18. CHAPTER XVIII.
PRISON DISCIPLINE.
THE Missouri penitentiary ranks among the leading penal institutions
of the country in matter of discipline. The rules and regulations are
placed in the hands of the prisoner as soon as he enters. If an inmate
obeys these rules and regulations he will be let alone, and will go
through his term of service without being punished. If he becomes unruly
and disobedient he will be punished, and that, too, very severely.
Each prisoner is allowed one pound of tobacco a month for chewing
and smoking purposes. In this prison the inmate is permitted to smoke in
his cell. This is the only institution with which I am acquainted that
permits smoking. The prisoners seem to enjoy their smoke very much, and
I do not see but that it is just the thing, for if a person on the
outside takes comfort from the use of his pipe, much more will the man
who sits in the solitude of a felon's cell. If a prisoner violates a
prison rule his tobacco is taken away
from him for a time. The majority of the inmates will obey the rules of
the prison through fear of having their tobacco, taken away from them.
Each prisoner also has access to the books of the library, and another
mode of punishment is to deprive the offender the use of the library for
a time. This, also, has a very salutary effect. Another mode of
punishment, is to place the unruly convict in a dungeon and feed him
nothing but bread and water. The prisoner on entering this dreary abode
must leave behind him his hat, coat and shoes, and in this condition he
is required often to spend days and weeks in solitary confinement. The
dungeon contains no furniture of any description save a night bucket.
Prisoners do not remain in these dark holes very long until they promise
obedience. It is one of the most successful modes of prison punishment.
In case of a second or third offense, and sometimes for the first, in
case it is a bad one, the offender is liable to receive a flogging.
This is one of the few penal institutions in our country where
the cat-o'-nine-tails is used. When a prisoner's conduct has been such
that it is deemed advisable to whip him, he is taken
from his cell and led to a post in the rear of one of the large
buildings, out of sight of the other convicts. His clothing is then
removed, with the exception of his shoes. These are left on his feet to
catch the blood that flows down his limbs. In this nude condition he is
tightly bound to a post with chains. Standing at the post, in a helpless
condition, he receives the lash. The whip consists of several leather
straps, or thongs, at the ends of which small pieces of steel are
fastened. Every blow brings the blood. I have been told by reliable
persons that, at times, prisoners have been so severely flogged that the
blood, flowing down their limbs into their shoes would fill them and run
out over the tops. This seems barbarous in the extreme, and my humane
reader at once cries out, "It should not be tolerated." In Missouri this
flogging of human beings in prison has been going on for more than fifty
years. After the punishment is over, the prisoner, half dead with fright
and pain, is led back to his cell, where he remains for a day or two,
that he may recuperate. He throws himself down on his "bunk," and
remains there for hours, the blood still flowing from his lacerated
back.
Often the blanket on which he lies, sticks to his bleeding back, and a
fellow convict is asked, often, to assist in removing it. Many a poor
fellow carries with him through life the scars which were made while a
convict in this prison. One day while I was working in the coal mines
of the Kansas penitentiary, a fellow-convict showed me his scarred
back. He had served a term in the Missouri penitentiary, and while there
had been severely whipped. His back told the story too plainly that his
whipping had been a severe and cruel one. It would seem that the day of
the whipping-post had passed away; that the doors of our advanced
civilization were shut against it.
Many of the prison officials claim that it is the most healthy
mode of inflicting punishment; that to place a convict in a dungeon and
to feed him on bread and, water is far more injurious to his health than
to give him a good "paddling," and it don't require so long to do the
work. The same results are reached more quickly. Others claim that it is
impossible to have good prison discipline without resorting to the lash.
This statement is not correct. There is no better discipline to be
found in any penal institution, than that in the Kansas
penitentiary, where no prisoner ever receives a stroke from a whip. The
laws of that State forbid it. In our humble judgment it would be the
best thing that the Missouri Legislature could do at its next session,
to prohibit any further use of the lash. Sometimes a paddle is used,
with small holes bored in the end, and every time this paddle strikes
the nude flesh, blisters are raised. Again, another instrument of
punishment in use is a thick, broad, leather strap, fastened in a wooden
handle, at the end of which lateral incisions are made that give it the
appearance of a saw. There is no trouble in raising huge blisters "with
this engine of warfare." All these modes are barbarous, and should be
forbidden. Whenever severe punishment becomes essential, let the
prisoner remain in the dungeon, living on bread and water until he
promises, in good faith, to behave himself. A great deal of useless
punishment can be avoided if the officer in charge of the prison
discipline is a humane man and a good judge of human nature, and no
other should be permitted to fill this important position. We must not,
however, be too hasty in condemning prison officials for harsh treatment
of those under their charge.
They have some of the most desperate men on the face of the earth to
deal with, and at times it becomes a necessity to use harsh measures.
Notwithstanding this is all true, there are but very few human beings
but what have white spots in their otherwise darkened souls, and often a
word of kindness does more than a cruel blow from a merciless officer.
The excellent discipline of this institution is due, in the main,
to Captain Bradbury, the deputy warden. He is beyond doubt, one of the
best, and most experienced prison men in the United States. He has been
connected with the Missouri prison for thirty-three years. The warden
looks after the finances of the institution, and it belongs to Captain
Bradbury to hold in subjection the two thousand criminals that are
crowded together in that small prison enclosure. This celebrated deputy
warden is a Virginian by birth. He is sixty-two years of age. He served
in the Mexican war, and now draws a pension from the Government, because
of his services there. If a prisoner conducts himself properly, Captain
Bradbury will treat him as humanely as he can under the circumstances.
If he becomes willful and unruly, the Captain
no doubt will take great pleasure in giving the offender "a good
paddling," to use his own forcible expression. This official is a strong
advocate of corporal punishment. He claims that a "little loosening up
of the hide" of an obstreperous prisoner does the said prisoner a vast
amount of good. Among the convicts the deputy warden is austere. He is
never seen sauntering about the prison enclosure with his long arms
entwined about any of "the boys in stripes." He claims, that too great a
familiarity breeds contempt. This seeming harshness when in the presence
of the prisoners is only borrowed for the occasion, for, away from the
convicts, there is not a more social gentleman in the State of Missouri.
Great credit is due to Captain Bradbury for his excellent management of
this institution, under such unfavorable circumstances. Could he be
persuaded to quit the use of the whipping post, and use other measures
less barbarous, I think the same discipline could be secured, as now
exists. The officers here do not seem to be so exacting as in many other
prisons. In the Kansas penitentiary, when prisoners are in ranks going
to and from their meals, their cells, or workshops, they are
required to fold their arms, and keep their eyes fixed upon the back of
the one's head just in front. No gazing about is permitted, and should a
prisoner speak to one in the front of him and be detected, he would be
summarily dealt with. In the Missouri prison I noticed that the convicts
while marching would gaze about wherever they wished, and go swinging
along with their arms dangling at their sides. In many prisons the
inmates are required, while in ranks, to keep their hands on the
shoulders of the man in front. This would seem to be the most desirable
way of having the prisoners march. In this prison one can detect more of
a homelike feeling, not so rigorous and exacting as in many institutions
of this nature. Captain Todd, assistant deputy warden, is another
official of long standing. He has been with this prison for eighteen
years, and is very popular. In this connection we must not fail to
mention Captain Crump, who has been connected with this prison for
thirty-six years, but who was discharged during the last administration
because of his making statements to the effect that the prison was run
by a political ring." He is now deputy marshal of Jefferson City, and is
a faithful officer. He incurred the displeasure of the contractors
because of the grave charges he made against them, because of their
inhuman demands upon the prisoners, requiring of them more work than
they were able to perform. Because of his humaneness, and because he
wanted to see the helpless prisoner treated as he should be, after
thirty-six years of faithful service was discharged from the
institution. In 1883 there was an investigation made of many serious
charges preferred against the contractors and some of the leading
officials. The committee made their report to the governor, and some
five hundred pamphlets containing this report were printed for
distribution. When the Legislature met none of these books could be
found, and the whole matter was a specimen of whitewash. The report
contained some very damaging charges, but nothing was ever done with the
matter. I visited the office of the secretary of state and asked to see
one of these books, but even his office did not contain a copy of this
State document. The Legislature should keep a watchful eye over this
penal institution, and, while there should be good discipline
maintained,
the prisoners should not be treated in a barbarous manner{.}
A PARDONING BOARD.
The governor has the pardoning power. He extends executive clemency
to a number annually. He has not time to attend to the duties connected
with this prerogative. There are 2,000 prisoners. No doubt many of them
have excessive sentences. If a thorough investigation was made, many
would be found innocent. The governor has not the time to attend to
these matters. There should be a pardoning board appointed to
investigate these cases and advise with the governor. To show the
necessity of such a board, I have only to state that during the past
year the Pardoning Board of Kansas has advised executive clemency to
fifteen crimimals{sic} who received their pardons on the grounds of
innocency. One of the number being a Mrs. Henrietta Cook, who was
sentenced for life, and who had served fifteen years of imprisonment,
when, upon an investigation of her case by the Pardoning Board, she was
discharged, there being no doubt as to her innocence. The great
majority of these prisoners are poor
and friendless. They have no one on the outside to aid them in securing
their rights, and unless a pardoning board is appointed to investigate
these cases, many a man and woman entirely innocent, will have to serve
out a sentence in this prison.
It is but natural for the contractors to use their influence to
prevent the men under their control from receiving pardons. If a man is
sentenced for ten years, and has been in one of the shops for two or
three years, and has learned to do his work well, the contractor will
want to keep him instead of letting him go, and will, no doubt, in an
underhanded way, do all against the poor prisoner he can. This strong
influence in many cases will have to be counteracted and overcome before
the prisoner can receive his pardon and obtain his liberty. A pardoning
board, when appointed, should be men who would not be in collusion with
the contractors, but be men who would see that the prisoner had
justice.
