The New International Encyclopædia/Elmira Reformatory

ELMIRA REFORMATORY. An institution situated in Elmira, N. Y. It is the State reformatory for men between the ages of sixteen and thirty, who have not been previously committed to a State prison. Regarding the term of imprisonment the law states: “Every sentence . . . shall be a general sentence to imprisonment in the New York State Reformatory at Elmira and the courts of this State . . . imposing such sentence shall not fix or limit the duration thereof. The term of such imprisonment . . . shall be terminated by the managers of the reformatory, . . . but such imprisonment shall not exceed the maximum term provided by law for the crime for which the prisoner was convicted and sentenced.” (Laws of 1877, sec. 2, c. 173.) The institution was opened in 1876, though the law authorizing it was enacted in 1866. Its establishment introduced a new era in prison science. It has had great success and has been widely copied. In comprehensiveness and adaptation of training to individual needs it is unequaled. It has cared for 9000 prisoners. The average number of inmates in 1901 was 1500, and the average yearly cost per inmate $140. See Brockway, Z. R.; Penology; Reformatories. Consult: Winter, The Elmira Reformatory (New York, 1891); Wines, Punishment and Reformation (New York, 1895); and the Year Books of the Reformatory.