John Augustus (1785-June 21, 1859) was a
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
boot maker who is called the "Father of
Probation
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration.
In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
" in the United States because of his pioneering efforts to campaign for more lenient sentences for convicted
criminals
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
based on their backgrounds.
Life
Augustus' interest in prisoner rehabilitation began in 1841, when he was touched by the case of a man arrested for
public intoxication and paid his
bail
Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required.
In some countries ...
, moving the judge to set the man free. Thus began Augustus' practice of paying peoples' bail. Augustus' success rate could rival - and possibly surpass - the success rate of any rehabilitation program available today. His work brought him the devotion and aid of many Boston
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
s and organizations. Augustus' success started him on an 18-year run as the first
probation officer
A probation and parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probati ...
. At his death, it was noted that of the 2,000 people he helped, only four proved unworthy (for which he forfeited bail).
John Augustus, Father of Probation, and the Anonymous Letter - Federal Probation
, ''A Journal of Correctional Philosophy and Practice'' - Vol. 70 Number 1]
Augustus died on 21 June 1859 in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts.
See also
* Matthew Davenport Hill
Matthew Davenport Hill (6 August 1792 – 7 June 1872) was an English lawyer and prison reform campaigner and MP.
Life
Hill was born at Birmingham, where his father, Thomas Wright Hill, for long conducted the private schools Hazelwood and Bruce ...
* Alexander Maconochie (penal reformer)
Alexander Maconochie (11 February 1787 – 25 October 1860) was a Scottish naval officer, geographer, and penal reformer.
In 1840, Maconochie became the Governor of Norfolk Island, a prison island where convicts were treated with severe brut ...
* Massachusetts Probation Service
References
External links
New York Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives - History of Probation: Meet John Augustus
New York City Department of Probation - Brief History of Probation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Augustus, John
Shoemakers
1785 births
1859 deaths
People from Boston