Policing, Prisons, and Death Penalty Materials in Haverford College Special Collections

By Thomas Eddy, published New York, 1801
In 1796, Quaker financier and philanthroper Thomas Eddy made a visit to the Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia, a visit that eventually led to the institution of the first penal reform in New York State. This book describes the new prison and how the inmates were treated.

By Cecil Northcott, published London, 1966
In this book, Northcott details the life and work of English prison reformer and social advocate Elizabeth Fry.

By the Howard Institution, published Philadelphia, 1855
This journal includes the 1855 annual report of the Howard Institution's Board of Managers. The Howard Institution was a women's charity founded by Quakers in 1853 with the aim of providing shelter for discharged female prisoners. Their scope later broadened to assist troubled women and girls generally before they shut down in 1956.

By the Eastern State Penitentiary of Pennsylvania, published Philadelphia; 1832, 1834, 1858-1920.
This volume consists of annual inspections of the Eastern State Penitentiary, including the Librarian's report, the report of the Medical Department and Reports of Religious Work Done by various Christian denominations. It also contains numerous tables and charts.

By William Ray, published Troy, 1808
In this personal narrative, Ray recounts his capture near Tripoli onboard the USS Philadelphia in 1803, and his ensuing nineteen months in captivity.

By Edward Livingston, published Philadelphia, 1827
In this report, American statesman and jurist Edward Livingston details the founding principles of the code of prison discipline.

By Roberts Vaux, published Philadelphia, 1827
Originally published in the National gazette, this letter was bound with Vaux' notices of the original and successive efforts to improve the discipline of the prison at Philadelphia, along with his reply to two letters from William Roscoe.

By "Massachusetts man," published Boston, 1836
This book offers a critical comparison of the Pennsylvania and New York systems of prison discipline.

By François Alexandre Frédéric, duc de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, published Philadelphia, 1796
La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, a French social reformer, wrote this document to provide a historical review of the Pennsylvania penal codes and their treatment of prisoners.

Roberts Vaux' reply to two letters from William Roscoe is bound with his notices of the original and successive efforts to improve the discipline of the prison at Philadelphia, along with his letter on the penitentiary system of Pennsylvania.

Written by Fletcher Stites, a representative from Montgomery County, this report details the committee's investigation of the prisons directly controlled by the state. It also offers a historical account of the development of Pennsylvania's penal systems.

Written by Albert Votaw, a penologist and long-time member of the American Prison Congress, this review offers detailed reports on the operations of Pennsylvania's 67 county prisons, as well as the Pennsylvania Prison Society's recommendations for necessary reforms.

William Render provides an account of John Howard and Elizabeth Fry's lives and their work in the prison reform movements in Great Britain and Europe.

Published for the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, prison inspector George W. Smith offers a description of the Eastern State Penitentiary.

Attributed to Frederick Packard, a Sunday school advocate and editor, this document addresses and rebuts critiques of the Pennsylvania prison system put forth by advocates of the Auburn system.

By anonymous, published Philadelphia, 1844
Contains a woman's account of her visit to the Eastern State Penitentiary, the pioneer of the "Pennsylvania system" of incarceration and the first prison to focus on reform and rehabilitation through solitary confinement.

By Clifton Bullock.
New York: Wiliam-Frederick Press, 1975.
Bullock wrote this book while incarcerated, and several stories are about life while incarcerated.

This collection includes many of Rebecca Singer’s diaries, in the form of booklets and individual pages dated 1824-1847. Later diary entries describe her charitable visits to prisoners, the poor, the sick, and the patients of an insane asylum.

This collection includes 43 original, bound, handwritten volumes of Joshua Baily’s personal diaries, early entries of which detail his participation in the Pennsylvania Prison Society, an organization that advocated for prison reform and for the health and safety of prisoners.