The tortures performed on the prisoners in the old penitentiaries and prisons inside the United States were barbarous, to say the least. What was even crueler was the fact that in many of our prisons there were no written rules, which left inmates to the whims of the guards:
“There are no written rules and regulations as to different offenses within the institution, nor stated penalties attached to the commission of offenses, and the superintendent and assistant superintendent exercise absolute power in deciding the acts which constitute offenses and the nature and extent of the punishment imposed. As a result, prisoners are punished for violation of rules of which they have no knowledge.” [1]
The Cold Water Remedy
The Oregon State Penitentiary had been flogging its most obstinate prisoners until 1904 when it began using the cold water remedy:
“The cold water remedy consists of stripping the prisoner to the skin and turning upon him a cold stream of water from an ordinary garden hose. The infliction of the punishment is not as brutal as flogging, it leaves no scars or permanent injuries, and the punishment ends the moment the water is turned off. A prisoner who has been subjected to the punishment once wants no more of it, though he may be smiling a few moments after the ordeal is over.” [2]
Water in the Face
A quick spritz of water in the face is nothing, but to be held in place while water is continuously sprayed into your face, preventing you from breathing, is torture. Yet, that is what they did to unruly inmates at the Ohio Penitentiary in 1908:
“[Inside the small room] is a large, deep bath tub, showing signs of hard wear. The convict is seated in the tub, a curved board clamped around his waist, which holds his body rigid.
“A guard in an oil coat holds the convict’s head so he cannot dodge. This is usually accomplished, I am told, by clutching his ears. A second guard adjusts a hose and throws a stream of perhaps 60 pounds pressure in the victim’s face.
“I am told that men have been known to collapse under the first shock of the water. Imagine a man gasping for breath and filling his lungs and stomach with water.
“A minute under the water will, it is said, break the spirit of the most hardened offender.” [3]
The Paddle
The paddle was a humiliating punishment. The inmate was not only beaten, but he was stripped and chained down, as described in an article published in 1910:
“Punishment by the paddle is managed in this fashion: The prisoner is seized, stripped and bent over the edge of a bathtub, his legs being manacled to the floor and his hands chained before him. A guard takes a flat instrument, ash, three and a half feet long, two inches wide, fitted with a handle. He soaks it in hot water. Then he beats the prisoner with it a prescribed number of times – four or five according to the prisoner officers, ten to thirty according to the prisoners.” [4]
Bull Rings
One common punishment in the old prisons was the bull rings:
“Bull rings means that the prisoner is strung up by the wrists in a dark cell and thus left hanging, like a carcass of beef. Sufferers from this device and other witnesses have declared that the chains are sometimes so adjusted that the delinquent’s feet barely touch the floor. This is denied by the prison officers. There is no reason why it should not be true; the guards are a law unto themselves. The cell is perfectly dark except for what light filters through a few narrow slits in the door and is otherwise unventilated. At night the victim is usually lowered and allowed to sleep on the floor – usually, not always.” [5]
The Hummingbird
The hummingbird was a form of torture by electricity that was in use in the penitentiaries back in 1910:
“The hummingbird was an electric instrument of torture operated after the following manner: Having been stripped, the delinquent was fastened on his back in a shallow metal tank filled with water and connected with one electrode from a dynamo: the other electrode was a wet sponge. Gloved in rubber, the operator took the wet sponge and passed it slowly up and down the prisoner’s bare limbs. As it went, his muscles corded into knots and he shrieked aloud until he fainted.” [6]
