Eastern State Penitentiary was the world's first true "penitentiary." In order to encourage penitence—or true regret—in the hearts of criminals, inmates would spend their entire sentence in solitary confinement. On the rare occasion when an inmate left his cell, a hood was placed over his head to ensure his identity would remain anonymous. Ideally, no inmate would ever see the face of another inmate (Sean Kelley)

Terror Behind the Walls

Eastern State Penitentiary was the world's first true "penitentiary." In order to encourage penitence—or true regret—in the hearts of criminals, inmates would spend their entire sentence in solitary confinement. On the rare occasion when an inmate left his cell, a hood was placed over his head to ensure his identity would remain anonymous. Ideally, no inmate would ever see the face of another inmate

Credit: Sean Kelley