John
Howard, the
son of a successful businessman, was born in Hackney, London,
on 2nd September, 1726. His mother died soon after his birth and so
John was sent away to boarding school in Hertford.
When he was sixteen John Howard's father died
leaving him enough money to live a life of leisure. Howard spent his
time travelling around the world. In 1756 the ship he was on was captured
by the French. After spending time in a French prison, Howard was
eventually released. Howard was shocked by the condition of dungeon
in which he was imprisoned and when he arrived back in England he
sent a report to the authorities detailing the sufferings of his fellow
prisoners.
On 25th April 1758 John
Howard married Henrietta Leeds. The marriage was successful and over
the next couple of years Howard spent his time erecting high-quality
cottages for his estate workers and their families. Howard was devastated
when his wife died giving birth to their first child in 1765.
Howard returned to travelling the world but while
in Naples
in 1770 he had a
religious experience which resulted in him making a promise to God
that he would do whatever was required of him. Howard now became a
devout Congregationalist. As
a result of the Test Act
passed in 1673, Howard was not allowed to hold civil or military office.
However, when he was invited in February 1773, to become High Sheriff
of Bedford, he accepted the post as he saw it as a way to serve God.
One of Howard's responsibilities as High Sheriff was to inspect the
county prison. He was appalled by what he found at Bedford Gaol. At
first Howard believed that the suffering of the prisoners was largely
being caused by the system where the gaoler received money from the
prisoner for his board and lodging. Howard suggested to Bedford justices
that the gaoler should be paid a salary. The justices were unwilling
to increase the cost of looking after prisoners and replied that the
whole country used the same system.
Howard decided to carry out a tour of neighbouring prisons to see
if this was the case. He discovered that all the prisons he visited
were as bad if not worse that Bedford Gaol. Over the next three years
travelled over 10,000 miles collecting information about the conditions
in prisons. On 4th March 1774 he gave some of the evidence
that he had collected to the House of Commons.
As a result of the testimony that John Howard provided, Parliament
passed the 1774 Gaol Act. The terms of this
legislation abolished gaolers' fees and suggested ways for improving
the sanitary state of prisons and the better preservation of the health
of the prisoners. Although Howard had copies of these acts printed
and sent to every prison in England, the justices and the gaolers
tended to ignore these new measures.
In 1775 Howard
began a tour of foreign prisons. Over the next few years he visited
prisons in France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal,
Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Switzerland,
Malta, Asia Minor and Turkey. Although most of these prisons were
as bad as those in England, Howard did find one that was far superior,
Maison
de Force in Ghent.
He now used Maison de Force as an example of what other British prisons
should be like. When Howard returned to England he began a second
tour of its prisons to see if the reforms of the 1774
Gaol Act were being implemented.
In 1777 Howard published the result of his investigations, The
State of Prisons in England and Wales, with an Account of some Foreign
Prisons. The contents of Howard's book was so shocking
that in some countries, such as France, the authorities refused to
allow it to be published. Howard continued to inspect prisons and
in March 1787 he completed his fourth tour of those in England. This
was followed by the publication of An Account
of the Principal Lazarettos in Europe and Additional Remarks on the
Present State of Prisons in Great Britain and Ireland.
In 1789 Howard set out once again to tour foreign prisons. He visited
Holland and Germany and by December was in Russia. John
Howard contracted typhus while visiting a military Russian
hospital at Kherston and died on 20th January, 1790.
(1)
John Howard, The State of the Prisons in England and Wales
(1777)
When
I was Sheriff of the county of Bedford, and the circumstances which
excited me to activity in their behalf was the seeing, some - who
by the verdict of juries were declared not guilty; some on whom the
Grand Jury did not find such an appearance of guilt as subjected them
to trial; and some - whose prosecutors did not appear against them;
after having been confined for months; dragged back to gaol and locked
up again till they should pay sundry fees to the gaoler, the clerk
of assize, etc.
(2)
John
Howard, The State of the Prisons in England and Wales (1777)
Food:
Many criminals are half starved: some come out almost famished, scarce
able to move, and for weeks incapable of any labour.
Bedding: In many gaols, and in most bridewells, there is no allowance
of bedding or straw for prisoners to sleep on. Some lie upon rags,
others upon the bare floor.
Use of Irons: Loading prisoners with heavy irons which make their
walking, and even lying down to sleep, difficult and painful, is another
custom which I cannot but condemn. Even the women do not escape this
severity.
The Insane: It some few gaols are confined idiots and lunatics. Where
these are not kept separate, they distract and terrify other prisoners.
(3)
John
Howard, The State of the Prisons in England and Wales (1777)
Knaresboro Prison: Earth floor: no fire; very offensive; a common
sewer from the town running through it uncovered. I was informed that
an officer, confined here some years since, took in with him a dog
to defend him from vermin; but the dog was soon destroyed and the
prisoner's face much disfigured.
Plymouth Gaol: Three rooms for felons, etc., and two rooms over them
for debtors. One of the former, the clink, 15 feet by 8 feet 3 inches
and about 6 feet high, with a wicket in the door 7 inches by 5 to
admit light and air. To this, as I was informed, three men, who were
confined near two months under sentence for transportation, came by
turns for breath.
(4)
John
Howard, The State of the Prisons in England and Wales (1777)
When
a gentleman, particularly a magistrate, has come with an intention
to visit the gaol, the keeper has pretended the utmost willingness
to accompany him, but at the same time has artfully dropped a hint
that he fears there may be some danger in it, as he is apprehensive
that the fever has made its appearance among them. The visitor, alarmed,
returns thanks for the kind caution, and instantly leaves the prison.
I have always insisted on the necessity of a close inspection; and
have generally found the prison very dirty, indeed, and out of order,
but no fever.
(5)
Edmund
Burke, speech in Bristol (1780)
John Howard has visited all Europe - not to survey the sumptuousness
of palaces, or the stateliness of temples; or to make accurate measurements
of the remains of ancient grandeur, to form a scale of the curiosity
of modern art; not to collect medals or collate manuscripts - but
to dive into the depths of dungeons and plunge to the infection of
hospitals; to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain; to take the
gauge and measure of misery, depression and contempt; to remember
the forgotten, to attend to the neglected, to visit the forsaken,
and compare and collate the miseries of all men in all countries.
His plan is original; and it is full of genius as it is of humanity.
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