Hornblum himself witnessed the reality of the large-scale testing
of products on prisoners when he was running a creative writing
course in a Philadelphia prison. Startled by the sight of men with
their bodies covered in gauze pads and tape, he enquired further
and learned that the men were participating in 'perfume tests'
being run by the University of Pennsylvania, and that other local
prisons were also running a wide variety of tests on prisoners.
Hornblum discovered that many prisoners were being used as
experimental guinea pigs, often for just a few dollars, and that
this practice had become an accepted part of prison culture over
nearly 20 years, having been initiated by Albert Kligman, an
ambitious dermatologist in need of vast amounts of test material.
Hornblum tells the story of Kligman and the many experiments he
carried out as part of his own research, and for other bodies
including the US Army. Many of the experiments were highly
questionable and went far beyond his own speciality, and indeed his
capabilities, involving as they did potentially lethal substances
such as dioxin and radioactive isotopes. Prisoners were rarely
informed of what was being tested, or what the effects were likely
to be. Hornblum argues that they were not in a position to give
consent and were in fact ruthlessly exploited. His book is based on
extensive interviews with many of those involved and paints a bleak
picture of ignorance, injury, greed and ambition. (Kirkus UK)
From the mid-1950s through the mid-1970s, inmates of Philadelphia's
Holmesburg Prison were used, in exchange for a few dollars, as
guinea pigs in a host of medical experiments. Hornblum paints a
disturbing portrait of abuse, moral indifference, and greed, as
doctors, in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania and
prison officials, established the prison as a testing lab.
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