Write a Research Paper on Prison Reformer John Howard

Student Name
Professor Name
Course Title
Date
Prison reformer John Howard
John Howard was born in Hackney, in east London in 1726. His father was a partner in an Upholstery business. After completing school, John worked as a trainee to a wholesale grocer in order to learn business methods, but he was not contented. On his father’s demise in 1742, he inherited substantial wealth and settled on an estate in Bedfordshire. Having been left a comfortable affluence and all the family property he was charitable and kind to the tenants of his estate at Cardington in the county of Bedford, England. His love of adventure saw him travel to various places including France and Italy. At the age of 40, interested to see the effects of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, he set out for Spain in spite of the fact that England and France were engaged in the Seven Years War. The French confined the ship in which Howard took passage and he was jailed in Brest, France, for six days before being relocated to a different prison on the French coast. It took two months before an exchange of prisoners obtained his discharge. However, he was later exchanged for a French officer held by the British, and he hastily travelled to the Commissioners of Sick and Wounded Seamen in London to request for assistance on behalf of his fellow captives. It is commonly believed that this individual experience created Howard's interest in prisons. Nevertheless, despite this experience, the most significant event for John Howard was when he was appointed as High Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1773. John accepted the post and saw it as a way of serving God. It is argued that after the death of his wife, John resumed to travelling and while in Naples, Italy, he had a thoughtful spiritual experience, and he made a pledge to God that he would make some significant contribution to the world. John took the responsibilities of the appointment sincerely and embarked on his inspection of prisons (The John Howard Society of Canada).
John travelled thousands of miles by horse and carriage and visited numerous prisons across the Great Britain. He further made several trips to the continent including Moscow and Constantinople. John was surprised by the conditions he found in the various jails he visited in England. He noted that jailers were not remunerated but relied on fees paid by prisoners for food, bedding, and other facilities. This system made poorer prisoners to live in appalling conditions. Furthermore, several jailers demanded compensation before prisoners were released, which led to some prisoners staying in jail even if they were declared not guilty by court or had completed to serve their sentences. Prisons were used to confine people held, either for debt, or those waiting for trial. The prisons were dark, damp, and airless and bred contagious diseases, such as small pox and typhus. There was lack of government funding to build and maintain prisons; therefore, England practiced a system of transporting criminals, first to America and later to Australia (New World Encyclopedia).
In the year 1774, John convinced the House of Commons to approve two acts that would help to reform the prison system. The first act stated that released persons should be set ...