The Man Who Chronicled the Abuses at Holmesburg Prison

“So unless you are Seymour Hersh, who has The New York Times backing him, or some young activists or aspiring journalist who’s willing to work an issue, [thorny issues such as these medical experiments] can fall through the floorboards.”

In 1971 shortly after finishing graduate school, Allen M. Hornblum accepted a position at Philadelphia’s Holmesburg prison to conduct an adult literacy program for inmates. It was there that Mr. Hornblum would come to notice scores of inmates covered with gauze pads. The story of these pads involved a prominent dermatologist at the University of Pennsylvania, who decided that prison inmates represented an affordable market to test experimental skin medications. 23 years later, Mr. Hornblum would leave his position at the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office to investigate more closely the story of these experiments. The result was his first book, Acres of Skin, released to international shock and acclaim in 1998. It is now considered a classic, foundational work in medical ethics. On July 23rd, Mr. Hornblum joined Merion West’s Erich Prince to discuss Acres of Skin, his views on the American prison system, and his journey as an investigative writer covering ethical dilemmas.

The first thing I want to ask you about is your career path. Prior to writing Acres of Skin, you held a variety of positions. You were chief of staff at the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, you were involved in activism, you taught literacy in prisons. What was your path to trying your hand at authorship and writing Acres of Skin?

I worked in prisons for ten years during the 1970’s. I was in the sheriff’s office in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. I was on the crime commission during the same time, and I was with the Pennsylvania Prison Society for many years, including the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. I know a lot of convicts and cops. In addition to that, I’ve sort of made my mark or earned my bones with regard to credibility in the field with Acres of Skin, which really broke new ground concerning the history of how the imprisoned were used for most of the 20th century as subjects for medical experimentation.