USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > History of the Albany penitentiary. > Part 2
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"Your committee therefore report, that the commissioners have truly accounted for the money received by them from the public treasury, as aforesaid, and that the same has been by them
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properly and faithfully applied to the purchase of the land, and to the erection and completion of the county Penitentiary.
"The examination of this matter was made at the request of the commissioners, as communicated in their report to the joint meeting, held 6th July last. They have afforded every possible facility and information, in regard to a thorough investiga- tion; and your committee beg leave to express their high gratification at the accuracy and minuteness exhibited in the various accounts necessarily involved in their transactions, and with the faithful performance of the duties entrusted to their charge.
"All of which is respectfully submitted.
JOHN TAYLOR, Mayor, JNO. HURDIS, ADAM VAN ALLEN, STEPHEN M. HALLENBECK, ARCH. A. DUNLOP,
Committee. "Albany, December 18, 1848.
"The final report of the commissioners (Messrs. Samuel Pruyn, Barent P. Staats and Lewis M. Dayton) was then read, approved and ordered filed."
,
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"The recorder then submitted the following pre- amble and resolutions which were unanimously adopted :
"WHEREAS, The term of office of the commission- ers appointed by an act of the legislature, passed April, 13, 1844, for the construction of a Peni- tentiary in the county of Albany, expires this day. As appears from a report of said commissioners, in which they state that they have completed the duties imposed upon them by said act; therefore :
" Resolved, That the thanks of the members of this joint meeting of the board of supervisors of the city and county of Albany, and the mayor and recorder of the city of Albany, be, and the same are hereby unanimously tendered to the said com- missioners, for the faithful, efficient and economical manner in which they have discharged their duties.
" Resolved, That we congratulate the commis- sioners on the eminent success which has attended their labors in the construction of the Penitentiary, and we hereby express our high gratification at the beneficial effects which have thus far attended the practical operation of the Penitentiary system, under their guidance and direction, and its great superiority over that which heretofore prevailed
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in this county, and which it was intended to super- cede. That we have entire confidence that its further progress will continue to develop its superiority over that system, in regard to its reforming influence upon those who are subject to punishment for crime, its restraining influence upon others, and the much greater economy with which it can be administered."
The following is a description of the Peniten- tiary as it then appeared :
" This establishment is located near the junction of Lydius street with the Delaware turnpike, about half a mile distant, in a westerly direction, from the Capitol. The lands belonging to it include four entire squares, as laid down upon the map of the city, and contain between ten and twelve acres.1 The buildings occupy a beautiful and commanding elevation, facing eastward, and presenting an imposing appearance. They comprise a centre building, three stories high besides the basement, fifty feet front and seventy-five in depth; and two wings, each one hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, exclusive of the octagonal towers which flank them. The interior of the south wing forms
1 Four more acres have since been added.
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a spacious hall, ninety-eight feet long, forty-six feet wide, and thirty-two feet high, in the centre of which is a massive block of ninety-six cells, four tiers in height, with staircases and surrounding galleries. These cells are each in the inside, seven feet by four, and seven feet high, supplied with iron bedsteads and other necessary furniture. Each cell has a separate and distinct ventilator. The doors are made of round iron bars, which when closed admit nearly as much air and light as when open. The hall is also well ventilated, spacious, light and airy. Besides these, there are ten larger cells in the octagon towers; making in all one hundred and six cells. This wing is appropriated exclusively to male convicts. In the north wing, occupied by the females, is a block of forty cells similar to those just described, with eight larger ones in the towers, correspond- ing with those in the southern octagons, making a total of forty-eight cells. The remainder of this wing is divided into work rooms for the women, and for various other uses. The whole prison contains one hundred and fifty-four cells, or dor- mitories, of which about one hundred and forty- four are used for ordinary purposes. The number, however, can be increased from time to time as
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occasion may require. The front portion of the central building is appropriated to the residence of the Superintendent, his family and the subor- dinate officers. On the first story, in the rear, are the guard chamber, matron's room, etc., etc. In the rear of the second story is the male hospital, a fine apartment twenty-eight by thirty-two feet; also a female hospital, and a dispensatory con- nected with both. The third story is handsomely fitted up as a chapel, thirty-six by forty-eight feet, furnished with pulpit, and seats, in which divine service is regularly held on each sabbath day. The rear part of the basement is devoted to the culinary operations of the prison, most of which are performed by steam ; adjoining this is the laundry and bake house. The whole esta- blishment is warmed by hot air furnaces, and furnished with a copious supply of good water ; and hot and cold water are distributed wherever necessary.
" A brick wall, fourteen feet high, extending one hundred and five feet beyond the wings, parallel with the front, and running thence two hundred feet to the rear, on each side, has been erected. This wall surmounted by towers, or guard-houses, at the angles, and a sentry walk at top, surrounds
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the whole prison yard, in the centre of which is a range of work-shops for male convicts, one hun- dred and fifty feet long by twenty-eight wide, with cellars of the same size beneath, for the prison stores.
"The dimensions of the prison, including the walls and yard, are four hundred and sixty feet front and rear, and two hundred and fifty feet deep, covering an area of nearly three acres. All the buildings are constructed of brick and stone, and are fire-proof. The ground was purchased at the very low price of $3,000. The cost of the buildings, exclusive of convict labor, was $35,000. Including interest on that part of the money borrowed for the purpose, and all other contingencies, the total cost is somewhat upwards of $40,000, which by law is directed to be raised in eight equal annual instalments. Three of these instalments have been already added to the county taxes and paid, without enhancing the previous rate of taxation, for the reason, that the former average annual amount of criminal expenses were by this change of system, sufficiently lessened to defray them; and it is believed that this effect will continue until the whole is paid. The undertaking therefore adds
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nothing to the public burden; on the contrary it must result in pecuniary gain, for the county acquires this valuable property (which will al- ways be worth its cost), entirely from the savings made on the former system."-Munsell's Annals of Albany, vol. i, p. 150.
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RULES AND REGULATIONS.
The following rules and regulations for the government and discipline of the Penitentiary were adopted by the board of supervisors of the county of Albany, and the mayor and recorder of the city of Albany, in joint meeting assembled on the 26th day of December, 1848. His honor, the mayor, John Taylor, in the chair; and the re- corder, Deodatus Wright, secretary.
The Principal Keeper, or Superintendent of the Penitentiary, shall have the entire control and management of all its concerns, subject to the authority established by law and the rules and regulations adopted for its government. It shall be his duty to obey, and carry out, all written orders and instructions that he shall from time to time receive from the proper authorities, and he shall be held responsible for the manner in which the said Penitentiary is managed and conducted. He shall reside at the Penitentiary and examine daily into the state thereof, visit every apartment, and see every prisoner confined therein, as often
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as good order and necessity may require. He shall exercise a general supervision and direction, in regard to the discipline and police of the prison and to the business concerns thereof, shall make all purchases for the support of the prisoners and proper management of the institution, and shall superintend all the business carried on, and labor done, in and upon the buildings or land belonging to or connected with the institution.
It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to select and employ one person who shall be styled Deputy Keeper, who shall be his principal assist- ant, and in the absence of the Superintendent, clothed with, and exercise all his powers, so far as relates to the discipline of the Penitentiary and the safe keeping of the prisoners. He shall also nominate (to be approved of, or appointed by the board of inspectors), one Overseer, or Assistant Keeper, to each branch of business carried on, and such number of persons for watchmen or guards as may be necessary for the safe keeping of and for guarding the Penitentiary, to hold their respective places during the pleasure of the Superintendent. Such assistants and guards shall be under the government of the Superintendent, and subject to his orders, who shall oversee and direct them
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in their several duties, and shall make such rules for their government, and for the govern- ment of spectators and others who may be admitted within the prison or yards, or who may be found lurking or loitering without, upon the lands be- longing to the establishment, as circumstances may require ; provided they are not incompatible with the laws of the state, or the rules and regulations adopted for the general government of the Peni- tentiary.
It shall also be the duty of the Superintendent to cause the books of the Penitentiary to be so kept, as clearly to exhibit the state of the prisoners, the number received and discharged, the number employed in grading and cultivating the land and other out door work, and the num- ber employed in each branch of business carried on, with their earnings, together with the expendi- tures of each branch or department; and he shall make out a quarterly cash account, in which he shall specify, minutely, the persons to whom, or from whom, moneys have been paid or received. and for what purpose, with an abstract of vouchers for all expenditures, which with the vouchers. he shall prepare and lay before the Inspectors, for them to examine and audit at their quarterly
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meeting at the end of every three months at the Penitentiary. And the Superintendent may, and he is hereby authorized to, draw on the county treasurer from time to time for such sums as may be necessary to defray the expenses of the institution and for its necessary maintenance and repairs; said drafts to be approved of and countersigned by the Inspectors, or by a majority of them; and the county treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to pay such drafts. so countersigned, whenever the same are presented. He shall close his accounts and books of the Peni- tentiary. and balance the same on the last day of October in each year, and render a report exhibit- ing a comprehensive view of all the transactions of the Penitentiary during the preceding year. showing the amount of labor performed, and the earnings and expenditures of each branch of labor at which the prisoners may have been employed, together with the profit, or loss, accruing or result- ing from the same.
He will also see that the prisoners are treated with humanity, that the sick and complaining have proper medical and other attendance, and that they are supplied with such food and medi- cine as may be prescribed and necessary.
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All prisoners received by the Principal Keeper, or Superintendent of the Penitentiary, shall be safely kept for the term for which they may be sentenced to confinement, and shall be employed in the grading, cultivation, and proper manage- ment of the land belonging to the institution, or at any other work which the Inspectors shall direct for the proper maintenance and best inte- rests of the establishment.
The clothing of the prisoners, on their reception into the Penitentiary, shall be taken from them, and (if worth preserving), restored to them on their discharge. On their entrance into the esta- blishment they are to be thoroughly cleansed, and clothed in the prison dress, which will be, for males, a jacket, vest and pantaloons made of coarse cloth, with a cap of the same material ; they are also to have woolen socks, with coarse leather shoes; their shirts shall be made from stout cotton cloth and changed once a week. For females, a checked linsey frock and skirt, cotton check apron and neckerchief, shoes and stockings and the usual under clothes. Each prisoner shall have an iron-frame bedstead with iron sacking bottom, straw mattress and pillow (and in winter one comforter), and two blankets, one night bucket,
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one water can and one spoon, knife and fork. The corridors of the prison shall be sufficiently warmed in cold weather with proper fires. Each prisoner on his or her discharge (if they have no clothes to be returned to them) shall at the discre- tion of the Superintendent, be furnished with a cheap laborer's dress, and with a sum of money, not exceeding one dollar, to enable him or her to find work for his or her support.
The prisoners, after receiving their rations, shall eat in their cells and observe such rules, in relation thereto, as shall be directed by the Super- intendent.
The rations or daily subsistence of the prisoners shall consist of one pound of salt or corned beef, four days ; three-fourths of a pound of salt pork, or three-fourths of a pound of salt fish, one day ; and one pound of fresh meat, made into soup, two days, in each week. One pound of bread made of good wheat middlings, for breakfast and dinner each day, and one-third of a pound of corn meal made into mush, with half a gill of molasses, for supper; there shall be four bushels of potatoes, carrots or turnips, for every one hundred rations, and a sufficient quantity of salt, pepper and vine- gar, with such alterations from time to time, as
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may be deemed necessary and approved of by the Inspectors.
The prisoners shall be required to labor diligently the whole time they shall be out of their cells, and in going to and from their cells they shall observe such order as may be directed by the Superintendent ; they shall be required to commu- nicate with their keepers in a respectful manner, and with the greatest brevity; they are not to converse with each other, or to be allowed to hold intercourse with any person not belonging to the institution, unless by permission and in the presence of the Superintendent or his Deputy ; they must conduct themselves with perfect order, and in strict compliance with the directions of their officers. Silence, order and regularity must reign; they must be industrious, submissive, obedient, and labor diligently in silence. In their cells they must also be silent, speaking to no per- son except in the event of sickness, in which case they can make it known to the officer on duty. The officers are not to treat the prisoners with harshness or anger, but while a spirit of mildness is to prevail, they are nevertheless expected to be firm and consistent in the discharge of their duties.
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Each prisoner shall have a Bible and Hymn- book in his cell, and such other books, or tracts, as may be furnished for their use, and they will be required to attend service in the chapel every sabbath, and also such other religious and moral instruction as may be provided for them; at all other times during that day they shall remain in their cells.
The Chaplain to the Penitentiary shall have the privilege, and it shall be his duty to visit at any and at all times the male prisoners when in their cells, or in the hospital, to instruct and teach those that can not read, and to administer to all such advice. instruction and consolation as he may deem best calculated to promote their reform- ation; and at all proper times he shall endeavor to press upon their minds the justice of their punishment, and the necessity of a strict compli- ance, on their part, with the rules of the establishment.
He shall attend and perform such service in the chapel on every sabbath day, at such hour or hours as shall be designated by the Superintend- ent, with the prisoners, male and female, who shall be assembled for that purpose.
He shall not furnish the prisoners with any
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information or intelligence in relation to secular matters, except by permission of the Superintend- ent; nor shall he have any other intercourse with the prisoners, than such as shall be necessary and proper in teaching them to read, and imparting such moral and religious instruction as shall be best calculated to promote their subordination, reformation and spiritual welfare: nevertheless, he shall endeavor to learn, in visiting the prisoners in their cells, so much of their past history and present views and feelings, as will enable him to adapt his instructions and reproofs directly to their individual cases and circumstances. He will keep in mind, that by visiting the prisoners in the solitude of their cells, by personally teaching the illiterate, and by explaining to all individually, their moral and religious duties and obligations, he will confer upon them benefits far greater than any which can alone be received by them, from his labors and services while they are congregated for the customary public worship on the sabbath.
He shall not receive from, or confer any present upon the prisoners; nor shall he have any deal- ings with them, nor shall he take to them or convey from them, any letters from or to their friends, or others ; nor write or otherwise become
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the medium of communication between them and their friends, or others, without the consent and approbation of the Superintendent.
He shall in all cases conform to the general rules and regulations adopted for the government of the Penitentiary; and it shall be his duty, annually, to render a report to the Inspectors of his proceedings for the year, with such remarks and suggestions in relation to the intellectual, moral, and religious condition of the prisoners, as he may deem important or necessary. Sectarian preferences in matters of religious belief are dis- claimed. If any prisoner desires communication with the minister or instructor of his particular faith, on proper application to the Superintend- ent, and at his discretion, it shall be allowed, under and in conformity with the general regula- tions of the Penitentiary. But such minister, or instructor, on such occasions, must in all things conform to the rules and restrictions laid down and enacted, as the duty of the Chaplain; any infringement, or departure from which, will debar him from future intercourse with the prisoners.
The Physician shall visit the Penitentiary at least every other day, and personally examine every sick and complaining prisoner that may be
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reported to him as such, or whom he may find in the cells or hospital; and shall prescribe such medical treatment as their cases require. He shall also visit the Institution daily, or oftener, when the condition of the sick require it; and when sent for, shall at all times repair immedi- ately to the Penitentiary.
He shall also keep a book, to be called the Hospital Register, in which shall be entered the names of all the prisoners sick or complaining, requiring medical treatment, with their disease and his prescription therefor. When a prisoner dies, he shall record the nature of the complaint and all the circumstances connected therewith that he may deem proper or necessary.
He shall in all cases direct the diet to be pre- pared for the sick, and if it should so happen that the direction or prescription of the Physician should not be properly attended to, he shall report the same to the Superintendent, that proper mea- sures may be taken to prevent future neglect or inattention.
He shall at the close of each year make out and furnish to the Board of Inspectors a report, or statement, showing the amount and nature of the sickness which has prevailed, and the deaths
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that have occurred during the year, with such re- marks in relation to the condition and treatment of the sick, as he may deem necessary or expedi- ent. He shall conform to the general rules and regulations of the Penitentiary.
There shall be employed by the Superintendent a Matron and one Assistant Matron, to the fe- male department, who shall reside at the Peni- tentiary, and attend to the labor and conduct of all the female prisoners. All the rules and regu- lations required to be observed and enforced by the subordinate officers having charge of the male prisoners, as are applicable to the females, shall be enforced by the Matrons under and by direc- tion of the Superintendent.
The Matron shall personally superintend the cooking, washing and ironing of the whole esta- blishment; also the weighing and measuring of the rations for the day, as established by the rules and regulations. And it shall be her duty to attend to the division of the daily food into rations, and to see that it is ready and in proper order to be served to the prisoners at regular meal time.
The Matrons shall cause the cells, kitchen, workrooms, and every part of the establishment
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under their care, to exhibit perfect neatness and order; and at all times to be ready for the inspec- tion of the Superintendent, Inspectors, and others who may visit the Institution.
It shall also be the duty of the Matrons to en- deavor to teach those who are unable to read, and to administer such moral and religious advice and instruction to them, as shall be calculated to promote order, decorum, propriety of behaviour, and reformation. They shall assemble the female prisoners in the chapel every Sabbath day for divine service and other religious instructions, and it shall be the duty of the Matron to see that every prisoner under her care is furnished with a Bible and Hymn-book, and such other books or tracts as may be furnished by the Chaplain or Superintendent.
For any violation of the rules of the prison by the female prisoners, the Matron shall confine them in their cells, and report the offense to the Superintendent, that he may give her such in- structions in regard to punishment or correction, as the nature thereof may require.
The Matron and Assistant Matron, shall each keep a book, containing the names of all the fe- males under their charge, with a table showing
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every day's labor performed, and also the articles made and work done for the Penitentiary or for others, which book shall be deposited in the Su- perintendent's office at the end of every month.
The Superintendent is authorized to employ and permit the use of weapons by the keepers or guards of the prisoners, to put down insurrection by force, and to prevent escapes at all hazards from the Penitentiary.
The object of this Institution being to effect the moral reformation of the culprit, punishment will be resorted to as rarely as necessity will admit; the rules of the Prison are nevertheless to be pre- served and maintained inviolate, and all infractions thereof or any resistance to the lawful commands and authority of the keepers, shall subject the offender to solitary confinement in a darkened cell, and to rations of bread and water (or to be showered with cold water), at the discretion of the Superintendent; no such confinement, how- ever, shall exceed ten days for any one offense, and in every doubtful case the proper medical authority shall be consulted.
Three Inspectors shall be appointed by the board of supervisors, and the mayor and recorder, in joint meeting now assembled according to law,
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who shall have the supervision of the Penitentiary; one of whom shall hold his office for one year, one for two years, and one for three years, from the first day of March next as shall be designated; and hereafter there shall be annually appointed, in the same manner, one Inspector who shall hold his office for three years from the first day of March then next ensuing. Said Inspectors, now first appointed, shall enter upon the duties of their office immediately.
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