Chain Gangs and how they relate to Foccault's Discipline and Punish

CHAIN GANGS


“The use of prisoners in public works, cleaning city streets or repairing the highways, was practiced in Austria, Switzerland and certain (areas) of the United States, such as Pennsylvania. These convicts,distinguished by their 'infamous dress' and shaven heads, 'were brought before the public,” (Foucault p.8).
In the above statement Foucault is describing a form of public spectacle that prison systems used called chain gangs. The name “chain gang”, refers to prisoners being chained together at the legs to reduce the chance of escaping. The convicts had to wear the chains at all times even while they were at work or asleep (Wilson, p.70) The chains could only be removed with a cold chisel upon the prisoner’s release from the gang.
The inmates were displayed in public, forced to work in harsh environments, as a form of humiliation. Inmates were controlled by whips and other cruel forms of retribution. Prisoner’s were “encumbered with iron ...