As a trained lawyer, Tocqueville could not be completely indifferent to the prison system. The interest in American prisons, which was cited as the official reason for the trip to America, was therefore more than just a useful pretext to apply for a paid suspension from service. The fact that Tocqueville was actually interested in the prison issue as such is shown, among other things, by the reports he wrote for parliament and the speeches he gave in parliament. At least this interest was present until 1848, when Tocqueville was appointed chairman of a commission that was to deal, among other things, with the question of introducing prison work.