Omaha daily bee., 1893-03-09
No Chance to Escape or Appeal When SEN
tence is Once Pronounced.
OFTEN TORTURED FOR MINOR oFFENsEs
Almost Anything Sufices to Send Prisoner
to the Torture Chamber.
RESULT OF LEGISLATIVE INVESTIGATION
EVIDENCE on Which the Joint Committee
Concludes That Frank Powell Was MUIR
-Recommen da tions for Changes
in tho Penitentiary Management.

LINCOLN, Neb.. March S.-[Special to The
BEE. To-day In the senate the report of
the joint com nittee appointed early in the
session to investigate the penitentiary was
submitted The affair which particularly
invited attention was the death of convict
Frank Powell, No. 2,032, who was said to
have committed suicide by hanging himself
Ill his cell. The report of the committee
charges that Powells death was the direct
result of punishment inflicted by the cell
house keeper and guards
During It's investigation the committee
took an immense amount of testimony, ex-
amlning great number of Witnesses ncud-
ing the officers of the penitentiary, state
olhclals, prison guards, prison missionaries
convicts and ex-convicts. In the several
hundred pages of type-written testimony is
contained a story of cruelty and inhumanlr
brutal treatment accorded to helpless pris
oners, the details of which would cause G
smile of approval to illumine the face of anS
OF Thomas de Torquemada's lieutenants,
were he spared from his eternal rest long
enough to peruse it, THE BEE has had an
opportunity to review this testimony, and
from it has condensed the following as being
the evidence of reliable witnesses and fairly
presenting both sides.
Eidea Howe Describes 1t.
Among the responses of Elder Howe, chap
lain at the penitentiary, to the questions
asked him abont the treatment of convicts,
were the following:
About eight years ago | was called by the
warden, Mr. Nobes, to go to the dark hole
one Sunday morning after service. He said
that he had man IN there that he did not
want to have stay there after noon as he
would lose all of his good time He was sent
In for ten years and went in the dark hole on
Saturday He came to the pententiary and
would not answer any questions and he was
put into the dark hole We went down
lhe man was lying down with a small rope
about his neck, and his hands were hand
cufed behind him and the other end of the
rope was fastened to them, and he had gotten
into corner of the room and had slid down
so that he could not get back and was obliged
to remain where he was living That was q
mode of punishment that to me was barbar-
GUS, a relic OF barbarism He had been in
twenty three hours, and was very much ex-
hausted.
"Your hands are handcuffed, and this rope
was tied on and your hands are drawn up
Just as far as the man that puts it on wishes
TO do it; if he is mad he will draw them up
this way, and then it is all the time drawing
YOU and every time you move your hands it
will saw them. There is nothing between
your skin and this rope"
Depends on the Brute Who Does II.
Other information elected from the chan
lain was to the effect that the warden or
dered the punishment in cases OF this kind,
and he could deputize somebody else to do it.
The warden does not put on the rope or the
handouts, as that is done by the cellkeeper
The warden is not present, but goes occa-
sionally afterwards to see how the man is
getting along. and the doctor calls every day,
or is supposed to.
The chaplain said he purposely avoided
knowing ANYTHING nhput the nm ant
he could help it, as he had enough care and
anxiety with the boys, and with all the
load and responsibility he carried did
not want to carry any of the re-
the men. He knew Of a case three or four
years ago, when a man was punished twen-
ty-two to twenty-four days under Warden
Hyers. 1t was case of attempted mutiuy,
ana this was quite large man, and the
leader of the mutiny. They were getting
poor meat to eat, and there were forty or
fifty of them in the mutiny and the warden
was very angry about 1T and went down and
ordered forty of them into punishment
They hadn't regular cells enough and so they
We're handcuffed and kept in their cells for
several days. The leader was kept in there
until DR.. Carter, who was the physician at
that time, ordered him released because he
could not stand that amount Of punishment
without injuring him; maybe he would be
under punishment Il day or two and be re-
leased IA short time, but in all it was twenty
lOul Ol CONTINUOUS punishment.
Cruelty Was Very Common.
He was handcufed all day and night, and
had this rope on him all the time except
when he ate. He was let down after being
there twenty three days and was then put
on for eight days more, and came out of the
cell skeleton. He was Il stubborn man and
would not yield. The order of the physician
was sufficient to get him out at any time.
Other cases of cruelty were very frequent
IL know of one previous to that" he said,
under Mr.. Nobcs, who was kept in, think,
about ten days. He was a rather feeble
man, and when he came out he was very
feeble and soon went to the hospital, and
was there until he died. | think that
hastened his death, but otherwise he would
have died, as he could not have lived a great
while.
This mode of punishment has never
changed as long as can remember. 1t is
different under different administrations.
being more severe under one than the other
This is the cure for all diseases, and you can
often tell by the looks of the neck If they
nave been in there for some time.
How Powell Was Killed
81 do not know anything about Powelps
case only what have heard. | buried him.
IL was an uncommon thing, though; he was
put into the coffin and the coffin closed up
before got there, which has never occurred
before since have been chaplain. / think
1t was undersigned; new deputy warden
had charge and he probably did not know
the rules, which were that | should see
every man, and see whether it was
man or something else | could not
swear that | buried him, though /
supposed that did Tkey generally call me
right off when there is a death, but was not
notified in this case until / was called TO the
uneral
There should be reforms, and those re-
forms should be made sure and soon | do
not sec how a man hanging up under the cir
cunstanccs that he hung, with his hands
fixed as they We're, could let himself down
do not know how he could do that The
pay of the guards should be increased until
you can hire men that can be trusted TO take
care Of your sons and daughters, and the
representatives OF the state, in my opinion
should look after that most carefully.
What hind ~ mon CON ,,n,, bi,a r., z)O -