Frédéric-Auguste Demetz
Encyclopedia
Frédéric-Auguste Demetz was a French penal reformer and jurist
. He toured the United States in 1836, together with the architect Guillaume-Abel Blouet
, to study progressive American prison architecture and administration for the French Ministry of the Interior. Upon their return, they published a detailed and laudatory report. The result was Blouet's appointment as Inspecteur général des prisons in 1838, and a prison farm
for juvenile offenders at Mettray
, on the outskirts of Tours
, founded in 1839; it was conceived by both men and directed by Demetz, as a prison without walls, with the backing of the vicomte de Bretignières de Courteilles.
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
. He toured the United States in 1836, together with the architect Guillaume-Abel Blouet
Guillaume-Abel Blouet
Guillaume-Abel Blouet was a French architect who specialised in prison design.-Biography:Blouet was born at Passy. He won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1821 at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, entitling him to five years' study at the French Academy in Rome...
, to study progressive American prison architecture and administration for the French Ministry of the Interior. Upon their return, they published a detailed and laudatory report. The result was Blouet's appointment as Inspecteur général des prisons in 1838, and a prison farm
Prison farm
A prison farm is a large correctional facility where penal labor convicts are put to economical use in a 'farm' , usually for manual labour, largely in open air, such as in agriculture, logging, quarrying, etc...
for juvenile offenders at Mettray
Mettray
Mettray is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France....
, on the outskirts of Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
, founded in 1839; it was conceived by both men and directed by Demetz, as a prison without walls, with the backing of the vicomte de Bretignières de Courteilles.