The X, the EX and the 999: The Spectacle of Punishment is Alive and Well in a Prison Cemetery

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

It is generally understood that the practice of punishment moved from a system of visible punishment to that of hidden punishment. That the philosophy of punishment moved from a belief that crime was discouraged by the horrific spectacle of public punishment to a belief that the inevitability of punishment serves as the true deterrent. Both philosophies were/are used on the living; but what are the far reaching implications when punishment as spectacle is practiced on the dead. Utilizing photography and historical records this presentation will explore the philosophical underpinnings of a 160 year old practice of branding the gravestone of inmates who have been executed and buried in the largest prison cemetery in the United States.

Author

• Franklin T. Wilson, Indiana State University