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[[File:Tower of London viewed from the River Thames.jpg|thumbnail|left|Figure 1. For the most part, prisons were not purpose built facilities in the Medieval period. One famous example from this period is the Tower of London.]]
Prisons have developed as part of society since urbanism began by about 5000 years ago. The concept of punishment has shaped how prisons have been used by society, at times acting more like a holding area for criminals before punishment, while at other times they have been used to reform criminals. The use of prisons has shifted as societies have shifted their perception of justice over the centuries, where prisons were often the most clear physical manifestation of these philosophical shifts.
Things did begin to change by 1601, after the Poor Law (1601) in England was passed. This law stipulated the establishment of houses of correction, which were facilities that provided jobs and work for those who had been convicted of petty crime or those who refused to work. In effect, it was the first law that focused on putting some form of reform on petty criminal behavior rather than use prisons as holding centers or strictly for punishment. Eventually, these correction houses were placed as part or within prisons, beginning the process of using both prisons and facilities to work in for prisoners as part of the same institution. The correction houses in the 1700s began to expand to other forms of crime, except usually severe crime such as murder. These correction houses also served as a pretrial places to put prisoners, often making them work, while they waited to be heard by a judge. The correction houses were soon established in the American colonies, particularly Massachusetts, where correction facilities and prisons soon become synonymous with jails, influencing how we use the terms today. Maryland, similarly, placed their correction houses as part of prisons, leading to similar association of the two places as part of the same establishment.<ref>For more on the significance of the Poor Law, see: Slack, P. (1995) The English poor law, 1531-1782. New studies in economic and social history. 1st Cambridge University Press ed. Cambridge ; New York, Cambridge University Press.</ref>
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====Modern Development====
[[File:Millbank Prison Plan.jpg|thumbnail|left|Figure 2. Millbank Prison was influential in its design and administration of prisoners.]]
By the 18th century, there was greater pressure to reform the idea of prisons and punishment. Soon, more crimes did not result in execution or severe punishment, but ideas of banishment to the colonies in particular became a major way Britain dealt with prisoners. With the loss of the colonies in the American Revolution, however, Britain had to find a way to place or punish many of its more petty criminals. This began the expansion of the prisons program, including greater use of correction houses, in the 18th century. The Enlightenment influenced many thinkers at this time, including how they saw prisons. The concept of rehabilitation became to be seen as one goal of prisons, where they can bring people back to "moral" behavior. This influenced the idea that prisons should be created to more adequately house people, providing better facilities for sleeping, eating, and day-to-day functions, including work in the correction houses.<ref>For more on 18th century's concept of punishment, see: McLynn, F. (1989) <i>Crime and punishment in eighteenth-century England</i>. London ; New York, Routledge.
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