Abstract
Situation of the Rize Prison in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
The Ottoman State changed its attitude towards crime and methods of punishment due to legal arrangements made after the Edict of Gülhane. In this context, mahbes, which were the places the criminals were put until their punishments were determined, were converted to prisons and new prisons were built and a modern penal system was organised. The Rize Prison, which was presumedly built in the middle of the 19th century, was in center town of Lazistan sanjak. The Rize Prison had very confined space with only four wards and these inadequate conditions became especially unsuitable healthwise when the number of prisoners increased. In this period, although a new prison building was planned to be constructed, this plan couldn’t be executed due to financial difficulties. In the last quarter of the 19th century, modern prison buildings were constructed and a set of new arrangements about female prisoners were made. After the Edict of Gülhane, within the scope of legal arrangements, there were plans for women's prisons, but due to financial distress that the Ottoman States was in, only parts of existing prison buildings were reserved for female prisoners. When there was no suitable place for female prisoners in new or existing prisons, prisons for women were established by renting.
Keywords
Rize, Prison, Public Order, Crime, Punishment