The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-09-20
BREsCI's AWFUL DOOM.
AZ York Journal.)

CNew York Journal)
Imprisonment for me- 9ouOt iS
sounded to Americans like a mild punish
ment for Bresei. when the news of the
fate of the ASSASSIN Of the late hlns
Humbert OF Italy was cabled abroad two
BUt mat is because the people Of the
United States do not know ltaiy prison
Quick death would have been too good
for the killer of king, IN the opinion OF
For a regicide a life sentence really
means death with torture on the way
TO execution
that the black hole where regicides were
formerly confined is a failure as a place
OF punishment but IS II So9lo no. 1o,l GT ~
proved upOn in reSpeet 70 cSSLlpl, -
darkness and unhealthfulneSS, they con-
cluded that TO add to its horrCrs II VS.
necessary to turn it up on end and shape
Consequently the latest king SLAYER viii
spend the next ten years, II ne ives IN
n1erly occupied by his UNSUCCESSFUL col
The standing. or upright, casket-tilis
Is the name given TO his cell by the
prison acknowledgements for him mas
the same dimensions as his predecessor 5
black hole If it had less he would SUI
fOcate.
tom of his coffin cell he viii have 20
double up like a man in a barrel, Cramps
will assail him till in agony he again
struggles to his feet.
But whether sitting or standing. vernin
viii be always gnawing at him. He can
This casket cell newly made. is a sorry
triumph of twentieth century cruelty
Neither Nero, Caligula, Ivan the Terrible
nor Weyler invented its equal The prs
Oner must be on his legs all the time, or
lie down. his feet propped against the
down, the space above his head is no
more than a. foot high If he isn't pol
soned by breathing over and over agaia
body, StagnatiOn of the blood vessels and
anaemia Will speedily wreck his health
In case the reg1c1de refuses TO SuccumD
either in body or mind. If he cant be tor
tured into early grave, or II MS intel
lect can't be wrecked 50 as to give the
authorities a chance TO remove him to
an insane asylum for criminals, the abode
of the widest orgies or refined cruelty-lfs
execution, then he will be removed TO the
Brindisi Gagno ',penSale,, or prison
The only excuse a civilized state can
have for maintaining this dreadfulest Of
all prisons is the character of its sub
1ects. Lower Italy, particularly the prov
inceS of Bari, Fogg1a, Lecce, Calabrial and
Sicily, furnish three-fourthS OF the king
dOm's criminal population; the cruelest
bandits and pirates and n1urderers, with
long records. abound there.
THE regulation European prison. with
its good food and decent accommodations,
would attract these nllScreants rather
than frighten them That is what keeps
them from WrOng-dOing," say the author
tiles Hence we are obliged to stick 10
the methods adopted a century or longer
ago. before the present milk and water
treatment of prisoners was thought of.
we admit the Brfn(iisi Bagno penaIe
doesn't come up TO the requirements OF
hunnarlita rians, but it suits the needs OF
from their point of view
The solitary confinement which is to be
gin after the first ten years in the coffin
cell differs in no wise from the black hole.
except that the reg1c10e is placed in a
cell intended for murderers generally The
conn cell, as already explained. IS an es-
pecially prepared dungeon, used for regi-
cideS only. Foul and insufficient food,
tdleness and silence are imposed in the
next stage of Imprisonment. but the pris-
of footsteps or voices For his cell is
then in the basement instead Of 1Irrlie-
che basement OF the prison, and the cell
door, secured by chains, is left open dur
ing the day for a space of two inches to
allow fresh air TO enter
s. 8
The prison is established II. the colos-
sal ruins of Frederick the IFS castle. on
stronghold was laid low. but its subter-
Lanean dungeons are as numerous, death
bringing and well fortified today as in
1he times when the powerful enemy OF
Popes Innocent III, Honorius III and
Gregory TX built them TO punish pirates
and obstreperOus barOns.
Among the several hundred cells there
are very few not furnished with wooden
horses and iron rings to facflftare the in
HtctiOn of tOrtureS.
In addition 10 the ordinary Instruments
OF torture with which most of the cells
IN this prison are provided there is also a
special torture chamber. It is fitted with
a rack on which the prisoner is placed.
and over his body is passed a heavV roller
with spikes, which cut into the flesh and
crush the bones. In this chamber of hor-
Tors there Is a limb stretCher. This is a
nigh Scanolding,- with ropes and puIleys
by means of which the arms are pulled
upward and the legs downward till all
the bones are drawn from their sockets
Here. too, is kept an iron cage the shane
of the body in which the prisoner is mi
becomes
headpiece, with spikes TO pierce the
tongue II the prisoner, in his desperation
There are finger pinchers to crush the
FONTS OF his hands There is a chain for
ranging him up by both arms and legs.
rneIe Is the conventional thumbscreWs
Inen there Is a neck collar and chain ~
Keep MN standing upright for days and
ss.eNy = OF d tlHle- Last or all. there is the
IRON frame in which his body Will be plIf
aIter death and displayed on a gibbet
IN summer the worst criminals and
thoSe prisoners of whom the authOrfties
want 10 rid themselves are sent down in
the most absolute ma BedneSS Ver,- e.
of these miserable men escape . rI 49,
PAINFUL death by the shoals of vipers TiZ,
ancient rock walls - -
me ASSASSIN, Passarante was shared
tne rate, though long OUTLYING thu time
victim. King EfumbeTt. VINO was q 1870 -
I IuL man, Fe new king. however. is a
-. III oL me type Of Kaiser William
leave his desk unslgred ~
II BreScl has the hardihOOd to live long
er than his tormentOrs wish him TO rf,r5a
Is small likelihood that he can avoid fbe
viper pit The species that make The
I1odL Is, OF the Bagno prison a den of death
&c EIpeIa aSplS and Vipera ammodytes
me Geadliest of their kind While The
Ilaked bodies OF the prisoners offer no
protection whatever against their a.
tacks, the prisoners are not even sIlo4,-s-5
70 carry stick or switch to defend
themselves They must face the mos
agonfzing death mute like sheen 49,
legs manacled together ~
Ihey are let down into the mOat on
ropes and are pulled up by the sanne
IIIestIs- NO Saiier and no sentinel tre51dS
IueIr GeaInrldden path If at roIi-caII on
OF more OF the prisoners does not resDoni
II Is assumed that they have been In
by the snakes and their bodies are 80 isft
where they have fallen '0A
~ Is Grained that the Basno nrico,, 1
SeCS no or from ninety to one h1in,irej
prisoners In the viper pit every year. -Fhe !
institution has never a cell empty. thoI1e-b