Vermont daily transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1868-1870, 1869-04-06
From the Now York Sun.
The Horrors Of Sing sing.

inc nldcOuS atrocities 10 Wn)Cn the
Gagged prisoners in the state Prison at
Sing Sing have been repeatedly subject
cd by mcrciess iailors have often been
EXPOSED i'm the colu nns of the Sun but
the latest outrage, in which Dean, the
helpless convict, was showered to death,
indicates that no reasonable hope or re-
form, in which humanity" shall be an
element, can be entertained so long rs
the present keepers, or Il majority of
them, are heldin office. Ofcourse, the
outrage had to be investigated, for
De II did not apparently die natural
death nor was his life taken according
to Jaw. So the Coroner of the county,
Mr.. McEntee, held an inquest on the
body yesterday ard took volumes of
testimony, which charitably convicted
nobody.
The first witness examined, DR.. Win.
III. Helm, one of the physicians of the
prison, swore that shortly after the
death of the convict, the body showed
signs of putrefaction. He found the
lungs and liver entirely healthy. The
stomach was empty. He knew moth
ing about the showering in the prison.
THE CONVICT UNDER MEDICAL TREAT
MENT.
DR.. j. G. Collins, another physician
of the prison, deposed that the murdered
prisoner had been under his treatment,
and was admitted three times TO the hos
pital and discharged, and each time he
had cramps and spasmodic laborious
breathing. He was admitted to the
hospital on the morning before his
death, suffering cramps and asthmatic
pains. AT three o'clock the next NOR
he was taken with a choking sensation,
~ IL a a
He then became unconscious, and re-
manned so until death. He died on the
18th of March, at IL am. Witness was
unable to form any opinion as to the
cause of his death.
KEEPERS PLAYING WITH DEATH AND
TIE SHOWER BATH.
The doctor then deposed: l am ac
Quainted with the process of showering
convicts only know by hearsay that
Dean was showered previous TO his
death he died in forty-eight hours after
being show red the showering was
not the cause of The admission Of Dean
to the hospital there is no established
rule to be observed in showering con-
victs other than furnishing them until
they submit; case might arise where
the convict would not submit, then the
1 always considered it my duty to be
present when a convict is showered if |
am notified; | am told that it is the
duty of the keeper to inform me | do
not think it was dangerous to shower
Dean if the effects of shOwering are
not Immediately nc liable they would
not produce death for some time.
DESCRIPTION OF A MURDERoUs SHOWER.
Park Hyland, substitute keeper in the
prison where Dean was shOwerd, testi-
fled that he saw Buckingham and Dean
near the kneeling room, and Dean SEEM
ed to be offering resistance to the keeper;
he followed them to the principa! keep
er's office; when they reached there,
Buckingham ordered Dean to undrcss
himself; Dean said he wouldn't do it
until he could see the Doctor, | dom
know which; Buckingham then said -;
II tell you to take off your clothes. "and
walked towards Dean; the latter took
off his clothes and entered the shower
bath; the keeper Buckingham then
"pulled the string" and while the water
was running on the convict l stepped
into the shOwering-room; Buckingham
asked Dean what he meant by the re-
| mark he had made in the shop; Dean
made 10 reply; Buckingham then
asked him If he could behave himself AZ
man ought; Dean still kept silent,
| when Buckingham "pulled the string
again eXclamed: "You'll fix me will you
you scCundrel?"
FLoGGING A SICK PRISONER.
When Dean left the bath, and when
he refused to answer second question
Buckingham took o "cat' ian instru.
ment of punishment composed of three
or four strands of rOpe) and struck Dean
with it several times; then asked Buck
ingham what the matter was; he replied
that the convict wished to go see the
principal eeper about cap;" he Buck
ingham, had denied him the privilege
when Dean, using a profane epithet
said I'll fix you for this" the cOnvic
was naked from the time he left the
shower bath until the "catting" wa.
over he was then dressed and takel
away by Buckingham.
| VERDICT-NOBODY TO BLAME.
The jury at the close of the testimony
rendered the following happy verdict:
ave find that the convict Montague
Dean came to his death after an illness
in the prison hospital of some five hours
from causes ur known to the jury, and
we lad no evidence to show that any
prison rule or practice had been violated
Washington Correspondence Of Cincinnati
Commercial.