of the value of experience. He began by actually examining prisons and inmates, gained personal knowledge unique in its scope and triviality, and then proposed useful reforms, sanitary and disciplinary. His great example, by which we are now profiting, followed by that of others working in the same spirit, changed our convict prisons from being habitations of pestilence and vice to models of cleanliness, humane discipline, health, and good order. The late Sir Joshua Jebb should be commended for the recent improvements. By working on sound principles in the construction and arrangement of prisons, as well as in the treatment of prisoners, he contributed significantly to the healing and rehabilitation of criminals. Since the days of Sir Joshua, many humane people have fiercely defended the interests of prisoners, seeking to improve their situation during imprisonment and also after release. These efforts have often been successful; but it is highly desirable to bear in mind that in the implementation of any system proposed by humanity, anything that comes close to mistaken sympathy for its objects should be avoided, as they offer them excuses for their wrongdoings and entice them to consider themselves illusory persons. This is one of the most important questions on which the author could insist on less important subjects, but none of them are addressed in the main body of this little work. Representing the author's personal experience and the views of the public, he believed that he had provided useful materials and suggestions to others who could apply them with greater ability than he realized.