Archive Overview
Scope and Contents
The items within this archive concern the events at Walpole State Prison in the 1970s, particularly from 1971 through 1973. These materials include meeting notes from the NPRA, personal correspondence, press statements, and Oral Histories with key players. However, the majority of the files are observer reports generated by the Ad Hoc Committee’s civilian observer program, in which trained, neutral civilians entered Walpole to record their observations during the NPRA takeover (March 8 to May 18, 1973).
The NPRA Observer Program Reports
Most of the observer reports included here are typed copies of what were originally handwritten notes, usually with names redacted. At the end of their shifts, observers would write out their notes by hand. Their notes would often be typed up by the Ad Hoc Committee and anonymized so they could be copied and pasted into public reports and press releases. When we came across an observer report with both a typed and handwritten version, the two files are linked via “Item Relations.” However, the handwritten reports sometimes include identifying information about people imprisoned at Walpole (i.e. full names) and have thus been made private for the time being.
Through its thriving observer program, the Ad Hoc Committee was able to gather up to dozens of observer reports during a given day. The reports provided information on the goings-on of different areas within Walpole, as well as different perspectives on the same incidents. During the first two weeks of the program, observer Obalaji Rust spoke with almost all the prisoners in Blocks 9 and 10, reporting that "the official pretenses for placing men on the Block are highly suspect [...] The men are still being beaten [...] Almost all the men are under 24-hour confinement, deprived of even an hour a day or so of exercise. Perhaps most important, the men are receiving enormous amounts of tranquilizers every day which they readily use to help sleep in order to retain their sanity" (see Bissonette p. 157).
These notes are corroborated by other observers, who compiled a list of the prisoners’ primary concerns, including “fear of being beaten or thrown into the ‘hole’”, “failure of the guards to respond to their needs”, and a desire for truly rehabilitative programs. Furthermore, the conditions of the prison in these early weeks are compared to those of a “concentration camp,” characterized by few and meager meals, human waste on the walls, and guard harassment.
Despite the poor treatment they faced, the men at Walpole were generally welcoming to observers and grateful for the opportunity to share their experiences with the public. Rather than being “dangerous maniacs,” observers noted, the prisoners were calm and warm and could clearly articulate both the problems within the prison system and their desire for specific improvements: programs that could help them attain jobs in the outside world, more up-to-date books regarding the law, timely mail delivery, proper medical care, more information regarding transfers and negotiations, improved recreational facilities, etc.
As time goes on, the observer reports note improvements that the NPRA and BANTU had brought via the takeover, including cleaner living conditions, timely and efficient medicine disbursement, and educational resources for prisoners. In particular, a report by Richard Norwood on April 24 describes: "the individuals with whom I spoke surprised me in that they seemed no different in their attitudes than myself. I saw organizations concerned about education and betterment of prisoners within the institution (BANTU). It seems the inmates wish to have more opportunity to show themselves productive and responsible, and show good attitudes toward the progress made."
Noting the Observer Program’s restrictions on formerly incarcerated participants, Norwood goes on to ask, “Why is the institution, so called core of rehabilitation, prohibiting those convicted of a felony from participating as an observer? If it can’t begin here, where can it start?”
Notes on Provenance
The vast majority of the files in this collection were preserved by outside supporters and Ad Hoc Committee leaders Phyllis Ryan and Rev. Edward Rodman, and were for many years housed at the American Friends Service Committee in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jamie Bissonette, then Director of the AFSC’s Criminal Justice Program in Cambridge, drew on these materials to write the book When the Prisoners Ran Walpole: A True Story in the Movement for Prison Abolition (South End Press, 2008). In 2023, Toussaint Losier and Thomas Dichter began preparing the materials for digitization, with Dichter coordinating the scanning with students at Harvard University.
Privacy
In building this archive, we have aimed to respect the privacy of incarcerated individuals who are mentioned in the sources. If you were incarcerated at Walpole during the years covered by this archive and encounter personally identifying materials that should not appear publicly, please refer to our contact page to let us know.
Historical Background / Timeline
1956: The Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Walpole opens.
September 9-13, 1971: Prisoners at Attica stage a work stoppage and uprising with the goal of negotiating grievances with the administration. State police storm Attica prison yard with firearms, killing 29 incarcerated men and 10 hostages and injuring many more.
September, 1971: Prisoners at Walpole and Norfolk peacefully demonstrate in support for those at Attica and issue a list of 120 demands.
September 28-29, 1971: Massachusetts governor Francis Sargent forms a Citizens’ Committee on Corrections to address grievances from prisoners, guards, and other prison staff. The Committee travels to Walpole to meet with the prisoners, who explained their concerns and proposed strategies for improvement.
October 5, 1971: After not seeing actual prison reforms being put into place, prisoners at Walpole resume their strike. Superintendent Robert Moore issues a lockdown.
November, 1971: The prisoners at Walpole rebel, setting fire to the foundry and staging a work stoppage.
October - December, 1971: Seeing the prisoners’ acts of resistance, members of Packard Manse—an interfaith group dedicated to nonviolent social change—decides to stand with them and act as their voice in the outside world. This project is led by Phyllis and Bill Ryan, and their work facilitates the creation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Prison Reform.
January, 1972: John O. Boone is sworn in as Massachusetts Commissioner of Correction. A native of Georgia who had come up through the ranks of the federal prison system, Boone was the state’s first Black Commissioner of Correction. Boone and his program for reform quickly met strong opposition from the correctional officers’ union.
March, 1972: Harvard undergraduate David Dance helps Boston Black Panther leader Bob Heard start a Black history course at Walpole, which teaches prisoners about Black Consciousness. This course forms the basis of what will become Black African Nations Toward Unity (BANTU).
March 17, 1972: Walpole prisoners rebel against guard harassment and poor prison conditions in what becomes known as the St. Patrick’s Day uprising.
July 16, 1972: Chapter 777, an act that provided a framework for community corrections and prisoner-led rehabilitation, is signed into law.
September 1, 1972: Both BANTU and the Walpole branch of the National Prisoners Reform Association (NPRA) are officially formed.
- See the NPRA page for a more detailed timeline of the NPRA’s formation and organizing
November 13, 1972: Raymond E. Porelle is appointed superintendent of Walpole. He is disliked by the prisoners for his strong-arm approach and prejudice against Black members of the population.
December 29, 1972: Members of BANTU are supposed to hold a Kwanzaa celebration with their family members, but Porelle orders a last minute shutdown that sabotages these plans. In response, prisoners initiated a lockdown to protest Porelle’s position and force him out of Walpole.
March 2, 1973: Porelle resigns from his post as superintendent, and the NPRA calls off the lockdown and strike. Leaders and members of the union alike begin cleaning the prison and negotiating with acting superintendent Kenneth Bishop.
March 7, 1973: The first round of civilian observers enters Walpole. These people, as part of the Ad Hoc Committee’s Observer Program, are trained to be neutral and to record the happenings within Walpole first-hand, as well as to hear from prisoners themselves regarding their lives and circumstances.
March 9, 1973: Guards, angry about the presence of observers, refuse to take their posts. The NPRA takes over control of the prison in their absence.
Mid-March, 1973: Observers compile a comprehensive list of common grievances from prisoners, at the top of which were guard harassment and neglect.
March 18, 1973: The first round of cadet trainee guards enters Walpole. These trainees made a concerted effort to treat the prisoners as fellow humans and, as a result, developed a much more positive relationship with them compared to the old guards.
May 18, 1973: Acting superintendent Walter Waitkevich sends a memorandum stating that there would be a lockup and shakedown on Monday, May 21.
May 19, 1973: State police raid the prison, beating prisoners and going through their personal items. Waitkevich alleges that these officers were called in to stop a riot within Walpole.
Early June, 1973: Observers negotiate their way back inside Walpole, but they are no longer allowed to enter corridors or cell blocks.
June 12, 1973: Patrick Gonsalves is found burned to death in his cell at Walpole, killed by a fellow prisoner. Reverend Ed Rodman pulls the observers from Walpole.
June 21, 1973: Commissioner John O. Boone is forced to resign from his position.
July 9, 1973: The Ad Hoc Committee suspends the observer program.