Moving forward...

Eastern State Penitentiary was and remains a highly controversial prison. What started off as a hopeful first step into a more humane prison reform system ended in inmates rioting, going insane, and the prison’s eventual closure. Eastern State’s reform system was not the final solution to the United States’ incarceration problems but forwarded the narrative and development of the nation’s and world’s reform strategies. Its revolutionary system inspired other prisons around the world to follow suit. We have presented the data analyses from information obtained from Eastern State’s admission books to determine its implementation and success rate of literacy and religious education. While we presented statistical data and analysis which demonstrates an effective change in literacy and religious beliefs in inmates, we do not wish to end with an absolute conclusion of whether Eastern State’s “penitence” reform approach was definitely successful or unsuccessful. Instead, we hope to share with others an important event within the history of the U.S. criminal justice system and encourage a continual conversation and interest in our country’s current criminal justice system.