Ethics Governing the Service of Prisoners as Subjects in Medical Experiments

INTRODUCTION During the war the Governor of the state of Illinois and the Department of Public Safety permitted prisoners in one of the state penitentiaries in Illinois to serve voluntarily and without any prior promise of a pardon or a reduction of sentence in prison as subjects in medical experiments. These experiments were designed to find a better preventive and curative treatment of malaria. The question has arisen of giving a reduction of sentence in prison as a reward for such service in addition to that ordinarily allowed because of good conduct. The expression "reduction of sentence in prison" is used to indicate that under the parole system the total sentence is not reduced since the prisoner is subject to the regulations of the Parole Board after parole, his activities are supervised and the board may return him to prison. A prisoner is not subject to parole or a reduction