The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-03-20
OHIO PRISONERS.
How the Wardens OF the PenIfenfiary
Manage Conyicfs.

OHIO PRISONERS.
How the wardens of the PenIfenfiary
Manage Cenvicts.
The Cincinnati Enquirer interviewed S.
ID. Mills, ar ex-cOnvict. The following is
his story of the cruelties practiced:
One instance of the way they went to work
to Subdue the men comes to my mind Just
now. Soon after Grove came in he called
the men together in the chapel and said:
I'VE are now going to live strictly up to the
rules of the penitentiary; and every man
who violates them shall be punished. You
have no arguments; our argumentsar yours.
We are here to run this institution and We
are going to do it. You are the slaves of
the state, and you must obey" He informed
the men that they must hereafter take off
their caps to the officers when they met
them. This was q new thing TO the men,
and, coming on top OF the insolent lecture
they had just heard, was little more than
they could stand, and some demonstrations
of disapprobaion were made by the men.
The result was that the warden issued an
order that as punishment for this the to-
baceo of every man in the prison should be
stopped for two weeks, and thus the whole
sixteen hundred men in the prison were
punished for the Ofiense of few. Then,
after the men got into the cells, there was
some further demonstration by some of the
men, and for this the beds were taken out
of every cell in the prison, and the prisoners
were Obliged to sleep on the damp stone
floor of their cells without bed or covering,
or upon their bare iron bedsteads, for two
nights. Besides this, as further punish
ment, the men were deprived of their 4th OF
July dinner. This is the way Grove began
his course as warden.
Deputy Warden Dean, who is even more
tyrannical and cruel than Grove, seemed to
enjoy this change, and remarked that the
other Observation-Disclosures OF Innes-had
tried praying, and that now they were going
to see if punishment wouldn't have better
effect than prayers"
ibid the punishments increase in num-
ber?'
Yes very much. Innes used to have
from 90 to 100 reports and punishments in
week, while Grove has from 200 to 400
Why, L have known high 63 men
ducked in single day, and all in the same
water, which was frequently very filthy, too.
The guards under the present administration
seem to take pride in reporting men, and
there is quite rivalry among them as TO
who shall report the highest number in
week. Some of them get up to as high as IS
or so IN a week. They have
very easy way of getting a man
punished They will walk up to him
and say: Itdesn't seem tp me you're working
fast enough; you must get your work done
III IDe man KNOWS l0db lS Is StlJlHB
all right, he frequently replies by stating
how much of the required number he has
done. Oh, you are insOlent, are you? I'll
report you and have you punished for inso-
lence is the reply he usually gets; and down
goes his name, and he goes to the dungeon
or ducking tub. Another way is to walk up
to a man and say: You were talking The
man, if he was not.talkiDg,. says: No, l
wasn't. Oh, | lie then, do IP is the answer
no oil onfC do not Ito ho
We'll, then comes the retort, you were
Whispering aud so man is either forced to
submit to the charge of whispering, or is re-
ported for insolence."
DO you think these punishments very
severe?' | asked.
Severe, yes; often fatal"
do you know OF any such cases?'
"Yes. 1 recollect case of 'insolence' that
occurred while / was there. in which the
punishment proved fatal. The victim was a
strong, healthy man. but had the misfortune
to incur the displeasure of his guard. He
was reported FOR insolence and sent to the
dungeon. he was proud spirited fellow,
and probably was not as submissive as some.
He rebelled, and was in day after day,
starved, ducked and put on the bull rings,
until on the twentieth day he was taken out
dead FROM his long stay in the darkness, and
foul air, and the starvation and other pun
ishments inflicted upon him during that
time"
"And was there ever anything done about
it?'
Done! What could be done? There is
no inquest, no legal process, which exam
ines into the deaths which occur within the
prison except in very rare cases. No. there
was nothing done, except to- throw the poor
fellows body to the medical students for
carving"
do you know of any other cases OF this
kind%'
Eyes. There was a man in the hospital
while was there by the name Of Joseph
Smith. He was from Columbus. l don't
remember what he was there for. He had
been sick In the hospital two weeks, and
was. as you may well imagine. in very
critical condition. On day the guard or
assistant physician, forget which, went to
him and said, You were Whispering The
poor fellow denied the charge. Then l lie,
do ~ replied the officer, in his favorite
method of getting the men into trouble,
No. replied Smith, Il don't say that you
lie, but l wasn't whispering. Then the
ing that Smith bad been insolent and had
been talking beside, actually took him from
the sick bed down to the duckiDg tub and
had him ducked in the ice water. Poor
Smith, who was scarcely able to walk when
be was taken from the bed, was completely
Frustrated By the ducking, as must have
been any man who was taken from a sick
bed and immersed in ice water. He was
brought back and put into bed, but never
rallied. and died in four hours after, no
doubt from the effect of the ducking"
New HamDshire Republican