This day in history: WSU prof said prison isolation wasn’t punishment. Spokane silent film star was severely injured on set

From 1976: A psychology professor, testifying in a case brought by a Walla Walla prisoner, made an eyebrow-raising statement about prisoners held in isolation cells.

“The consensus was that (isolation) wasn’t regarded as a form of punishment,” said Dr. Peter Suedfeld. “In fact, the term used for it was ‘think tank.’ ”

However, Washington State Penitentiary inmate James Hearn clearly believed it was a form of punishment. He was suing the state for $200,000, alleging he was held in isolation for 18 months and denied exercise and hygiene supplies.

Yet the psychologist said that, based on interviews with other inmates, isolation was viewed as “an escape from peer pressure and the dull routine of prison life.”

Earlier testimony established that Hearn had attempted suicide while serving time on an assault charge.

From 1926: Spokane silent film star Signe Auen – better known in Hollywood as Seena Owen – was badly injured while filming a scene of “Shipwrecked.”

She was crossing a gangplank from an old clipper ship at Los Angeles Harbor, when she “lost her footing and fell between the ship’s side and the dock.”

She was in mortal danger of being crushed between the ship and the dock, and also in danger of drowning.

Quick action by the film crew rescued her from danger.

She was reported to be recovering from her injuries, but “it will be several weeks before she will be able to return to work.”

She would go on to film many more silent films, including “Queen Kelly,” in which she co-starred with Gloria Swanson.