The Horror of Holmesburg Prison

About this episode

This episode explores the unethical human experiments conducted at Holmesburg Prison under Dr. Albert Kligman.

For more than two decades, incarcerated men inside Philadelphia's Holmesburg Prison were used as human test subjects in experiments that sound like something out of a dystopian novel. Beginning in 1951, University of Pennsylvania dermatologist Dr. Albert Kligman turned the prison into one of the largest non-therapeutic human research operations in American history, exposing inmates to infectious diseases, radioactive isotopes, mind-altering drugs for the CIA and U.S. Army, dioxin at 468 times the authorized dosage for Dow Chemical, and injections of asbestos funded by Johnson and Johnson. The overwhelming majority of the men subjected to these experiments were Black, and most were paid as little as a dollar a day for their participation. Kligman famously described his first visit to the prison by saying all he saw before him were acres of skin, comparing the inmates to a fertile field. His work at Holmesburg led directly to the development and patent of Retin-A, one of the most widely used skincare medications in the world, generating enormous wealth for Kligman, the University of Pennsylvania, and Johnson and Johnson while the men whose bodies made it possible received nothing…

People in this episode

Host: Disturbing History-True Stories

Topics covered

• human experimentation
• prison history
• medical ethics
• racial injustice
• pharmaceutical development

Keywords

• Holmesburg Prison
• human testing
• Dr. Albert Kligman
• medical experiments
• racial disparity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Pennsylvania, CIA, U.S. Army, Dow Chemical, Johnson and Johnson

Books & works: Acres of Skin

Places: Philadelphia, Holmesburg Prison

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