Eastern State Penitentiary of Pennsylvania medical log books

Opened in 1829, Eastern State Penitentiary introduced a revolutionary system of incarceration, dubbed the Pennsylvania System, in which solitary confinement served as a form of rehabilitation. This system became the model for over 300 prisons worldwide. Designed by John Haviland, Eastern State Penitentiary's radial floor plan provided each prisoner his or her own cell, bathroom facility, and exercise yard.

Eastern State was viewed as a progressive reform in that it eliminated many of the excesses of physical punishment in colonial American prisons. Within most 18th century prisons, "physical punishment and mutilation were common, and abuse of the prisoners by the guards and overseers was assumed," (ushistory.org). Believing that the main goal of the prison should be rehabilitation through true penitence, the Prison Society created a system in which prisoners had no physical contact with other prisoners or guards.

While solitary confinement resulted in significantly better conditions for prisoners than the typical early 19th century prisons where prisoners were often confined in large groups without bathroom facilities, Eastern State's "system of confinement in cells posed new problems for the maintenance of the prisoners' physical and mental health," (Johnston, page 59). Indeed, it was widely believed (then and now) to have caused significant mental illness among its prisoners due to its solitary confinement. Eastern State originally housed an infirmary and an apothecary, and prisoners were treated by a physician and several male nurses. However, shortly after opening, hospital cells were created and maintained.

According to Johnston, efforts were made for prisoners to stay clean and "inmates wearing hoods would be brought to bathe individually every two or three weeks," (Johnson, page 59). However, the heating, ventilation, and plumbing systems were insufficient which resulted, inevitably, in illness. While mental illness surely resulted from solitary confinement for some, "prisons were the dumping ground for a significant number of mentally ill men and women, undoubtedly due to the dearth of public facilities to care for the criminally insane," (Johnston, page 60). Records of medical conditions at the time of admittance and throughout confinement were kept by prison officials.

SOURCES:

Johnston, Norman. Eastern State Penitentiary: Crucible of Good Intentions. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994.

ushistory.org. "Eastern State Penitentiary." ushistory.org/tour/eastern-state-penitentiary.htm (accessed March 10, 2011).