Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-11-29
EX-CUARD TELLS
OF HORRORS IN
j. 8. PRISON
Men Chained to Wall for Weeks
in Hole Turned Into Raving
ManiaCs, He Says,
Continued From Page 1,

ing these almost unbelievable tales Is
true, for I've been there and I've help
ed chain the poor devils to the wall;
I've unlocked the shackles and seen
them fall TO the floor like a plummet
asleep before their bodies struck the
cement
The ordinary man couldn't even
find the hole, unless he knew where Il
was. It's away off in a corner of the
basement of the isolation building,
where no visitors are allowed When
you inspect the prison, you are shown
the clean dining rooms, the chapel
where they pray FOR mems souls on
Sunday-and then on Monday the
same men take the prisoners into the
hole and-subject them to the tortures
OF the damned
When you start to the hole, you've
got to follow a winding passa geway,
barred by iron doors which have TO
be unlocked and locked again when
you go through, Then you come to a
final door, solid iron and more than a
foot thick. On the inside is the hole,
where silence and darkness absolute
reign. You could stand on the ou.-
side of the door to the hole and shoot
"a gun-and you couldn't hear 1t in
the hole. Entering the door you are
in a narrow passagewaY, iankcd on
either side by half dozen narrow
cells not more than FIVE by seven feet,
and the ceilings are barely high
enough for a man TO stand erect.
Air Fesrfully Foul.
There are no windows. no place
- 1syt1f -.
The air in the hole is the same that
has been there for years, and it is
unbelievably foul. A man can hardly
stay in the place five minutes without
getting a splitting headache. The cells
or stalls into which the prisoners are
thrown are built of brick, with Ce-
ment floor, bare. All the lights are In
the passageway and are controlled by
a switch outside of the hole
I'm each cell, a fCw inches higher
than a mans head, are stapled rusty
shandcuns We'd take our prisoner,
throw him into the cell, make him
stand facing the wall clamp his legs
with irons and then force him to
stretch his arms out while we locke
the handouts on his wrists. Then we
turned out the lights and left him
alone in a solitude that was terrible,
in a darkness that can hardly be pic
tured breathing air that Slapped his
strength every second He couldn't
hear a sound, for the hole is sound
proof I've known men to stay in the
hole for eight and ten and fifteen
DAYS at time. Wed shaCkle them
up in the morning at 6 o'clock ana
leave them alone until noon, VIII
we'd go down and loosen one arm.
The poor devil would be given a glass
- water and 4 thu S3ace Of bread. all
the food he had for "a hours. He was
allowed few minutes to eat-in the
dark-and then he'd be strung up
again. At 9 o'clock at night the irons
were unlocked and h was allowed TO
rest. lie got his rest on a hard ee-
ment fioor-and some idea of the Sc
verify of the punishment can ne
gained when | tell you that lots Of
times I've released men from the irons
and seen them fall asleep before their
bodies struck the concrete,
Men Came Out Maniacs.
Il don't think III ever forget the
hole, or the things I've seen out there.
I've seen strong men go into the
hole and come out maniacs, with
white faces, drawn and haggard. I've
seen good-natured men, prisoners
whose only offense had been trying
30 get something to eat, thrust into
the hole and come out desperate ana
with no other thought than to kill.