From 1896 up until 1995 the Holmesburg Prison in Pennsylvania was in constant use. Much of the history at Holmesburg’s contains instances of rioting, murder, rape and even medical experimentation. Most prisons claim some violence in their past but Holmesburg’s borders on barbaric. Maybe this strong negative energy is what keeps the ghosts of Holmesburg Prison so active.
There was a hunger strike held in 1938. As a disciplinary action, the 25 leaders of the hunger strike was put in a section of the prison called the Bake Ovens or Klondike. In mid-August the heat reached 190 degrees. After 2 ½ days the doors were opened and four inmates had, according to the coroners own words, “roasted to death”. After an investigation ten officials and guards
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Kligman carried out tests tests involving toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, skin creams, detergents, liquid diets, eye drops, foot powders and hair dye. As a result the prisoners had to endure frequent painful procedures as constant biopsies to check progress. Kligman used inmates in the early testing of Retin-A as well.
The U.S Army paid Kligman in 1967 to apply chemicals that caused the skin to blister to the faces and backs of inmates. Kligman said it was to"learn how the skin protects itself against chronic assault from toxic chemicals, the so-called hardening process."
It seems the ghosts of Holmesburg Prison are still living the nightmares of the past. Neighbors have reported hearing loud screams coming from behind the large stone wall surrounding the prison. Also they claim to here sounds of gunfire and rioting and guards still standing guard in the towers on top of the wall.
Most who come to Holmesburg Prison get the impression of a heavy energy throughout the prison. It is not uncommon to hear doors slamming and hear audible voices echoing through the halls. Claims of electric devices malfunctioning and batteries draining are also a common occurrence. There are claims by guards of seeing full figure apparitions in the prison even before it closed its doors and even on the hottest days of summer, parts of the prison stay so cold it would make you
Civil rights leader and social activist Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a world renown correspondence, Letter From Birmingham Jail, in April of 1963, during a time when segregation was at it’s peak in the South. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. In response to King’s peaceful protesting, the white community viewed “[his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist,” and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). King specifically wrote to the white clergymen who had earlier addressed a letter to him as to why he was apprehended, in which they argued that his actions were untimely and unconstitutional. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive.
All prisoners from the concentration camps suffered in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Failure to comply meant one’s own death, and death of any individual would not stop the Nazi officers from finding others to do the job. To say any victim was worse off than others would be to belittle their suffering; suffering itself is not a competition. Tadeusz Borowski’s story is said to be “one of the cruelest of testimonies to what man did to man, and a pitiless verdict that anything can be done to a human being” (Borowski 12). Borowski’s disturbing account depicts the atrocities of victims-turned-executioner.
The warden and some guards were injured by a shotgun discharge so the inmates knew they were in for the long run. This meant for an extremely long lockdown period. Four and a half months to be exact. Showers
Once they were in that cage they were not tolerated to have contact with anyone whatsoever and no other meal but bread and water. In the dark cell room the prisoners were also stripped down to their underwear and sometimes the prison guards would throw snakes into the cage. A punishment that a prison would extort them if they tried to escape is being changed to the ground outside of the wall, not being able to move or have any contact with other prisoners. There were never any executions at the prison, but there were about 111 people that died there serving time at the prison. Most of the bodies that were at the prison that had died at the prison were due at the back.
This was a common source of disease and other health problems. Once people died, corpses were left lying around all day until someone finally took them from the camp(Ransom). Along with these problems prisoners had to deal with fellow prisoners who looted and stole. Some prisoners died because they lost their food, clothing or other possessions. These terrible conditions killed thousands of
It brings me much grief that I must be the bringer of terrible news, but then again it must be said and so I continue. Our fellow humans are being tortured and we have done nothing about it. I recently learned about a man named Sebastian Richardson. Richardson is 51 years old. Richardson is apparently one of many who are faced with horrendous abuse and brutal treatment brought upon him by the justice system.
The condition and mismanagement of Andersonville prison, also known as Camp Sumter, cause thousands of Union deaths. John L Ransom, an Union soldier in his twenties, was captured in 1863 by the Confederacy and sent to Andersonville prison. In his early days in the prison he started writing a diary in which he described his day-to-day life in Andersonville. He explained the food given to the prisoners got less in quantity and bad in quality. To avoid prisoners from escaping, any prisoner who lingered around the prison walls resulted in getting shot immediately.
Oddly enough we all assume that behind prison walls there is an element of misery and gloom to all the prisoners who are incarcerated there. In San Quentin Giants, by Clayton Worfolk, we see a different side of prison life that doesn’t portray the convicted murderers as harshly as most modern movies or documentaries. I give San Quentin Giants a big thumbs up. In this short movie that thoroughly uses scene, lighting, space and characters to take viewers on a walk through the incarcerated world that unexpectedly hits your conceptions of a maximum security prison right out of the ball park.
Halfway through the 18th century, the United States was serving as a model for prisons. Dix was revolutionary in reforming prisons. She convinced states to invest in libraries, basic education, and more care for the men, women, and even children imprisoned in the jails and penitentiaries whereas abuse regularly occurred (Parry). Pennsylvania was a key role model for prisons all over the United States. This state’s prisons were known for having “two of the best prisons in the world” (“Prison and Asylum
Major Ethical Issues of Solitary Confinement Solitary confinement can affect a person’s physical and mental health simply because it deprives an individual of their need to interact with others on a daily basis. Solitary confinement, which is used to restrain violent and volatile inmates from the general prison population, is done in increments ranging from several months to years. In an article retrieved from the American Psychological Association, ‘Alone, in ‘the Hole’’, the author states that, “for most of the 20th century, prisoners' stays in solitary confinement were relatively short.” This was the standing rule, in which inmates visited what is known as ‘the hole’, for several weeks to months. As time went by, the average length of stay
Everyone who has learned about World War II should know about the Holocaust. The Holocaust was during the same period of World War II. “What is it called the Holocaust?” you may ask. The Holocaust originates from the Greek language and means “completely burnt offering to God.”
The city of Yuma, Arizona is not a city that catches tourists eyes a lot, but every once in a while it does and one of the reasons people notice Yuma is because of the Yuma Territorial Prison. The Yuma Territorial Prison has been through thick and thin and is still standing today, a century and a half later(Murphy 1). The prison is no longer functioning, but it still manages to lure people in, not by breaking the law, but by its historical significance. The prison is unique in design and the impact it has had not just in Yuma, but in Arizona as a whole. The Yuma Territorial Prison today, as a museum, allows people to examine the design of the prison and how it reflects the time and place it was built, the negative effects the prison has caused
This experiment was conducted in Stanford University by Dr. Zimbardo. During this two week long session, Dr. Zimbardo had several volunteers agree to act as prisoners and as prison guards. The prisoners were told to wait in their houses while the guards were to set up the mock prison, a tactic used by Dr. Zimbardo to make them fit into their roles more. The official police apprehended the students assigned to the role of prisoner from their homes, took mug shots, fingerprinted them, and gave them dirty prison uniforms. The guards were given clean guard uniforms, sunglasses, and billy clubs borrowed from the police.
The worst part of the prison had to be the Dark Cell. The dark Cell was used as a punishment for the prisoners that would disobey orders or just cause trouble. Depending on what the prisoners did determines how long they stay in the dark cell. Many have stayed for days, weeks, and even months. The dark cell was very narrow you can not stand up straight in there because of how narrow it is.
The thorough analysis of text leaves no doubt that a prison is a model of a whole society, containing its own relations of subjugation and leadership. As well as in real life, the leadership can be either formal or informal. Prison guards and wardens represent the first one. They have formal legal appointment and