The Case of Jacob B. Stockvis
Item
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Title
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The Case of Jacob B. Stockvis
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Description
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This document details the jury findings in the inquest of the death of Jacob Stockvis after his stay in Blackwell's Island's workhouse. The workhouse system was designed to strike a balance between punishment and rehabilitation by identifying the culprits of minor crimes and assigning them short-term sentences where they could reform their ways.
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Creator
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New York Times
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Date
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1875
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Type
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Newspaper
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Format
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PNG
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Language
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English
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Subject
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death, workhouse
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Place
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New York City
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Temporal Coverage
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19th century
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Rights Holder
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New York Times Company
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Rights
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Public Domain
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transcription
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That the said Jacob B. Stockvis came to his death by phemogonous inflammation of the arm, caused by internal disease, and contributed to by the softening of the brain and the general feebleness of his system. And we further find that the condition of the said Jacob B. Stockvis was aggravated and hastened to a fatal issue by exposure during his absence from home on the 20th of February, the day of his arrest, and by want of medical aid and proper treatment and nourishment after his arrest, and while confined in the station-house of the Nineteenth Precinct, in the Police Court Prison, and in the Workhouse on Blackwell’s Island. And we further find that sufficient care was not taken by the officers in charge of the Police Court Prison and the Workhouse to ascertain the true physical and mental condition of the said J. B. Stockvis, and to provide for him the necessary medical aid and such other treatment as would have been in conformity with his deplorable and critical condition. And we further find that the system now prevailing under the directions of the Board of Police Commissioners and the Commissioners of Public Charities and Correction relative to medical inspection and during the confinement of prisoners is defective, and that the whole management of affairs, and the manner of distribution the prisoners after ther [sic] arrival in the Workhouse on Blackwell’s Island is irrational, and their treatment during the confinement is, in many respects, degrading, and demands thorough investigation and reform.
