The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-12-30
HORRORS OF TIE DUNGEON.
srBr wtY or THE 1RdNs0REssOR rs
UARD-. .dDMITTdNtE 20 CENTS"

ming C.~pared TO Solitary Connne ssent.
Ma quarter past 0 o'clock on Monday
morning last when Overseer 7. A. Arnold went
through the corridors Of the wethersnold state
Prison experimenting the collection OF tin
,aps in which the convicts breakfasts were to
b. given out he found that Joseph H. Phillips.
inmate Of cell No. 6s. had taken out the stout
pece Of cord in the hem Of his mattress. looped
IL about his neck. fastened 1t to the second bar
Of his door above the lock. and dropping for
ward hal deliberately strangled himself to
donth He was i've foct and nine inches in
Ne.sht. and the bar to which he suspended him.
self was but nine inches from the floor. The in
convenience OF these relative proportions was
demonstrated by the attitude in which he was
found pitched forward. with his knees resting
on the no1f.
Jo.cph WAS n bad man. q criminal both by
Inheritance and education. In fact criminality
WA about the only education he had. He could
not road or write; his experiences Of life had
bscn 'onincd in the narrow range OF rural OK
lslcn "a IA Massachusetts ana Connecticut: his
porocp4vc faculties were dul'. and his reason
seenici confined to the simple processes of IN
venting means. criminal or otherwise for the
sratn alton Of his animal appct.tcs. An episode
In his life IA farm laborcr about SUM I'D. Conn.
vas HE f,r'ibl, entry into the house of n lonely
old man. whom he beat almost to death and
robted in the spring Of 1876. For that offence
he wes put into Hartford Jail whore he was n
rcb,lllous and troublesome prisoner. After due
trial h. wins convicted and scntcn rcd to the State
prison for term of seven years. He
sciyoi there on July IA. 1876. and at that time
isured On the register IA II years old and a
native VI Massachusetts.
In going to the State prison at wethersfcid.
Joseph might. to some degree at least. be con-
sdercd as entering the halls Of his ancestors.
Hls father Otis Phillips. a native Of Somcrs.
Tolland county. Conn. served three years
term In this Institution for burglary. Since his
discharge in s52 the old mnn has dappoarcd.
In the vice and Ignorance Of his son. however.
he lived again. rs far as the taxpayers ~ Con
NJ tirut we're ron rcrncd. How much further
ba,k ne claims of the Phillips family upon the
h -phal;ies of penal institutions extend Is not
definitely known. as their records nre clouded
n some oisnry. but II is currently beloved
that Jos ph's grandfather poss 'ssed those
loose ideqs OF ,hs l9wS ol msum and and
aS raiher WI u interest % than '" " o'rion' 8''' in
the comm untics in which he lived. Concerning
froiahly Joseph was the last Of his branch .oi
the Phillips Mohegans. At all events. no rela-
tive has appeared since, he was arrested,
rI%S Ieiicr n'0''' has ever sent "'" '"e''"sV O'
Thr punishment record q the prison does not
ford Jail he had a Ave days experience OF tho
dark cell as consequence OF his assaulting an
on rdHa am his s'ien 1w Ts ems ue 10
he enough ior him for quite long time On
S sS sS Srss he SaTs S! h sSs Ia o@
prisoner. and being impudent TO the guard
about il. April s. 1877. he was again in'arcc-
making d'sturSsncs in ,hs Rai Then he went
along well until Dec. T. 1877 when he was given
ns & Ss wo2R %hsa out sTs h Rss
on working as well and checrlully, as he could
until the saturday before his suicide,
WhAv IN h l.
was good and his frame seemed quite rugged.
But In time he became shattered. physically and
or t mn Cn'n N eHlSra ns afsn aS nr
Eion. and 70 occasional hemorrhagcs from the
the Shoe shop was as not not severe but he finally
brought himself to such cond ton II weak
ncss that any exertion became insupportahle.
Thsn he hanged himself in the Stiffness 81 tho
early morning after the depressing misery of
whole sunday and two nights IN his solitary
cell Perhaps II is not strange that the utterly
desolate blank of 50 hopeless condition Ot life
a. his even without his bodily weakness, might
hnpel the poor wretch TO seek es 'ape through the
grave. He was not yet cold when they found
him. but dangled limp and warm hy his neck.
and swung around with the cell door a. It was
Mr W W. Adams, a neghboring Justice Of
the Peace, was notified. and summoned Jury
b. hold an inquest upon the suicide. Twelve
good men and true passed through the prison
dpor-beneath that happy combinatlon of mot.
he t2snsgressor pae o " Is hard Adnittan@ce @ IS
cants chlldren under Is years OF age 10 cents -
-NltNfl tlf DDly OF tnt unlhplS JtSfpU. anu
rendered II verdict in accordance with the facts
already stated Then they put what remained
9 J9ssph .s in hole o5 fhS burial frSand al d2wn
interlineation to make in his Just completed.
neatly prepared annual report.
The laot suicide in the Cnnnes't 'ticut state prs
on prior to this one. was that ~ Charles Lee
Powell who hanged himself IN his cell ON Dec;
3 1876 Mr.. Powell on one, occasion signalized
unwsrantable freak Of p.ln. ohstrutions on
s railroad irsrk "a, H., f1T,unEsy 'nsy id ,bd, not hot
had no idea Of doing any harm, hut regarded
the proceeding in the light Of = h, OF innocent
Amusement. Connecticut lex Station, however.
aims 10 discourage that sort OF humor and when
some Of Mr.. PoweTs nelghbors either from
sp @r 10 10 Wn nm ss prs Tor %
years-s sufficiently long TIM. 1t would seem.
to enable fun realization Of the dsasi rous re-
suts y n J0krr of his unhr died inhulg nee in
fun Mr. Powrli's wife was much younger Than
he and when shs heard thai he wi- 10 he l9ck-
Ell UP fog twenty years. made application u ,9r a
he heard Of It he hanged himself.
Warden Il. p Hrwrs speak Il those ihings
Onsrs hanging Themselves. II ln.ctr'res with
tho Hrnngemenis and discipline ~ IT, lnstitu-
ton, Consequently. he tries all ne can 70 pre-
vent and dis 'ourage the practice, hut II is sim
ply mpo.- bic 10 maintain such watch over
every one Of his 266 prisoners ~ wlll preelud,
the possibility of an ingenious, dot rn ned and
desperate man max Ing away with himself. The
Warden is very much afraid that another sui
Henry Hamlin or William Alien. me two con-
vlcts who r,cently, in AN rndrayur 10 SO ape.
murdered Keeper Webb Shipman They. with
the treacherous keeper. j. II. Davis, who plan
ned tho escape, are 10 he tried n March next, If
they live Both Hamlin and Allen are desper-
Ate mon and seem now plunged n su hope
less depression as might well lead 10 any rash
acton. They are kept in s"paratr cells on the
ground tier, and are watched day AMI night hs
closely IA the limited force of keeper will per
nit
The dark coils OF the Come toul State prison
At Wetherslleld are among the vi"st places oi
their sort IN the country. Cold. damp, dark
sll/nt. and full Of an abominable atmosphere
NJ ndes 'ribably penetrating and si'k"ning
odor they offend every sense, physical, mental
or moral Fortunately, Warden iicwes II very
little believer in their efficacy for the -uhluga-
ton Of refractory cOnvirts and, sim more for
tunaely. the Connecticut law does not restrict
him 10 the dark cell as his only means Of pun
ishlng offences against prison discipline.
He says: find that If the dark cell doce no,
bring man 10 terms inside Of twenty-four
hours. there is seldom any use In continuing
the cruel experiment any longer. IL the man
has sufficient Obstinacy az will to hold out In
his revolt more than that time. he Will not give
In until the confinement has SO fnr broken him
down. IN both mind and body, by ~ accnmula-
tons oi horrors that he is in all probability in
Jur"d Tor life. II he RECEIVERS, he IS kelly TO be
worse man than before. for he VIII have a dis
position always to rebel against the agency thai
only Oyercame him by sHpplng his manhood
IEpll y gt.F. la. al