[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Disposal of Prison Inmate Files



These are some interesting perspectives on the value of inmate files.  In
retrospect, perhaps I shouldn't have used the word "sampling" in my
original e-mail - the term is used ambiguously in archival literature to
mean either:

1. any method whereby some files are systematically selected for retention
from a series of records, or
2. the selection of a random sample of files

I had the first meaning in mind when I sent my question to the list.  I
have since received replies from 6 different archival institutions, and
none of these rely solely on random sampling to decide which inmate files
to retain.  Those that do use random sampling complement this by also
retaining a selection of exceptional cases, such as people serving life
sentences.  This is probably the approach I will recommend for New Zealand.

To return to the example quoted by Marvin Huggins, there are a couple of
strategies that archivists could use to ensure that cases such as the one
he describes are retained:

1.  Retain all files on inmates who are sentenced to a particular term in
jail, such as 7 years or more.  15 years in jail is a long sentence by any
standard, and would almost certainly be included in such a "sample"
2.  Retain all files on inmates who committed particular offences.  Rape is
a serious offence which would almost certainly be included in a list of
offences for retention

As archivists, we could choose which of these approaches to use, depending
on which was easier to implement, and likely to be most effective.  It is
also possible to use other special characteristics as the basis for
retention decisions.  For example, we could choose to retain all files on
ethnic minorities, to enable researchers to study the experiences of a
particular minority group in the prison system.  If it was decided to
retain all files on German immigrants, this would again ensure the
retention of this file.  Finally, we could choose to retain files on all
inmates who died in custody, as this is another sub-group of particular
interest to researchers.  For practical reasons, I doubt we would be able
to implement either of these approaches in New Zealand, but they are worth
considering.

I should probably add that the archival institutions which were using
sampling also retained all files before a grandparent date.  This date
often related to the introduction of an electronic database containing
summary details on each offender.  This provides a measure of comfort to
future genealogical researchers - there should be some kind of record of
their ancestor's time in jail, even if it is only an electronic summary
record.  If their ancestor did commit a "major" crime, then their file
should also be retained under the kind of "exceptional selection" approach
outlined above.

Matthew Hockey
Archivist, Appraisal
National Archives of New Zealand





"Marvin A. Huggins" <mhuggins@CHI.LCMS.ORG>@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU> on
01/08/2000 06:20:05 AM

Please respond to Archives & Archivists <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>

Sent by:  Archives & Archivists <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>


To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
cc:

Subject:  Re: Disposal of Prison Inmate Files


May I share a personal story regarding an inmate file that for me speaks
against the practice of sampling such records? That practice takes no
account of the fact that records deal with people.

My great-grandfather, a German immigrant who could apparently speak very
little English, died in the Kansas State Penitentiary in 1900 in his early
60s. He had been sentenced in 1891 to a term of 15 years for raping his
daughter. I had located the standard court records that gave the bare facts
of the case in the county courthouse. But I found a prison inmate file on
him in the Kansas State Historical Society that put a human face on the
man.
The documents in that file indicated that he had indeed committed the
crime,
according to a petition from his lawyer for a pardon. He had gotten drunk
at
a "German picnic." The pastor of his church had apparently advised him to
plead guilty, making him think that if he did so, he would be pardoned or
given probation. Such was not the case. The file also contained several
petitions from townspeople asking the governor to pardon him because of his
age and health. His wife had died in childbirth and there were minor
children. The last of those petitions included the name of the daughter he
had violated, the county sheriff, the mayor of the town and the prosecuting
attorney. There were also letters in his behalf from the state senator and
state representative from his home county. And there was a letter he had
written himself indicating his regret over what he had done and noting that
he had been a model prisoner. He was even a trustee, allowed to go into
town
by himself to pick up the mail for the prison. For reasons I have not
discovered, probably political, no pardon was issued, and he died a couple
of years later.

A records sampling program undoubtedly would have destroyed this file. A
strong human interest story would have been lost.

Marvin


==========================
Marvin A. Huggins
Associate Director
Concordia Historical Institute
801 DeMun Avenue
Saint Louis, MO 63105
314-505-7921
email: mhuggins@chi.lcms.org
web: http://chi.lcms.org/



-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Virta [mailto:avirta@BOISESTATE.EDU]
Sent: Friday, 28 July, 2000 03:54 PM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Re: Disposal of Prison Inmate Files


The thread on prison inmate files seemed to die out a couple of weeks ago,
but I have been away from the office and still wanted to add a note despite
the late date.
My repository (Boise State University Library in Boise, Idaho) does not
have
prison inmate files, but I am familiar several research projects involving
such files from the Idaho State Penitentiary that are part of the Idaho
State Archives at the Idaho State Historical Society.  At least through the
1950s, they have kept all of the inmate files.  And what a treasure trove
it
is.  Genealogists and local historians use them.   I know of three uses by
researchers doing social history investigations.  One was investigating the
incarcerations for Prostitution to write a history of prostitution in
Boise;
another looked at all the cases of imprisonment for Abortion (either as the
woman or abortion provider) to write a masters thesis; and another examined
the files of all men imprisoned for the "infamous crime against nature"
(sodomy)  up through the 1950s to see if they were consenting adults being
prosecuted or child molesters. They also shed light on the social history
of
minority groups, whose histories were not recorded in the written history
books of the 19th and early 20th centuries.   All these avenues of research
could not have been accomplished here in Idaho had the files been sampled
and most of them destroyed.   The great mass of prison records, especially
in states and countries larger than Idaho must be daunting; but fortunately
the full set of inmate files are preserved here.  (In theory,
theinvestigators in the above cases could have consulted court records, but
they are decentralized in the 44 county courthouses, and preservation of
old
records varies widely from county to conty.  Were it not for the
centralized
inmante files in the state archives, the research would have been virtually
impossible. )

Alan Virta, Head of Special Collections
Boise State University, Albertsons Library (Boise, Idaho)

>>> Matthew.Hockey@DIA.GOVT.NZ 07/13/00 17:49 PM >>>
I am an appraisal archivist at the National Archives of New Zealand, and I
am currently developing a disposal schedule for prison inmate files.  I
would be very interested to know how other archives are dealing with these
files - in particular, whether sampling is used to select files for
retention, and if so what kind of sampling plan is followed.

If there are any current schedules covering prison inmate files, I would be
interested to see these, as well as any appraisal reports which would
explain the reasons for the sampling method used.

Please e-mail me at Matthew.Hockey@dia.govt.nz
<mailto:Matthew.Hockey@dia.govt.nz>.  Alternatively, you can write to me at
National Archives, PO Box 12 050, Wellington, New Zealand.

Thanks!

Matthew Hockey
National Archives of New Zealand
PO Box 12 050
Wellington
Ph 64 4 499 5595
Fax 64 4 495 6210
Web: http://www.archives.govt.nz

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>