PRISON HORRORS.

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 28, 25 September 1931, Page 4

PRISON HORRORS.

STARTLING REVELATIONS ABOUT AMERICAN PRISONS TURNS MEN INTO CRIMINALS New revelations of the horrors >and harbarities of American prisons are made in the latest "and most sensational report of the "Wickersham Commission. Some of the hrutality is described as being ".almost incredible." j This document, produced by distinguished lawyers convened by President Iloover to study law observance in America, states t'hat among •the punishments inflicted in many cases for slight offences were: — Shackling of nien to doors for twenty-four hours. Daily flogging. Placing in strait jaokets. i Yying under a stream of freezing water. Confmement in wire cages so small that movement was impossible. Detention in complete darkness for days on end with rations of four ounces of bread every twentyfour hours. Riots, flres, the use of cruel and brutal measures of punishment, and persistent recurrence of murder wlthin the prisons, the presence of nar■cotics, and a frequent atmosphere of bltterness were assailed as evldences of the failure of the whole system. The conditions under which men were incarcerated dn. overcrowded cells without the benefit of light, air.

aua samiauon were nranaed as almost unbelievahle, while the discipiine was described as antiquated, unintelligent, And Not Infrequently Cruel Declaring that these melihods dncrease crime throughout the country hy hardening prisoners, the Commission demand that they he prohihited, and a new system antr.oduoed which would educate men and not 'Convert them into criminals. The Commission also reveals that United States prisons are overcrowded to the extent -of nearly 66 per cent of their capacity. More than .nrifi-

third of all the prisons in the country are from 70 to 100 years old. The size of the cells in many of the older 'establishments renders conditions extremely unhealthy, since, owing to the general overcrowding, two prisoners are put into the space originally designed for one. It will he •remembered that reoently the Wickersham Commission disclosed that unspeakable horrors prevailed in children's prisons in America. They told of frequent floggings, of hoys lashed to exhaustion point, of torture, and shackling, and crossfettering. I