Thomas Mott Osborne

Thomas Mott Osborne (born September 23, 1859, Auburn, New York, U.S.—died October 20, 1926, Auburn) was an American penologist whose inauguration of self-help programs for prisoners through Mutual Welfare Leagues functioned as a model for the humanitarian programs of later penologists.

Osborne served two terms on the Auburn Board of Education and in 1903 was elected mayor of Auburn, serving one term. In 1913 he became chairman of the New York State Commission on Prison Reform, a post that inspired him to spend a week in Auburn Prison as “Tom Brown” to learn about conditions firsthand. Convinced thereby that (in the British statesman W.E. Gladstone’s phrase) “it is liberty alone that fits men for liberty,” he founded a Mutual Welfare League of the Auburn prisoners, which assumed such responsibilities as forming committees to judge violators of prison rules and to plan entertainment events.

Osborne was warden (1914–15 and 1916) of Sing Sing State Prison (now Sing Sing Correctional Facility) in Sing Sing (now Ossining), New York, and commander (1917–20) of the Portsmouth Naval Prison in New Hampshire; he instituted a Mutual Welfare League in both places. His administration at Sing Sing was a stormy one, culminating in an indictment by the Westchester County Grand Jury for perjury and neglect of duty. Because of his legal struggles, Osborne stepped down as warden in 1915. The charges, however, were dismissed, and Osborne resumed his post at Sing Sing in 1916 only to resign later that year. Osborne wrote many books on penology and founded a national society for dissemination of penal information.