Irvin Moore

Irvin Moore in his home in State College, PA

Irvin Moore, a 79-year-old man from Philadelphia who spent more than fifty years incarcerated, reflects on his early life, his path into the criminal justice system, and his time at Holmesburg Prison where he was exposed to medical experiments conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and other entities. He explains how prisoners viewed the tests as economic survival in a system where money controlled safety and opportunity, and describes the informal inmate networks that recruited participants for studies run by Kligman, the Army, and Penn. Moore talks about witnessing side effects among others, the power dynamics that made prisoners trust authority figures, and how none of them understood the risks at the time. Later in life he became a respected inmate-leader, building educational programs, mentoring others, and maintaining long-term relationships with Penn State professors who eventually helped him transition into college after his commutation. The interview also covers his emotional release from prison, his bond with the therapy dog Fred, and his belief that apologies from Philadelphia and Penn are meaningless without education, public acknowledgment, and concrete reparations for survivors and their families.