American penal system named after Elmira Reformatory, in New York. In 1876 Zebulon R. Brockway became an innovator in the reformatory movement by establishing Elmira Reformatory for young felons. Brockway was much influenced by the mark system, developed in Australia by Alexander Maconochie, whereby credits, or marks, were awarded for good behaviour, a certain number of marks being required for release. To this system Brockway added a new regimen of moral, physical, and vocational training. The Elmira system classified and separated various types of prisoners, gave them individualized treatment emphasizing vocational training and industrial employment, used indeterminate sentences, rewarded good behaviour, and paroled inmates under supervision.

Elmira Reformatory gave the reformatory movement two important philosophical tenets: first, the importance of specialized care for youthful offenders, recognizing both the individuality of prisoners and their similarity; second, the recognition that up to a certain age every criminal ought to be regarded as potentially a good citizen. This reformatory ideology gradually entered the U.S. prison system and also affected European correctional practices. See also mark system.