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Code · STATUTES-AT-LARGE · Vol. 17 STAT. · March 3, 1873 · Chapter CCXLIX

Chapter CCXLIX. to provide for the Establishment of a military Prison, ana for its Government

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CHAP. CCXLIX.— An Act to provide for the Establishment of a military Prison, ana for its Government.March 3, 1873. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled,* ThatMilitary prison established at Rock Island; there shall be established at Rock Island, in the State of Illinois, a prison for the confinement and reformation of offenders against the rules, regulations and laws for the government of the army of the United States, in which shall be securelywho may be coalined therein. confined, and employed at labor, and governed in the manner hereinafter directed, all offenders convicted before any court-martial or military commission in the United States, and sentenced according to law to imprisonment therein.
Sec. 2. ThatBoard to adopt plan for building prison and regulations for government of prisoners. the Secretary of War shall organize a board of five members, to consist of three officers of the army and two persons from civil life, who shall adopt a plan for the building of such prison, and who shall frame regulations for the government of the prisoners, in accordance withFORTY-SECOND CONGRESS. Sess. III. Ch. 249. 1873.583 the provisionsPay, &c., of members. of this act. The said commissioners from civil life shall hold their offices for the term of three years, and shall be paid five dollars a day while on duty, and necessary travelling expenses; and the said officers of the army shall, at all times, be subject to removal by the Secretary of War.
Sec. 3. ThatPrison to be visited semi-annually, &c., and for what purposes. the Secretary of War shall, with said commissioners, semi-annually, and as much oftener as may be deemed expedient, visit said prison for the purposes of examination, inspection, and correction; and they shall inquire into all abuses or neglects of duly on the part of the officers or other persons in charge of the same, and make such changes in the general discipline of the prison as they may hold to be essential.
Sec. 4. ThatOfficers of prison, and assistants. the officers of the prison shall consist of a commandant and such subordinate officers as may be necessary, a chaplain, a surgeon, and a clerk, who shall be detailed by the Secretary of War from the commissioned officers of the army; and a sufficient number of enlisted men shall be detailed by the Secretary of War to act as turnkeys, guards, and assistants in the prison. Sec. 5. ThatAn army inspector to visit the prison as often as once in three months;his duties and report. one of the inspectors of the army shall, at least once in three months, visit the prison for the purpose of examining into the books and all the affairs thereof, and ascertaining whether the laws, rules, and regulations relating thereto are complied with, the officers are competent and faithful, and the convicts properly governed and employed, and at the same time treated with humanity and kindness.
And it shall be the duty of the inspector, nt once, to make full report thereof to the Secretary of War. Sec. 6. ThatCommandant of prison to give bond; before the commandant enters upon the duties of his office he shall give bond, with sufficient sureties, in a sum to be fixed by the Secretary of War, to be approved by him, conditioned that he shall faithfully account for all money placed in his hands for the use of the prison and for the faithful discharge of all his duties as commandant.his duties and powers;
He shall have command of the prison; shall have the charge and employment of the prisoners, and the custody of all the property of the government connected with the prison. He shall receive and pay out all money used for the prison, and shall cause to be kept, in suitable books, complete accounts of all the properly, expenses, income, business, and concerns of the prison;accounts,reports; and shall make full and regular reports thereof to the Secretary of War; and shall, under the direction and with the approval of the Secretary of War, employ, for the benefit of the United States,labor of convicts;sale of articles; the convicts at such labor and in such trades as may be deemed best for their health and reformation.
He shall have power to sell and dispose of any articles manufactured by the convicts, and shall regularly account for the proceeds thereof, and shall give bond and security for the faithfid keeping and accounting of all moneys and property coming to his hands as such commandant.good conduct of convicts to shorten their daily time of labor and restore to duty; He shall take note and make record of the good conduct of the convicts, and shall shorten the daily time of hard labor for those who, by their obedience, honesty, industry, or general good conduct, earn such favors; and the Secretary of War is authorized and directed to remit, in part, the sentences of such convicts, and to give them an honorable restoration to duty in case the same is merited; and in ease any convict shall disobey the lawful orders of the officers of the prison, or refuse to comply with the rules and regulations thereof, he may be placed in solitary confinement, and the commandant shall atsolitary confinement;no whipping, branding, &c.Prisoners to have decent clothing when discharged. once report the case to the Secretary of War, who shall direct the inspector to make full examination and report of the matter at the next inspection; but in no case shall any prisoner be subjected to whipping, branding, or the carrying of weights for the purpose of discipline, or for producing penitence; and every prisoner, upon being discharged from prison, shall be furnished with decent clothing. 584FORTY-SECOND CONGRESS.
Sess. III. Ch. 250–252. 1873. Sec. 7. ThatConvicts may have newspapers and books;visitors;may write and receive letters, subject to inspection. the use of newspapers and books shall not be denied the convicts at times when not employed; and that unofficial visitors shall be admitted to the prison under such restrictions as the board of commissioners may impose. The prisoners shall not be denied the privilege of communicating with their friends by letter, and from receiving like communications from them, all of which shall be subject to the inspection of the commandant, or such officer as he may assign to that duty.
Sec. 8. That Food and bedding.Ventilation.Baths. the prisoners shall be supplied with ample and clean bedding, and with wholesome and sufficient food, but when in hospital or under discipline their diet shall be prescribed by the proper authority. The prison shall be suitably ventilated, and each prisoner shall have a weekly bath of cold or tepid water, which shall be applied to the whole surface of the body, unless the surgeon shall direct otherwise for the health of the prisoner.
Sec. 9. ThatNo person connected with prison to be interested in any contract, &c. no officer of the prison, or other person connected therewith, shall be concerned or interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract, purchase, or sale made on account of the prison. Sec. 10. ThatOfficers suffering convicts to escape, &c., shall be dismissed, &c.; any officer who shall suffer a convict to escape, or shall in any way consent to his escape, or shall aid him to escape or in an attempt to escape, shall, upon conviction, be dismissed from the service and suffer such other punishment as a court-martial may inflict.
Sec. 11. Thatsoldiers, &c., suffering convicts to escape, to be confined therein, &c. any soldier or other person employed in the prison who shall suffer a convict to escape, or shall in any way consent to his escape, or shall aid him to escape, or in an attempt to escape, shall, upon conviction by a court-martial, be confined therein not less than one year. Sec. 12. ThatConvicts may be punished for offences committed during confinement. all prisoners under confinement in said military prisons undergoing sentence of courts-martial, shall be liable to trial and punishment by courtsmariial under the rules and articles of war for offences committed during the said confinement.
Approved, March 3, 1873.
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