Phila. Inmates Sue Over Testing

P H I L A D E L P H I A, Oct. 19 -- Allen Hornblum’s first job out of graduateschool in 1971 was teaching literacy at Philadelphia’s HolmesburgPrison.

Inside the imposing walls, he says he was shocked to see dozensof inmates with adhesive tape on their faces, their arms and theirbacks.

At first he thought there had been a knife fight, but he soonlearned that the bandages betrayed widespread medical experimentsthat had gone on for 23 years inside the city-run prison.

Hornblum’s 1998 book, Acres of Skin, explored the physicaland psychological effects of the testing and inspired a lawsuitfiled this week in Philadelphia on behalf of 298 former inmates.

The lawsuit claims the testing exposed the inmates to infectiousdiseases, radiation, dioxin and psychotropic drugs — all withouttheir informed consent.

Doc Denies Long-Term Harm

It names as defendants the city of Philadelphia; Dr. AlbertKligman, a University of Pennsylvania dermatologist who conductedmuch of the research and is credited with developing the acne andanti-wrinkle treatment Retin A; the university; and drug makersJohnson & Johnson and the Dow Chemical Co., whose products wereallegedly used on inmates.

Kligman, who is now in his 80s but keeps an office at theuniversity, did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday.However, in 1998 he said: “To the best of my knowledge, the resultof these experiments advanced our knowledge of the pathogenesis ofskin disease, and no long-term harm was done to any person whovoluntarily participated in the research program.”

The university declined to comment on the lawsuit, and officialsfor the city and Dow Chemical did not immediately return telephonecalls.

Johnson & Johnson confirmed that it had tested cosmetic andskin-care products on inmates at Holmsburg during the late 1960sand early 1970s. But it said none of the ingredients cited in thepart of the lawsuit it had seen were used in the company’sproducts.