The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1957-11-21
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1873 on a 10-acre lot in the south
west corner of Columbus go by
80 feet and three stories high, in
Guiding the basement. 1t had 13 cells,
nine light and four of them dungeons.
Few convicts were there and 1.-THE
keeper was kind hearted and lenient."
James Kooken was the first warden.
In 1882 work was begun on a new
penitentiary on Is acres of land plus
small strip bought from John Brick
nell for $50, the tracts costing the
state only eight hundred dollars. Con-
victs whose terms would not expire
before its completion did the work
and were promised pardons when the
building was finished if they worked
faithfully and did not try to escape
In no case was there a violation of
| the terms.
In 1884 the new building was oc-
cupied, and in 1885 with the new
building, new officers and new rules
the system of hiring out the convicts
by the day to contractors and manu-
facturers who employed them in the
prison workshops was inaugurated.
Rules of great severity were enforc-
ed much relaxed in later years.
Solitary confinement instead of the
shower BATH and cat was fixed
as punishment and to bring refrac-
tory convicts into submission.
In 1887 an 11-cell addition was built
for women convicts With two in a
cell this accommodated % persons.
The cost of the new penitentiary
when completed was $93,370 plus lab
or = 1,113,46 days of it by the con-
victs. The walls enclosed about six
acres, increased by 10 acres more in
1868, costing $4,000.
All convicts physically able were
lemployed and by doing piece work
could earn a small amount for them
selves. One convict left the prison
with $540 he had earned and saved
during incarceration there Women
did the cooking and laundry and made
stogies, the trade learned in prison.
Only 35 of them were imprisoned
there in the 1880s.
AS of October 81, 1887, the peniten-
tiary had 649 convicts of which 636
were men and only 13 were women.
Of these SIG were white and only
20 negroes. Seventeen were under IL
years of age; 296 were between 21
and 30; and 18 were between go and
rs years old. One hundred and five
couldn't read; 275 had common school
education; II had high school educa-
ton; and eight were graduates from
colleges. First convictions numbered
SGT; second convictions SO; and third
convictions were 10. Of all, 405 con-
fessed to intemperance. Only lbs of
the convicts were serving life SEN
tences and all appeared cheerful"
Of these most expected something to
happen resulting in pardon and again
liberty.
The parole system in the Ohio pen
Iitentiary was inaugurated as of May
4, 1885, and the State Board of Par
dons was created in 1888. AS of that
date only 16 of the 254 prisoners re-
leased on parole had violated it and
10 of them had been returned for such
violations.
The condemned quarters are in the
east end of the penitentiary - three
rooms of which one, with an iron
lattice partition on one side. is called
the cage" Outside the lattice guards
keep constant watch, and a huge
alarm clock rings bell every half
hour to keep them awake. Convicts
spend several days there awaiting
execution. Execution then was by
hanging. The execution room is on
the south side of the cage and guard
room, a stairway leading to balcony
about seven feet above the floor and
the death trap where the prisoner
stood on a trap door which at the |
touch of spring dropped him about
six feet to a broken neck and death. |
Such was the Ohio penitentiary nearly
20 years ago.