Hi everyone and welcome back to Isaac Hoppers Diary Declassified. I'm your host Bri Bachinski and in this episode I will be diving into the treatment of women in 19^th century prisons and how that compares to the modern-day prison system using some of the women's stories from Hopper's diary to uncover the reality of 19^th century prisons. My hope throughout this episode is to offer insight into the experiences of women in prison in the 19^th century and give a deeper understanding of why the prison system remains ineffective at giving women a chance of redemption even in modern times. Thanks to Isaac Hopper, some women were able to reach redemption after their sentence, however because of the poor conditions, and overall mindset of female prisons, redemption was, and still is something that for many seems unattainable. With that being said, lets hop into it!

Topic 1- Sexism

To start off this episode, I want to begin by talking about sexism, specifically during the mid-19^th century. To begin to understand why this treatment was so bad, I think that it is really important to look at the sexist mindset many people had about women inmates during this time. One of the most unfortunate parts of society is that women are often considered inferior to their male counterparts. Sexism can be seen in most areas of society, mostly seen in opportunities and equality for women, yet this doesn’t even begin to explain how women were treated in prison, and it is something that is often overlooked, and that many people do not know about. The book Partial Society by Nicole Hahn Rafter says that “differential treatment of women stemmed from the common belief that a female criminal was far worse than any male, depraved beyond redemption.”(end quote) The sexism that drove this mindset regarding women inmates is one of the main factors that ultimately lead to the unthinkable treatment of these individuals in 19^th century prisons.

               I think one of the best pieces of evidence that does a fantastic job at painting the picture of the horrific treatment of women in prison during the 19^th century is the book “From Newgate to Dannemora”, specifically in the chapter “The Ordeal of the Unredeemables” here David Lewis discusses the treatment of women in prisons and why they were considered to be unredeemable.  The categorization of men and women is the first problem that we will be looking at, and is a general theme that will be seen throughout the female experience during their time in prison and even after release when trying for redemption, because so many people had this mindset that women prisoners were somehow worse than men. Partial Society uses a quote from Gerrish Barret who was a representative of the Boston Prison Discipline Society and visited the Ohio penitentiary in the mid 1840’s that sums this up. The book states “Although there were only nine women, they gave more trouble than 500 male convicts.” (end quote) This sense of superiority of men comes the belief that while men relied on reason, women relied on feelings, meaning that women lacked the kind of reason that enabled men to rehabilitate their character, or to “redeem” themselves after committing crimes. Thus, women were considered “unredeemable.”

 Something I think that is important to note, and the reason these inmates were considered to be so bad is because often times the United States would not sentence women to prison in the first place, especially if said women was white. This is why the women that did receive sentences were often repeat offenders and were described to be the worst of their kind. Many people did not have sympathy for these women, which is where we can begin to uncover the abuse and horrible conditions found during the investigations of women's facilities during the 19^th century. The double standard between men and women is very prominent in the prison system, specifically when incarcerated women’s chances at redemption are reduced to a lost cause and men still have the opportunity to become a good member of society. The process of female reformation was deemed by many to be something that was simply useless. As we can see, the sexism surrounding the mindset and categorization of female inmates lead to many more issues in the prison system, and this leads us to the topic of conditions.

Topic 2- Conditions

As we can see, the sexism surrounding female inmates gave them the label of being unredeemable, even when many of the crimes committed by female prisoners were not violent crimes. Instead, women usually committed crimes like prostitution and grand larceny. I will discuss these crimes more in depth later on when I give real examples out of Hopper’s diary that demonstrate which crimes were more commonly committed by women, however, right now I want to discuss the treatment of women in prison, and the conditions in the facilities. Lewis’s book, From Newgate to Dannemora, also touches on some of the conditions women had to face, looking more specifically into the women's quarters at the Auburn and Sing Sing prisons.  The prison system was originally created by men for men, and right from the start we can see how this may be an issue, especially when men and women are living among each other. This is something that was common up until women got their own quarters sometime after the 1820s. Prisons at this point resembled classrooms where the incarcerated people all lived together, kind of like a dormitory. Although this was the case for some time, New York’s Auburn Prison eventually did separate the men and women, but it did not make the living conditions as a female prisoner much easier. While the men got separate prison cells, the women lived in a small, confined attic above the kitchen in Auburn.

 While I am sure you can begin to imagine what kind of problems would arise with many women living among each other in a small, overcrowded attic, let me paint you a clearer picture. Women were left to be loose in their living quarters, Newgate to Dannemora describing this as to “feed upon and destroy each other.” The savage fights between female prisoners were one of the most prominent issues, with shrieks and screams being heard from the women's quarters. “A History of Womens Prisons” by Jessica Pishko also notes this, saying that among the other violence, women were also “subjected to straightjacketing and gagging.” Other issues arose due to the overcrowding as well. The inhumane living conditions allowed for a cesspool of disease and infection, and with many women living together, these diseases had no problem spreading among the prisoners. This, along with the violence between the inmates put these women at a high risk of death. From Newgate to Dannemora quotes Gershom Powers who says that “There seems to be a limit to the number of females who can be jammed into a small living area without risking high mortality rate.”(end quote) Eventually things got so bad at Auburn that inspectors had to notify Albany. This discovery called for immediate action for change for the women's quarters. This change though still did not allow for much better conditions for the women, but rather just made more accommodations as their quarters got remodeled. While the living quarters did get remodeled it is important to note that the conditions of the Sing Sing women's prison were so bad that not even 5 years after it was built, the board asked it to be abandoned for an  new one to be constructed completely differently.

               Food was also something worth talking about, as it also contributed to the horrible experience of being a women in prison during this time. Women were only given one meal a day, and the food was also of very poor quality, almost being inedible. In Sing Sing, food had to be delivered from the men's prison and it arrived cold. There was barely any equipment for the women to do cooking of their own. Something else that I think is important to discuss about the conditions is the treatment, or lack thereof of pregnant women. There was a severe lack of nurses and medical supplies to assist women with their pregnancies and delivering their children. This lack of medical attention, along with the preexisting conditions of the women’s prisons resulted in not only a high death rate among the inmates as previously mentioned, but also a high death rate for babies born in the institution.  It is clear from all of this that women had to face significantly worse treatment in prisons then men, and it seems as though it all can be tied back to the sexism I started off this episode with. A famous quote from Chaplain B. C. Smith used in  From Newgate to Dannemora even stated that “To be a male convict in this prison, would be quite tolerable, but to be a female convict, for any protracted period, would be worse than death.”

Hopper and Prison Reform

Now that I have given you some background on the prison conditions women had to face, I want to discuss some of the stories of Hoppers women and why they were incarcerated. While Isaac Hopper is more well known for being an American abolitionist, this podcast’s purpose is to show his work with prison reform and helping formerly incarcerated people reach redemption. One of the first women I thought story showed the female prison experience well is Mary Lee. Hopper writes in his diary

 “Mary Lee a native of Ireland about 30 years of age was convicted of grand larceny and sent to Sing Sing for two years – the term of her sentence expired and she set a liberty the 9th. She says that the female prison has not been as well conducted since it has been in the charge of Mrs. Farlin as it was previously – that she was punished more in 4 weeks after Mrs. Farlin was Matron than she was in the 14 months that Mrs. Farnham was Matron. She also says that when the women misbehave Mrs. Farlin complains to the Warden and that he comes into their apartment and beats them with his cane.” (end quote)

As we can see here Mary Lee discusses her personal experiences with being an incarcerated woman in Sing Sing. We can also see that her crime was grand larceny, so she was convicted for stealing, and while this is still a criminal offense, it is nowhere near some of the more violent crimes like murder that are more often committed by men. As mentioned before, Sing Sing prison was one of the worst places to be incarcerated as a women, but it is interesting to see how her personal experiences differs from the general information from other sources. While she is only mentioned once in Hopper’s diary there are many other women that are mentioned more that Hopper helps reach redemption after their release. Another woman with a similar story is Bridget Hill who also recalls her experience in prison. Hoppers diary states

“Bridget Hill was convicted of grand larceny in Brooklyn by the name of Bridget Keenan and sent up for three years – that term expired and she was discharged this morning – She is 21 years old and is a native of Ireland. – Bridget says that the discipline of the prison is very severe – the women are worked too hard. M^rsClark wife of one of the guards and an assistant keeper has a little daughter who is said to look very much like Robert Lent. One day Catharine Logan in a joke said to a fellow prisoner that must be the father of the child it looked so much like him[.] M^rs Clark overheard the conversation and informed Lent of it. He was greatly enraged and he put a gag in her mouth and a strait jacket upon her he then placed her in cell and kept her there till next morning without any thing to eat. Six women have had their hair shave off since M^rs Dewey has been the Matron. M^rs Clark is very cruel Bridget saw both her and Lent beat Catharine Logan.” (end quote)

Again, while Bridget Hill is only mentioned once, her story gives more of an insight into the treatment women had to face in prison. Another women worth mentioning is Dolly Palmer, Hopper writes

“Dolly Palmer aged about 23 years was born and brought up at Saratoga -  soon after she was of age she went to Albany where she was employed as a domestic in a family – here she contracted unprofitable acquaintance and was induced to commit a larceny for which she was sent to Sing Sing for two years and one month.” (End quote) This is another example of a woman that was not convinced of violent crime, but most likely still would be considered “unredeemable” by many because of the mindset around female prisoners at the time.  While the conception was that it would be a miracle for a women to become good again, this is an example of a women who did make progress after release. Later on Hopper writes that

“Dolly Palmer – see page 17 – has been employed several days in cleaning house [etc.]  and having conducted to the satisfaction  of A H Gibbons a place has been procured for her in a respectable family – where she is now engaged as a domestic.” (End quote)  

Hoppers work here goes against the notion that women are unredeemable, but many just don’t have access to the support they need to make redemption even possible. Dolly is an example of a success story after being released, as even something that seems simple, like finding a job is something that many formerly incarcerated people have a trouble doing once released.

One of the other women that is interesting to look at is the story of Cecelia Elizabeth Doremus and her experience with prostitution, however she was ultimately arrested for grand larceny as well. While Mae’s podcast “"The Prostitution to Prison Pipeline" covers Cecelia's story and prostitution more, it is important to mention that prostitution is one of the other common crimes women were incarcerated for during the time. Another women's story that provides some more background on the female experience in prison and redemption is that of Mary Mchugh, check out  Klevisa’s podcast,"Mary McHugh: A Woman Incarcerated" for more.

 The unfortunate reality of incarcerated women is that many of them simply found themselves in bad situations with men, which lead to many of their arrests. While some were lucky enough to receive help from Hopper after their release, not all women had this accessible, leading to many women to be reincarnated after release. While reformers have attempted to make prisons a place for redemption, the unfortunate reality is that the system remains corrupt and is often considered a place of punishment where people are unable to get the help they need, and this is still visible in modern prisons.

Modern prisons

The women's stories of Hoppers diary's lead us into a discussion on how the prison system has changed to what we see now. While I wish I could say that many dramatic changes have been made to promote the redemption of women, unfortunately this is not the case. I also wish I could say that the mindset surrounding incarcerated women has changed dramatically, but I can’t say that either, as sexism is still very present in the prison system in the modern world. I said earlier that the prison system is something that has been designed by men for male inmates, and this is still the case. This is such an issue because often time the system fails to give women the help and recourses they need. Women are still considered to be worse and more of a problem then the male inmates, and many women are still incarcerated due to reasons of getting caught up with the wrong men and being punished for others wrongdoings.

Something I found to be devastating about the more recent years in women's prisons is the rise of COVID-19 and how prisons handled the pandemic. As the deadly virus spread across the country, places like prisons were some of the most heavily affected due to the confined spaces the incarcerated live in. COVID-19 complications that caused many deaths in prisons is very telling about the state we are at today with prison reform. The article “What Women Dying In Prison From COVID-19 Tell Us About Female Incarceration” by Cary Aspinwall, Keri Blakinger and Joseph Neff, published in May 2020  states “Women are the less visible victims of COVID-19 behind bars—as they are so often overlooked in a criminal justice system that was not designed for them. Though only a small number have died—at least 13 reported as of Wednesday—their stories illuminate the unique problems women face in prison. They also reflect the all-too-common ways they get there in the first place: drug addiction and violence involving the men in their lives.” Many of the women that died had pre-existing medical conditions that put these women more at risk, which prison officials were aware of, but failed to release these women once the virus entered the facility, and by then it was too late.              

A story of a women that I found especially saddening is that of a women named Andrea Circle Bear, a Native American woman that was incarcerated in federal prison when she was 8 months pregnant, also leaving 5 children behind in her home state. A few days after arriving at prison, she became sick with COVID-19 and delivered her child through C-section after being put on a ventilator. She passed away three weeks later, and never got the chance to meet her child. This story really reminds me of the 19^th century prisons with a lack of medical attention.  The rise of COVID-19 in modern times has been very telling of the inequalities and sexism women still face in the modern prison system, while the conditions may be less brutal than 19^th century prisons like Sing Sing and Auburn, there are still many ongoing issues that still make redemption difficult, as many are set up to fail from the beginning. This can be seen in the statistic surrounding the multistate recidivism rate in the United States that “58% of incarcerated women are rearrested, 38% are reconvicted, and 30% are reincarcerated within 3 years of release from prison.” As we can see from all of this information, there is still a long way to go for prison reform in the United States, specifically with women, as the mindset surrounding modern prisons is still to punish individuals for their crimes instead of help them become a good member of society again.

Outro

Thank you all for taking some time to listen to my episode today! I hope this episode of the podcast gave you a better sense of what it was, and still is like to be a women in prison in the United States through some of the stories of the women in Hoppers diary. Today’s episode was written and produced by Bri Bachinski, and thanks to Eric Williams-Bergen and Nicole Roche [Ro-Shay], the podcasting team at St. Lawrence University. Be sure to check out the episode notes on the diary website, Isaac [dash] Hopper [dot org]. There you’ll find a source list for this episode.