{"id":7800,"date":"2017-06-15T15:26:16","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T19:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=7800"},"modified":"2018-04-25T18:57:24","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T22:57:24","slug":"western-penitentiary-prison-inmates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2017\/06\/15\/western-penitentiary-prison-inmates\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghosts of Western Penitentiary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"An <\/a>
An unnamed inmate at Western Penitentiary ties his shoes to begin the morning. Photo published Nov. 5, 1978. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Willie <\/a>
Willie McLendon demonstrates the dimensions of his 7-foot by 8-foot cell. Photo taken Feb. 22, 1983. (Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"John <\/a>
John Hart, 35, studies in his cell while serving a life sentence. Photo taken Nov. 23, 1969. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bill <\/a>
Bill Elliott, 22, of North Philadelphia works out in the prison’s weight room. Photo taken May 18, 1986. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Paralyzed <\/a>
Paralyzed by a bullet, an unnamed inmate exercises by sketching. Photo taken Dec. 1, 1970. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Convicts <\/a>
Convicts at Western Penitentiary gather for an annual church recital. Photo published April 20, 1960. (Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bocci <\/a>
Bocci consumes one hour in a day that seems to last forever. Photo published Dec. 1, 1970. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Not much changes in prison. <\/span><\/p>\n

Each day, the same faces follow the same routines while wearing the same colors. As the caption accompanying a 1970 picture of the Western Penitentiary recreation yard puts so bluntly, \u201cBocci consumes one hour in a day that seems to last forever.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But even as days blended together for the people behind Western Pen.\u2019s 40-foot wall, Post-Gazette interviews with inmates dating back to the 1930s show an acute awareness of one thing: how the public perceives them. It\u2019s never been a very positive image, and they knew it. They also knew that image was incomplete.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gov. Tom Wolf announced in January that Western Pen., known today as State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh, would close by June 30. When its gates close for the final time, so too will the 135-year history of Pennsylvania\u2019s oldest operating prison. We at The Digs couldn\u2019t let that milestone pass without looking inside a building that qualifies as a Pittsburgh institution in every sense of the word. <\/span><\/p>\n

While several of the prison\u2019s darker moments, including numerous\u00a0protests<\/a> and breakouts<\/a>,\u00a0have earned their own Digs entries over the years, it\u2019s easy to forget that SCI Pittsburgh\u00a0has been home to nearly 1,800 people at any given time. At its peak, more than 800 employees roamed its 21-acre complex.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve looked through our archives for scenes of what daily life was like for these people, and the photographs we found capture some of the emotional complexity that comes with life behind bars. Now we\u2019re sharing these pictures with you to add some dimension to whatever images you may hold of the people society hides from view, sometimes until their final days.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"(From <\/a>
(From left to right) Wesley Harris, Daniel Klauck and Lester Sowers work on a new issue of “Vibrations,” the inmate-produced newsletter. \u201cWe know people on the outside have just as many problems as we do, and we\u2019re concerned about all the problems of society – not just ours,\u201d an unnamed staffer told The Pittsburgh Press. Photo published March 7, 1971. (Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bill <\/a>
Bill Welsh, left, and Julius Letkus show art featured in the prison’s 1975 art festival. Welsh, 24, organized the event with help from drama professors at Community College of Allegheny College. Photo published April 11, 1975. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Lee <\/a>
Lee Johnson puts finishing touches on a hobbyhorse project in the prison’s carpentry shop. Photo published Aug. 31, 1985. (Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Members <\/a>
Members of Pittsburgh Chess Club battle Walled Knights, Western Penitentiary’s chess team. \u201cChess makes [inmates’] reentry into society much easier. All the clubs start bidding for them and they are invited into players\u2019 homes as players and friends,” Warden Joseph R. Brierly said of the league, which he organized. Photo published Aug. 3, 1969. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ira <\/a>
Ira Wilson, left, helps inmate Walter Henderson select a costume for the prison’s annual variety show. When this photo was taken, Wilson had served as Western Penitentiary’s musical director since 1951. \u201cNo theatrical group anywhere works harder than the convicts do on their annual show,\u201d wrote Pittsburgh Press music editor Carl Apone. Photo published Nov. 23, 1969. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the inmates of Western Pen. woke up on Christmas Eve 1970, they discovered a new bridge to the outside world. It came in the form of a small newsletter called <\/span>Vibrations<\/span><\/i>. Typed in an unheated warehouse closet by hands warmed on a small hotplate, <\/span>Vibrations <\/span><\/i>was an entirely inmate-run publication distributed weekly. <\/span><\/p>\n

Though it began with a small staff of 12 and was initially limited to circulation within the prison, the hope among the staff was always to take <\/span>Vibrations<\/span><\/i> public. By April 1971, at least 12,000 people were having <\/span>Vibrations<\/span><\/i> mailed to their homes, with the newsletter building significant support within the prison reform movement. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to dispel a lot of the myths and prejudices that the free community associates with this institution,\u201d one unnamed <\/span>Vibrations <\/span><\/i>writer <\/span>told The Pittsburgh Press<\/span><\/a> in March 1971. \u201cWe want our paper to let society know that we\u2019re not animals. We\u2019re human beings who need to communicate our ideas.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Insisting on the humanity of incarcerated people was easily the most common sentiment in the prison interviews we came across. It appears in descriptions of an inmate art festival organized in 1975 and in publicity for the prison\u2019s annual variety show. George Thomas of The Pittsburgh Press <\/span>interviewed<\/span><\/a> Warden Joseph R. Brierly in 1969 and asked why one of his early\u00a0changes\u00a0was to create a prison chess league and invite local clubs to compete. His chief goal? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving prisoners view outsiders as fellow players and friends. And having outsiders realize that convicts are not animals,\u201d Brierly said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A <\/a>
A father and son play during a family visit at Western Penitentiary. Photo published Nov. 6, 1977. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"An <\/a>
An unnamed inmate kisses a loved one goodbye in Western Penitentiary’s visiting room. Photo taken Nov. 1977. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"William <\/a>
William Haden sits and laughs with his family in Western Penitentiary’s visiting room. Photo published Nov. 6, 1977. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Inmates <\/a>
Inmates and their significant others dance at the Vanguard Jaycees dance. Photo published May 13, 1972. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

During his term at Western Penitentiary, which lasted from 1969 through 1971, Brierly reshaped the prison to place a heavier emphasis on rehabilitation. Many of the programs covered here are a direct result of his changes. In one anecdote<\/a>, his wife mentions that he voluntarily spent most holidays at work, preferring to be there for inmates missing home and their families. <\/span><\/p>\n

Along with creating the chess club, Brierly’s first action as warden was to double visiting privileges. He would eventually lay the groundwork for a radical redesign of the visiting room to help improve morale. \u00a0The first of its kind at a maximum-security facility, somber rows of metal tables with built-in dividers progressively became an open space filled with soft chairs. Inmates could hold their loved ones while their children played in a new daycare area.<\/span><\/p>\n

The only pictures with more obvious sign of relaxation come from a dance organized in 1972 by the Vanguard Jaycees, a nationwide inmate group that taught members about the importance of philanthropy. Spouses arrived with dress clothes to replace their loved ones\u2019 faded uniforms and danced until the early morning. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just good to be with the one you love,\u201d one inmate\u2019s wife <\/span>said<\/span><\/a>. Pittsburgh Press reporter Joseph Barsotti continued, \u201cDifferent prisoners, different wives all said the same thing, but with different words. Some found it hard to say anything at all. They just smiled or cried and you knew what they meant.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Though the inmates\u2019 moments of emotional escape were always fleeting, they also found more structured ways to fill time. In 1973, former Pittsburgh Steeler Leo Nobile joined Western Penitentiary as director of activities and athletics. Nobile, most famous for being <\/span>the only NFL player to nearly drown<\/span><\/a> during a game, started an inmate football team and joined the Pittsburgh Semi-Pro Club League.<\/span><\/p>\n

And thus, the Western Penitentiary Stealers were born.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The <\/a>
The Western Penitentiary Stealers compete in a Pittsburgh Semi-Pro Club League football game. Photo taken Dec. 25, 1977. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"(From <\/a>
(From left to right) Henry Williams, Myron Hopkins, Edgar Williams and George Hughes of the Pittsburgh Stealers watch a home game. Photo published Dec. 25, 1977. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A tower guard watches the Stealers play from the wall of Western Penitentiary. Photo published Dec. 25, 1977. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

One of the lines attached to the Stealers is that \u201cthey never played away games.\u201d But that didn\u2019t always prevent problems when they squared off against outsiders. The team was suspended for two years in 1975 after numerous games ended in brawls, no doubt egged on by the regular crowd of inmate spectators. It\u2019s worth noting the other Stealers truism: Nobody cheered the home team. Ever.<\/span><\/p>\n

Football was just part of a larger strategy to help prisoners rejoin society. A\u00a0<\/span>pioneering educational program established in 1969 was a keystone of the strategy. Enrolled inmates could take college courses for credit at the Community College of Allegheny County and the University of Pittsburgh. Some even got permission to travel off-site and attend real classes in person. The program also included primary and vocational schooling, and most of the instructors were graduate students or professors at local universities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Inmate <\/a>
Inmate Sheldon Dorian, right, shows Garfield Gordin how to check volume controls on a TV set. Dorian spent $800 he saved from working in prison workshops to purchase equipment for the program’s electronics class. Photo published Nov. 23, 1969. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pictured <\/a>
Pictured are some of the 65 students awarded high school, college and vocational degrees at Western Penitentiary in 1983. Photo published Jan. 23, 1983. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A class meets as part of Western Penitentiary’s educational program. \u201cThis is the first aspect of prison life I have experienced on the positive side,\u201d one unnamed inmate told the Pittsburgh Press. Photo taken in Nov. 1969. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Inmates <\/a>
Inmates peruse Western Penitentiary’s library. Photo published March 27, 1977. (Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\u201cThere is no question in my mind that they are capable of handling academic affairs and their own affairs, too,\u201d <\/span>John Bolton<\/span>, assistant dean of faculty at CCAC and one of the prison\u2019s English teachers, told The Pittsburgh Press<\/a>. \u201cThere is unimpeachable evidence that when these men are treated as human beings their attitude changes from hopelessness to optimism.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of these initiatives and programs fell away as Western Penitentiary aged. The Greater Pittsburgh Football League shut down in 1989, and the Stealers\u2019 football field was paved over to build a new cell block. <\/span><\/p>\n

Vibrations <\/span><\/i>didn\u2019t fare much better. Staff members returned to their office on April 29, 1971, only to find it padlocked shut and their files destroyed under the orders of a new, stricter warden. Ten days later, a Post-Gazette <\/span>letter to the editor<\/span><\/a> claimed that most of the <\/span>Vibrations<\/span><\/i> members had since been \u201csnatched away\u201d to solitary confinement or transferred. Some of the inmates <\/span>sued<\/span><\/a> prison officials for infringing on their free speech, but a Third Circuit Appeals judge deferred to the warden\u2019s judgement. <\/span><\/p>\n

Western Penitentiary has gone through many phases, an inevitability for a facility that dates back to the Reconstruction era. The prison was mothballed in January 2005, functionally closed down but not gutted. It reopened in June 2007 as a site for low-level offenders and inmates requiring substance abuse treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the final days of Western Penitentiary approach, all that will remain within its gates are the stories of thousands who never wished to enter. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 Matt Moret<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
A prison orator gives a philosophical speech during lunch. Photo published Nov. 5, 1978. (Pittsburgh Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not much changes in prison. Each day, the same faces follow the same routines while…<\/p>\n

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