Alcatraz by David Ward Page B

think it is very undesirable for us to use the old dungeons as punishment cells. If you feel that we have not provided sufficient or suitable isolation facilities, please submit at once estimates on the cost of remodeling cells in the unused portions of the building in such a way as to adapt them to fulfill the need which you are now meeting by use of the dungeons. 28
    Prison records and staff and inmate testimony provide evidence that handcuffing inmates in a standing position ceased after this order from headquarters but the use of the dungeon cells continued. Johnston told Bates that he agreed that use of the dungeons was “undesirable” and that two solitary cells separated from each other had been constructed in D block (by extending the fronts of regular cells with concrete walls and ceiling) “to give us a two-door instead of a one-door entrance.” 29
    Bates’s concern that his order might not be carried out was reflected in a follow-up letter to Johnston, asking for “your assurance that these cells will not be used except in rare cases; that when they are used a special report will be sent to this Bureau; and also that the use of the shackles has been discontinued.” 30
    Understanding that these forms of punishment could lead to allegations of physical as well as psychological abuse, about two weeks later Bates asked Johnston for further assurance that
    there is no stringing up by the wrists or otherwise; they are using the old cells in the basement only as a last resort; that our most severe means of punishment is solitary confinement for short periods, meaning from three to 10 days; and that under the regular rules of the Prison Bureau, a doctor representing the United States Public Health Service visits twice a day all men in solitary and no reports of insanity resulting from disciplinary measures have been received . . . in your letter of April 3, you stated, “we are not using shackles in connection with confinement or punishment.” Does the word “shackles” include leg irons, handcuffs and chains of all kinds? Do you make a careful discrimination in your punishments between those who have consciously and deliberately disobeyed the rules and those who have any suspicion of a mental aberration? We cannot afford to have it said that we are punishing men who are insane or mentally disturbed. 31
    These exchanges between the director, far away in Washington, D.C., and James Johnston reflect in very civil language the tension between Bureau headquarters trying to avoid negative publicity related to a very controversial penitentiary and a warden used to having almost complete autonomy in running a prison placed in his charge.
    The most serious punishment that could be imposed upon an Alcatraz inmate was the removal of some or all of his good time. Most of the men on the Rock were quite accustomed to doing time in isolation or disciplinary segregation units, but the loss of months or years of good time substantially lengthened the actual time served. It also generally foreclosed the possibility of transfer from Alcatraz and thus weighed heavily against any consideration for parole. Through normal disciplinary proceedings, an inmate could lose days or weeks of the good time he had already accumulated, and he could lose months or years of accumulated good time—as well as good time yet to be earned—through a pseudo-due-process procedure carried out by a “good time forfeiture board” usually comprised of the deputy warden and the captain or a lieutenant. Such boards were constituted when an inmate committed a serious violation of prison rules, such as attempted escape or assault.
    At these hearings, an inmate was not allowed to call other inmates as witnesses; he was not given advance notice of the charges lodged against him; and no appeals were permitted. Since inmates were asked insultingly, “Can you tell your own story or do you need someone to help you?” none asked for help. A verbatim transcript