Sentenced to Science: Medical Experiments in American Prisons

While the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment received well deserved historical highlight, similarly egregious and even larger experiments done in the name of science have gone largely unmentioned. On December 3rd, researcher and author of Acres of Skin Allen Hornblum came to McCormick Hall to discuss medical experiments on prisoners. The event, titled “Sentence to Science: One Man’s Story and the Uncovered History of Prison Experimentation,” was sponsored by Students for Prison Education and Reform (SPEAR), the PACE Center for Civic Engagement, and the Princeton Progressives (PPro).

Hornblum began by sharing how he first became aware of such chilling stories in 1971 when he ran a literacy program in a Philadelphia prison. There, he was perplexed by the large amount of inmates who had adhesive tape on different parts of their body. When he asked his students, Hornblum found out that the prisoners were participating in experiments for the University of Pennsylvania. These experiments were the only way to make money outside of the 25 cents wage of regular prison jobs and tasks; if  prisoners volunteered for an experiment, they could make upwards of $1-2 a day. When he sought more answers, Hornblum was told by the prison administration to “keep his mouth shut” about the prison experiments, likely because these tests had been going on for almost 20 years: they had become the culture of the institution. 

Hornblum encouraged attendees to realize that while Nazis were being tried with war crimes for their medical experiments, in the same breath, the United States was using human beings as test subjects. While the 398 victims of the Tuskegee experiments were being given  syphilis, prisoners who chose to partake in scientific experiments for monetary compensation were deliberately made unwell in dozens of prisons around the country between the 1950’s to the 1970’s. Yusef Anthony, former prisoner and subject of many experiments, gave his account of what he endured and how they physically and mentally impacted every aspect of his life even decades later. 

While all of the subjects of the Tuskegee syphilis studies are deceased, there are still dozens of survivors of these prison experiments alive to share their testimony. Also in McCormick Hall, Yusef Anthony shared his story. Incarcerated at 19 years old after nonviolent marijuana charges, Anthony was placed in Holmesburg prison in 1971. From the start, Anthony noticed the oddity that was prisoners who wore cups on their head, bandages on their bodies, and also had tape on their skin. His was confused until he was told by prison administration about the experiments shortly after entering the facility. Anthony was wary at first, but a friend convinced him of the necessity of money in prison. From there, he went through three studies that would alter his physical and mental well-being. The first experiment masked itself as a harmless one: it was for a bubble bath product made by Johnson and Johnson. Even before the experiment commenced, antohyn had to sign away off on a form that said he couldn’t hold UPenn’s responsibility for what happens to him following the experiment. However, the study consisted of Anthony having the top layer of the skin on his back torn off with tape and subsequently covered it in a patch of bubble bath substance as well as sprayed with with an unknown green substance  Directly after the experiment, it was clear that the parameters of the study and the experimental debrief were inadequate and basically nonexistent. Anthony developed large red puss filled bumps on his arms and face. 3 weeks after the study, Anthony still needed to take intense painkillers to fall asleep. The pain was only soothed with hot water. He was examined by the experimenter once more and given a shot that relieved him of all of the pain and itching he suffered for nearly 3 weeks. However painful or traumatizing the initial experiment Anthony went through was, he went on to perform 2 additional experiments as the money he and other prisoners earned while participating in studies were vital to their survival in the prison. 

This experience and others like it  stuck with Hornblum for years. He hoped and assumed that someone would write an exposé or book on these prison experiments. But once he realized he couldn’t wait for someone else to write about what occurred in the prison system, he would have to. And so, when Hornblum was working in a Philadelphia sheriff’s office years after he first found out about the tests, he decided to resign and “pursue [his] crusade” to research and write about these secret experiments. 

Hornblum published Acres of Skin in 1998 to call attention to what resulted from “the criminal justice system being taken over by medical professionals.” The book focuses on just one prison the Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia and one dermatologist, Albert Kligman, who conducted some of the most unethical and controversial experiments inside the prison. While Philadelphia was often praised as being “the Athens of America” for its many great universities, it was also a site for human experimentation. A reference to the dermatologist’s reaction to the possibility of having access to hundreds of prisoners, the book’s title Acres of Skin comes from a quote of Kligman exemplary of the appeal that researchers saw in conducting experiments in the prison system: “All I saw before me were acres of skin. It was like a farmer seeing a fertile field for the first time,” Kligman said to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Scientists and medical personnel needed prisoners to perform tests the average human being wouldn’t dare to volunteer to do. The national reputability of Holmesburg and Kligman was illustrated through a story involving one of their research partners, Dow Chemical Company. 

Dow wanted to understand the origins of a disease common in their Michigan factory workers whereby laborers fell ill with large black welts and pimples covering their bodies. The experiment, done in 1965-1966, was initially performed on rabbit ears, but moving forward, scientists sought to have the chemical tested on human beings. Because of the location being a renowned testing site, the experiment was moved from Michigan to Philadelphia. Scientists found the origin of this outbreak to be a chemical called dioxin, also found in Agent Orange. The study began with small dosages of dioxin gaining exposure to the prisoners, but as no observable outcomes were found, Kligman decided to increase the dosage by 478 times, causing the subjects to contract the same symptoms as the rabbits did but on a larger scale. 

Even decades after the experiments, Anthony, now discharged from the institution, struggles to live a normal, healthy life. He has undergone surgery to relieve his swollen hands, which had swelled to the size of boxing gloves. His feet are seemingly indefinitely warped. Despite the high levels of anguish and pain Anthony had to endure, he is still grateful, since most of his friends who went through similar prison experiments did not survive as long as he has.

In response to a question about institutional compensation and apology, Anthony said that one thing he would want is a diagnosis of the conditions he has to endure. Decades later, doctors are still bewildered. He has been admitted into the hospital 3 times within the past 3 months. Anthony’s family even left him, fearing they would contract his unknown illnesses. Hornblum pointed out the fact that today Kligman  is still revered by many members of the UPenn medical school; despite his egregious actions, he is often celebrated for his advances in acne medication while his inhumane acts were never prosecuted. 

Holmesburg prison, however, was not an isolated incident. Experiments have been conducted on orphans, the mentally impaired, and infant children. While stories such as these may feel soul sucking or too overwhelming to discuss, listening to the testimonies of people like Yusef Anthony is one way to hold exploitative institutions accountable and to ensure that the inhumane will not go unnoticed and justified again even in the name of science.