The mode of punishing infractions of the prison rules at the Stillwater penitentiary consists of standing the prisoner on the inside of a cell door; putting his hands through the bars, and handcuffed on the outside. He is kept standing in this position ten hours during the day, and then let down during the night; is allowed only a single slice of bread and a cup of water each day while undergoing punishment. There are no beds in these cells, nothing but a plank on which to sleep.

As a rule, prisoners are only kept in these punishment cells from four to six days, and it frequently occurs that he is released in one day, providing he promises to obey the rules and will try to avoid getting into trouble in the future. It is not the custom to subject the inmates of the Stillwater penitentiary to this form of punishment for trivial offenses, but it is applied to those prisoners who attempt to escape, who destroy property, or [pg 118] who indulge in fights and who display a general negligence in regard to their work.

On entering the punishment cell the prisoner is searched thoroughly and given a third-grade uniform. After the punishment is over he is kept in the third grade for thirty days, and by good conduct at the end of that time he is admitted to the second grade. While in the third grade all his privileges are cut off, such as permission to write letters, receiving visits from friends, and tobacco and newspapers.

Not very many prisoners are subjected to this form of punishment and it is resorted to only when all other means of enforcing prison discipline fails.