The mode of punishing infractions of the prison rules at the Stillwater
penitentiary consists of standing the prisoner on the inside of a cell
door; putting his hands through the bars, and handcuffed on the outside.
He is kept standing in this position ten hours during the day, and then
let down during the night; is allowed only a single slice of bread and a
cup of water each day while undergoing punishment. There are no beds in
these cells, nothing but a plank on which to sleep.
As a rule, prisoners are only kept in these punishment cells from four to
six days, and it frequently occurs that he is released in one day,
providing he promises to obey the rules and will try to avoid getting into
trouble in the future. It is not the custom to subject the inmates of the
Stillwater penitentiary to this form of punishment for trivial offenses,
but it is applied to those prisoners who attempt to escape, who destroy
property, or who indulge in fights and who display a general negligence in
regard to their work.
On entering the punishment cell the prisoner is searched thoroughly and
given a third‐grade uniform. After the punishment is over he is kept in
the third grade for thirty days, and by good conduct at the end of that
time he is admitted to the second grade. While in the third grade all his
privileges are cut off, such as permission to write letters, receiving
visits from friends, and tobacco and newspapers.
Not very many prisoners are subjected to this form of punishment and it is
resorted to only when all other means of enforcing prison discipline
fails.