An event at Ambler campus tonight will bring to light some of the unspeakable atrocities prison inmates at Holmesburg prison in Philadelphia underwent during radical experimentation from 1951 to 1974.
Assistant Professor of Geography and Urban Studies Allen Hornblum will host a documentary based on his book “Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison; A True Story of Abuse and Exploitation in the Name of Medical Science” in Bright Hall Lounge at 7:30 at Ambler’s campus. The event is free and open to the public.
Tests on inmates at Holmesburg prison started innocuously. Early experiments tested the effect of benign cosmetics and even chocolate on inmates. But later the tests escalated to the study the effects of chemicals and military agents on people’s bodies.
Hornblum will speak with two inmates of the Holmesburg prison, putting faces to the story.
Barbara J. Isenberg can be reached at isenberg@temple.edu.
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