Brockway, Zebulon Reed

Zebulon Reed Brockway, 1827–1920, American penologist, b. Lyme, Conn. As superintendent of the House of Correction in Detroit, he tried to introduce in 1869 the indeterminate sentence for first offenders. His ideas were incorporated in a Michigan statute but were nullified by the courts. In New York, he organized the first state reformatory for adult males, built at Elmira, and was its first superintendent (1876–1900). He introduced a system of military training, physical training, education, and trade instruction, with incentives to good behavior. The success of his Elmira experiments led to the introduction of the indeterminate sentence in other states. He wrote Fifty Years of Prison Service (1912).

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Publication information: Article title: Brockway, Zebulon Reed. Encyclopedia title: The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. © 2012 The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. Used with the permission of Columbia University Press. All Rights Reserved. Publisher: The Columbia University Press. Place of publication: Not available. Publication year: 2013.

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