Adrianne Jones-Alston

Descendant

Interview: 2 Hours, 3 Cameras

Adrianne Jones-Alston recounts her father’s experience at home after his incarceration in Holmesburg

Adrianne Jones-Alston, founder of the Jones Foundation for Returning Citizens and daughter of Holmesburg survivor Leotis Jones, provides one of the film’s strongest perspectives on the intergenerational impact of the Holmesburg Prison experiments. She remembers her father as a loving, hardworking provider before his incarceration, but recalls a profound change after his return from Holmesburg, including physical scarring, emotional instability, and escalating conflict at home. Adrianne describes how the trauma experienced by her father rippled through the family, forcing her into adult responsibilities at a young age and contributing to years of instability, addiction, incarceration, and recovery in her own life. Although Leotis rarely discussed the experiments directly with his children, he later became an outspoken advocate for survivors and prisoner rights. Through her personal story, Adrianne connects the abuses at Holmesburg to broader questions of medical ethics, informed consent, institutional accountability, and the lasting consequences of trauma across generations, arguing that the effects of the experiments did not end with the men who were tested but continue to shape their families and communities today.