ABSTRACT

On the 27 April 1853, in the Birmingham borough prison, a fifteen-year-old prisoner, Edward Andrews, killed himself. His death led to a Royal Commission which explored the operation of the prison since its opening in 1849. Over thirteen days magistrates, the prison’s officers, guards and former and serving prisoners gave evidence in public. The commission’s 531-page report provided a remarkable and unique insight into life in the prison. This paper provides a detailed account of events in Birmingham and the political context that enabled such a thorough investigation. It highlights the contributions of the radical Birmingham Councillor, Joseph Allday, and Home Secretary, Viscount Palmerston, to explain why an investigation took place. Whilst previous accounts have blamed the abuses on the regime of ‘terror’ of the prison’s second governor, William Austin, this article argues that their origins can be traced back to the reformative regime of the first governor, Alexander Maconochie.

摘要

1853年4月27日，在伯明翰区监狱中，一名15岁的囚犯爱德华·安德鲁斯自杀。他的去世导致皇家委员会对监狱的运作进行了探索，该监狱自1849年开放以来一直在运作。在十三天的治安法官的陪同下，监狱的官员，警卫以及前任和在职囚犯在公开场合提供了证据。该委员会531页的报告提供了对监狱生活的非凡而独特的见解。本文详细介绍了伯明翰发生的事件以及政治背景，从而进行了透彻的调查。它突出了激进的伯明翰市议员约瑟夫·阿迪（Joseph Allday）和内政大臣帕尔默斯顿子爵的贡献，以解释为什么进行调查。尽管先前的报道将这种虐待归咎于监狱第二任州长的“恐怖”政权，