The cruel and unusual punishment of Henry Winston

Title

The cruel and unusual punishment of Henry Winston

Creator

Newberry, Mike

Description

While serving a sentence at a U.S. Penitentiary, civil rights activist and communist Henry Winston suffered a benign brain tumor. Prison officials ignored his symptoms, which led to a loss of vision. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy commuted his sentence. Winston continued his activism for another 25 years until his death in 1986.

Date

1961

Publisher

Harlem Committee to Free Henry Winston

Type

Text

Language

eng

Identifier

RBR U.S. 1961.N4

Citation

Newberry, Mike, “The cruel and unusual punishment of Henry Winston,” B&ECPL Digital Collections, accessed June 18, 2026, https://digital.buffalolib.org/document/17797.