Eastern State Penitentiary

Solitary Confinement

When an inmate arrived at Eastern State Penitentiary, he was placed in a cell and left alone to contemplate his fate without work or reading materials. After a few days, if he had not already requested it, the prisoner was asked if he wanted work to do in his cell. If he had a trade that could be continued inside his cell, he was permitted to pursue it. If he did not, he was allowed to choose one and received instruction from an overseer. Prisoners wore masks or hoods on the few occasions when they were permitted out of their cells to prevent them from communicating with each other. Prisoners did, however, receive visitors.

The Board of Inspectors visited regularly as required by the terms of their appointment. The Philadelphia prison society had an extensive visiting program to encourage contact with the prisoners at Cherry Hill. The society's records indicate that its members made thousands of visits each year. Not only did they provide support and counsel to the inmates, they also accumulated information about prison operations and conditions. They made notes about each visit and the morale and emotional status of the offender. Records indicate that inmates [Page 272]were allowed visits with family members a few times a year.

Advocates of the separate system maintained that physical punishment was unnecessary to control an institution. Because prisoners were isolated from each other, there were few opportunities to get into trouble. If someone was recalcitrant, he was not permitted to work or keep reading materials in his cell. He could also be placed on a restricted diet.

Criticisms of the Regime

In 1834, serious allegations surfaced that Warden Samuel Wood had used cruel forms of physical punishment against several prisoners. An investigation by the state legislature in 1835 discovered that Wood had isolated prisoners in a dark, unheated cell with no bedding and only bread and water for exceptionally long periods of time. It was also suggested that he used the shower bath to discipline prisoners by pouring water, at various temperatures, on an inmate from different heights. Another punishment was the tranquilizing chair. Prisoners were strapped to a large chair so tightly they could not move any part of their body. Finally, there was evidence Wood had used the straight jacket and the iron gag. A minority report expressed concern about the severity of punishment; however, the investigators' majority report found that such punishments were not inappropriate, and Wood was not admonished. Over the years, the prison's Board of Inspectors sanctioned the use of limited forms of corporal punishment at Cherry Hill.

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