The Poison Jelly Caper
By: George Feigley

I'm sure you've read about how there are 7,000,000 American citizens in some form of custody in the United states, more per capita than any place else in the world. Enslaving citizens is what America does best both at home and abroad. If the average person knows about 300 adults, on average 6 of them are on probation, 2 of them are prisoners and one of them is on parole.

Apparently the regressive state prison at Frackville in Eastcentral Pennsylvania is doing its part to reduce the number prisoners by poisoning as many as possible. Almost every morning the messhall serves the men poison jelly. Saccharin was, long ago, found to be a dangerous cancer causing agent. In Pennsylvania it's against the law to sell it or use it.

What does the prison administration care?!

I suppose serving poison saves a few pennies. Almost every morning the men are fed the dangerous contraband jelly. It's plainly labeled as a carcinogen, but 15% of the men are illiterate and can't read the warning. Another 15% can't see well enough to make out what the label says.

The label is brightly reflective Mylar and the tiny text is purple. I can't imagine how anyone in authority would feel right about brazenly feeding the prisoners poison, but it's Frackville, perhaps the worst managed prison in the state. Since the label pictured here is so hard to read even though it's been enlarged to double size, here's what it says.

"LOW SODIUM LOW CALORIE
ARTIFICIALLY SWEETENED

GRAPE JELLY

USE OF THIS PRODUCT MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH. THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS SACCHARIN WHICH HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO CAUSE CANCER IN LABORATORY ANIMALS."

The remainder of the label is VERY small print and is almost impossible to read. We've written to the company for the exact text. The following is our best guess about what it says.

"Ingredients: grape juice, pectin, citric acid, potassium sorbate added as a preservative, calcium chloride, 0.04% calcium saccharin.
Nutritional information: serving size 7/16 oz., servings per container 1, calories 4, protein 0 g, carbohydrates 0 g, fat 0 g, sodium ser less than 10mg. Contains less than 2% of the USDA for protein, vitamins and minerals.

STICKNEY & POOR SPICE CO.
CHELMSFORD, MA 01824"

Where there are so many safe, non-poisonous sweeteners, I'm mystified why Stickney and Poor would use saccharin and then sell it to be used on prisoners who have no alternative. The prison guards aren't served the carcinogen. Other, regular safe, bulk jelly is given to them. In the law that's what's called "guilty knowledge."

"You made me bleed my own blood"
(1990) John Swartzwalder
[Put into the mouth of the character Nelson Murtz
on television's The Simpsons

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