PENOLOGY

- It is the study of punishment for crime or of criminal offenders. It includes the study of control
and prevention of crime through punishment of criminal offenders.
- It is a term derived from the Latin word “POENA” which, means pain or suffering.
- It is also known as Penal Science.
- It is actually a division of criminology that deals with prison management and the treatment of
offenders, and concerned itself with the philosophy and practice of society in its effort to repress
criminal activities.

PRINCIPALS AIMS OF PENOLOGY

1. To bring light in the ethical barriers of punishment, along with the motives and purposes of
society inflicting it.
2. To make comparative study of penal laws and procedures through history between nations.
3. To evaluate the social consequences of the policies enforced at a given time.

PENAL MANAGEMENT
Penal management is the manner or practice of management or controlling places of
confinement as in jails or prisons.

CORRECTION
Correction is a branch of the Criminal Justice System concerned with the custody, supervision
and rehabilitation of criminal offenders. It is the field of criminal justice administration, which
utilizes the body of knowledge and practices of the government and the society in general
involving the processes of handling individuals who have been convicted of offenses for
purposes of crime prevention and control.

CORRECTION AS A PROCESS
Correction as a process is the reorientation of the criminal offender to prevent him or her from
repeating his delinquent actions without the necessity of taking punitive action but rather
introduction of individual measures of reformation.

CORRECTION ADMINISTRATION
It is the study and practice of a systematic management if jails or prisons and other institutions
concerned with the custody, treatment, and rehabilitation of criminal offenders.

CORRECTION AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Criminal Justice is the machinery of any government in the control and prevention of crimes and
criminality.
It is composed of the pillars of justice such as: the Law Enforcement Pillar (Police), the
Prosecution Pillar, the Court Pillar, the Correction Pillar, and the Community Pillar.
Correction as one of the pillars of the Criminal Justice system is considered as the weakest
pillar.
failure to deter individuals in committing crimes as well as the reformation of the inmates.
Hence, the need of prison management is necessary to rehabilitate inmates and transform them
to become law-abiding citizens after their release.

Correction is the fourth pillar of the criminal justice system. This pillar takes over once the
accused, after having been found guilty, is meted out the penalty for the crime he committed. He
can apply for probation or he could be turned over to a non- institutional or institutional agency
or facility for custodial treatment and rehabilitation. The offender could avail of the benefits of
parole or executive clemency once he has served the minimum period of his sentence.

Historical Perspective on Correction

13th Century – Securing Sanctuary
In the 13th C, a criminal could avoid punishment by claiming refugee in a church for a period of
40 days at the end of which time he has compelled to leave the realm by a road or path
assigned to him. In England at about 1468, torture as a form of punishment became prevalent.
16th Century
Transportation of criminals in England was authorized during the 16th century. At the end of the
century, Russia and other European Countries followed this system. It partially relieved
overcrowding of prisons. Transportation was abandoned in 1835.
17th C to late 18th Century
Death penalty became prevalent as a form of punishment. GAOLS (Jails) were common. These
are pre-trial detention facilities operated by English Sheriff. The GALLEYS were also used.
These are long, low, narrow, singe decked ships propelled by sails, usually rowed by criminals,
a type of ship used for transportation of criminals in the 16th Century. HULKS – decrepit
transport, former warships used to house prisoners in the 18th and 19th century. These were
abandoned warships converted into prisons as means of relieving congestions of prisoners.
They were also called “floating hells”.

Compensation of a wrong act

Retaliation (Personal Vengeance) – the earliest remedy for a wrong act to any one (in the
primitive society). The concept of personal revenge by the victim’s family or tribe against the
family or tribe of the offender, hence “blood feuds” was accepted in the early primitive societies.
Fines and Punishment – Customs has exerted effort and great force among primitive societies.
The acceptance of vengeance in the form of payment (cattle, food, personal service, etc)
became accepted as dictated by tribal traditions.

THE EARLY CODES

History has shown that there are three main legal systems in the world, which have been
extended to and adopted by all countries aside from those that produced them. In their
chronological order, they are the Roman, the Mohammedan or Arabic and the
Anglo-American Laws. Among the three, it was Roman law that had the most lasting and
most pervading influence.

The Roman private law (Which include Criminal Law), especially has offered the most
adequate basic concepts which sharply define, in concise and in consistent terminology,
mature rules and a complete system, logical and firm, tempered with a high sense of
equity.

Babylonian and Sumerian Codes

Code of King Hammurabi (Hammurabic Code) -
Babylon, about 1990 BC, credited as the oldest code prescribing savage punishment, but
in fact, Sumerian codes were nearly one hundred years older.

Roman and Greek Codes

Justinian Code – 6th C A.D., Emperor Justinian of Rome wrote his code of law. This was
an effort to match a desirable amount of punishment to all possible crimes. However, the
law did not survive due to the fall of the Roman Empire but left a foundation of Western
legal codes.

The Twelve Tables (XII Tabulae), (451-450 BC) – represented the earliest codification of
Roman law incorporated into the Justinian Code. It is the foundation of all public, and
private law of the Romans until the time of Justanian. It is also a collection of legal
principles engraved on metal tablets and set up on the forum.

Greek Code of Draco – In Greece, the Code of Draco, a harsh code that provides the
same punishment for both citizens and the slaves as it incorporates primitive concepts
(Vengeance, Blood Feuds). The Greeks were the first society to allow any citizen to
prosecute the offender in the name of the injured party.

The Burgundian Code (500 A.D)

The code specified punishment according to the social class of offenders, dividing them
into: nobles, middle class and lower class and specifying the value of the life of each
person according to social status.
The Secular Laws
4th A.D. – Secular Laws were advocated by Christian philosophers who recognized the
need for Justice. Some of the proponents of these laws were St. Augustine and St.
Thomas Aquinas. During this period, three laws were distinguished: External Law (Lex
Externa), Natural Law (Lex Naturalis), Human Law (Lex Humana). All these laws are
intended for the common good, but the Human Law only becomes valid if it does not
conflict with the other two laws.

THE EARLY PRISONS

Mamertine Prison – the only early Roman place of confinement, which is built under the
main sewer of Rome in 64 B.C
The most popular workhouse was the BRIDEWELL WORKHOUSE (1557) in London,
which was built for the employment and housing of English Prisoners.
The Walnut Street Jail, which was originally constructed as a detention jail in
Philadelphia was converted into a state prison and became the first American
Penitentiary.
HISTORICAL SETTING OR CORRECTION IN THE PHILIPPINES
The Philippines is one of the many countries that came under the influence of the Roman
law. History has shown that the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent to most of
continental Europe such as Spain, Portugal, French and all of Central Europe.
Eventually, the Spanish Civil Code become effective in the Philippines on December 7,
1889, the “Conquistadores”. The “Kodigo Penal” (now Revised Penal Code) was also
introduced promulgated by the King of Spain. Basically, these laws adopted the Roman
law principles (Coquia, 1996)
Mostly tribal traditions, customs and practices influenced laws during the Pre-Spanish
Philippines. There were also laws that were written which includes the Code of Kalantiao
(promulgated in 1433) – the most extensive and severe law that prescribes such harsh
punishment, and the Maragtas Code (Data Sumakwel)

Early prisons in the Philippines

In 1847, the first Bilibid Prison was constructed and became the central place of
confinement for Filipino Prisoners by virtue of the Royal decree of the Spanish crown.
In 1936, the City of Manila exchanges its Muntinlupa property with the Bureau of Prisons
originally intended as a site for boys’ training school. Today, the old Bilibid Prison is now
being used as the Manila City Jail, famous as the “May Halique Estate”.

PUNISHMENT AND THE CRIMINAL

Punishment is the redress that the state takes against an offending member of society
that usually involves pain and suffering. It is also the penalty imposed on an offender for
a crime of wrongdoing.

Ancient Forms of Punishment

1. Death Penalty – affected by burning, beheading, hanging, breaking at the wheels,
pillory and other forms of medieval executions
2. Physical Torture – affected by maiming, mutilation, whipping and other inhumane or
barbaric forms of inflicting pain.
3. Social Degradation – putting the offender into shame or humiliation.
4. Banishment or Exile – the sending or putting away of an offender which was carried
out either by prohibition against coming into a specified territory such as an island to
where the offender has been removed.
5. Other similar forms of punishment like transportation and slavery.

Early Forms of Prison Discipline

1. Hard Labor – productive works.
2. Deprivation – deprivation of everything except the essentials of existence.
3. Monotony – giving the same food that is “off” diet, or requiring the prisoners to
perform drab or boring daily routine.
4. Uniformity – “we treat the prisoners alike”, “the fault of one is the fault of all”.
5. Mass Movement – mass living in cellblocks, mass eating, mass recreation, mass
bathing.
6. Degradation – uttering insulting words or languages on the part of prison staff to the
prisoners to degrade or break the confidence or prisoners.
7. Corporal Punishment – imposing brutal punishment or employing physical force to
intimidate a delinquent inmate.
8. Isolation or Solitary Confinement – non-communication, limited news, “the lone wolf”.

Contemporary Forms of Punishment

1. Imprisonment – putting the offender in prison for the purpose of protecting the public
against criminal activities and at the same time rehabilitation the prisoners by requiring
them to undergo institutional treatment programs.
2. Parole – a conditional release of a prisoner after serving part of his/her sentence in
prison for the purpose of gradually re-introducing him/her to free life under the guidance
and supervision of a parole officer.
3. Probation – a disposition whereby a defendant after conviction of an offense, the
penalty of which does not exceed six years imprisonment, is released subject to the
conditions imposed by the releasing court and under the supervision of a probation
officer.
4. Fine – an amount given as a compensation for a criminal act.
5. Destierro – the penalty of banishing a person from the place where he committed a
crime, prohibiting him to get near or enter the 25-kilometer perimeter.

Justification of Punishment
1. Retribution – the punishment should be provided by the state whose sanction is
violated, to afford the society or the individual the opportunity of imposing upon the
offender suitable punishment as might be enforced. Offenders should be punished
because they deserve it.
2. Explanation or Atonement – it is punishment in the form of group vengeance where the
purpose is to appease the offended public or group.
3. Deterrence – punishment gives lesson to the offender by showing to others what
would happen to them if they violate the law. Punishment is imposed to warn potential
offenders that they can not afford to do what the offender has done.
4. Incapacitation and Protection – the public will be protected if the offender has being
held in conditions where he cannot harm others especially the public. Punishment is
affected by placing offenders in prison so that society will be ensured from further
criminal depredations of criminals.
5. Reformation or Rehabilitation – it is the establishment of the usefulness and
responsibility of the offender. Society’s interest can be better served by helping the
prisoner to become law-abiding citizen and productive upon his return to the community
by requiring him to undergo intensive program of rehabilitation in prison.

THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

The 18th Century is a century of change. It is the period of recognizing human dignity. It
is the movement of reformation, the period of introduction of certain reforms in the
correctional field by a certain person, gradually changing the old positive philosophy of
punishment to a more humane treatment of prisoners with innovative programs.

William Penn (1614-1718)

William Penn fought for religious freedom and individual rights. He is the first leader to
prescribe imprisonment as correctional treatment for major offenders. He is also
responsible for the abolition of death penalty and torture as a form of punishment.
Charles Montesiquieu (Charles Louis Secondat, Baron de la

Brede et de Montesiquieu) (1689-1755)

Charles Montesiquieu was a French historian and philosopher who analyzed law as an
expression of justice. He believe that harsh punishment would undermine morality and
that appealing to moral sentiments as a better means of preventing crime.

VOLTAIRE (Francois Marie Arouet) (1738-1794)

He wrote an essay entitled “An Essay on Crimes and Punishment”, the most exiting
essay on law during this century. It presented the humanistic goal of law.

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)

The greatest leader in the reform of English Criminal law. He believes that whatever
punishment designed to negate whatever pleasure or gain the criminal derives from
crime, the crime rate would go down. Bentham was the one who devise the ultimate
PANOPTICAN PRISON – a prison that consists of a large circular building containing
multi cells around the periphery.

John Howard (1726-1790)

He was sheriff of Bedsfordshire in 1773 who devoted his life and fortune to prison
reform. After his findings on English Prisons, he recommended the following: single cells
for sleeping, segregation of women, segregation of youth, provision of sanitation
facilities, abolition of fee system by which jailers obtained money from prisoners.
Pioneers of Reformation

THE REFORMATORY MOVEMENT

Alexander Mocanochie – He is the Superintendent of the penal colony at Norfolk Island in

Australia (1840) who introduced the “Mark System”. A system in which a prisoner is
required to earn a number of marks based on proper department, labor and study in
order to entitle him for a ticket for leave or conditional release which is similar to parole

Manuel Montesimos – The Director of Prisons in Valencia Spain (1835) who divided the
number of prisoners into companies and appointed certain prisoners as petty officers in
charge, which allowed good behavior to prepare the convict for gradual release.
Domets of France – established an agricultural colony for delinquent boys in 1839
providing housefathers as in charge of these boys.

Sir Evelyn Ruggles Brise – The Director of the English Prison who opened the Borstal
Institution for young offenders. The Borstal Institution is considered as the best reform
institution for young offenders today.
Walter Crofton – He is the Director of the Irish Prison in 1854 who introduced the Irish
system that was modified from the Mocanochie’s mark system.

Zebulon Brockway – The Director of the Elmira Reformatory in New York (1876) who
introduced certain innovative programs like the following: training school type,
compulsory education of prisoners, casework methods, extensive use of parole,
indeterminate sentence. The Elmira Reformatory is considered forerunner of modern
penology because it had all the elements of a modern system.