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Sentenced to Science: One Black Man's Story of Imprisonment in America

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Sentenced to Science, written by Allen Hornblum tells the first hand account of Butch Anthony's experience at Holmesburg as a human "guinea pig " in the 1960's. Despite decades of unethical prisoner experimentation after World War II, Sentenced to Science is probably the only book written from a test subject's perspective. A story captured in Sentenced to Science that would have otherwise been lost in history due to the aging of the subjects from this tragic research era on vulnerable populations.
Hornblum, through the narrative of Butch, gives a perspective of the incarcerated human research volunteer. As Butch describes prison life, his reasoning for volunteering as a subject becomes obvious. Butch believed that he was volunteering for safe and easy experiments and would make a quick and lucrative income as a human guinea pig. As he quickly found out, the inducement of money was not worth the pain and suffering of the trials.
Butch describes an array of experiments that he participated. One trial he was told was an innocuous bubble bath test. Despite being as Butch describes "a functional illiterate", he signed a "consent" and volunteered for the test that would pay him thirty-seven dollars for a few weeks of trials. Though the test sounded safe and easy, he found out within minutes the horrible side effects he had to endure. Upon being sent back to his cell, he was nauseous, had a bitter taste and passed out before he made it to his cellblock. The next day, he noted, "Large blisters the size of nickels and filled with pus had formed where the patches had been." Though being in pain, Butch continued the test for as long as possible for the lure of thirty-seven dollars.
Sentenced to Science is a lesson in medical ethics, social and criminal justice and behavior. Mr. Anthony describes the pressures of conforming to a prison system that involves sexual abuse, gangs, drugs and violence. In the final chapters, Butch reflects on the path that he chose in order to transform his life for the better.
As a grad student in health care ethics, I recommend this book as a must read. Especially in light of renewed interests from researchers to conduct trials in prisons in 2007.

This book is great. Don't think that it's not. It tells of the hardships that the Black community of America goes through and what they've had to go through. It tells of the unfairness of the prison system and how horrible those places really are. Just reading about the raping and the Nation of Islam bullies are enough to get your skin crawling. But I wanted to read a book about the horrors of the science aspect.

Although the author does tell the story of this man's horror with the "U of P" it's minimal at best. The story focuses more on his challenges to overcome drugs and to stop hurting his family.

Like I said, a great and worthy read. It's just not about the science as you would think it might be.

This irritating little tome is an irrelevant echo of Hornblum's previously written Acres of Skin. Eddie Anthony's simple-minded escapades provide neither insight into the issue of prisoner experimentation nor entertainment. This book could more aptly have been titled Acres of Tedium.