The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-04-11

down under the rings of the other
end OF the ladder.
1.-TWO strong men then draw the
convict down over the barrel and
stretch the body as tight as IL can
be drawn so that IL is impossible for
the convict 10 move In an attempt
10 resist the force OF the paddle. The
wider part OF the paddle is perforated
with many one-quarterinch holes.
which allow the air 10 pass through
as the paddle descends thereby OF
fering less resistance and making
the blow more severe. The clothing
OF the convict is removed from the
buttocks and a sheet wet In brine
is thrown over the exposed part OF
the body and a second sheet Is
thrown over his head so that IL Is
impossible for him TO see those In
/ ficting the punishment.
The body OF the convict Is in just
the right position and elevation to
give the man who does the logging
such an advantage that he can make
his blows most effective. In this po-
sition the convict is logged TO the
satisfaction OF the warden or until
further punishment would jeoparidze
the prisoners life. He is given Ave
or six blows and then raised TO his
| feet in order that the doctor may
examine the heart and pulse and so
/ that the blood can regain circulation
/ throughout the body. The convict Is
| again drawn down over the barrel
and given as many more blows. This
method has been kept up until the
| prisoner has received as high as sew
NJ fchx
The convict is then thrown back
into the "bull-pen" With the handouts
on. Nothing Is done TO relieve the
pain upon the part OF the body which
has received such terrible punish
ment. With his hands firmly bound,
the convict is compelled to lie in his
cell until the next day-without water
with which TO relieve the fever the
whipping has thrown him into-when
he IL again subjected TO the same
punishment the next day.
The prison doctor testified that five
blows of the paddle would discolor
the body, yet men are many times
fogged until they cannot bear to
touch that part of the body upon
which punishment has been inflicted.
However. they are many times sub
1ected to the same punishment on the
following day. Warden Russell ex-
plains that this Is done because the
soreness from the previous whipping
makes the second f1ogging more effec-
tive
The warden claims that he does
not resort to prolonged punishment,
but says that as soon as the convict
begs, he ceases the logging. Nothing
is farther from the truth, as most OF
the convicts beg for mercy from him
and yet he will whip them just as long
as he sees At.
Warden Russell told the commit
tee that one man offered to get down
on his knes and kiss his feet IL he
would not fog him, for which the
warden called him coward and said
he was only trying to avoid punish
ment."
Here number of individual cases
are given.
One was a convict named Hampton.
who was sent from Jackson and had
been in Ionia asylum. He was fog
ged three times, receiving IS blows
one day, 65 the second day after, and
five the next day. Shortly afterward
he was returned to Ionia. Once An
officer hit him on the head with a
pair OF handouts, infiicting a scalp
wound which required sewing up.
Another convict named Walsh CON-
mitted suicide to escape further fog
ging, having received 40 blows one
day and 80 the next. Between times,
he was placed where he could hear
Hampton logged. Walsh declared ne
would not go back. and ran a knife In
to his heart
Another convict, named Peffered.
now in Ionia, slashed his wrist after
a fiogging, and was bandaged up and
logged again. He Is now in Ionia
the report states.
Another man, Smith, by name, was
given 20 blows one day, 80 the next,
and 40 two months later. He be-
came unconscious during one fog
gng, and when he recovered, was
forced to carry the parpaphernalia TO
the bnll-pen. Carrying the parapher-
MALTA was known as carrying" the
cross"
A boy named Williams was fiogged
for using black instead of white
thread in sewing overall suspenders
The report states that most OF the
punishments inflicted are for non
performance OF tasks.
Warden Russell Is charged with
cleverly circumventing the law, which
forbids flogging a convict on the bare
body, by stretching a sheet soaked IN
brine over the body. The report ex-
presses a belief that the warden Ia
influenced by the history of the pris-
oners as furnished by the Judge who
sentenced them, and quotes him as
saying in regard to Negro sentenced
from Detroit:
IF that man ever gives me a
chance, will punish him for what
he did TO that woman" The man hus
been a model prisoner.
Some OF the daily tasks for non
performance OF which prisoners are
punished, are: Sewing zoos pants
legs; hemming 1920 pants legs; sew.
ing on 700 pockets. The work, il
states, Is worth four OF five times
what the state gets for II. The min
ority agrees with the majority that
the overall contract should be cancel
ed and the contractors allowed 10
sue for damages.
Several minor instances OF loose
financial methods are given, some of
them better substantiated than others.
In one instance. the warden Is chary.
ed with s94-overdraft on sum OF
$3.50 deposited with the bookkeeper
OF the prison