Structure Within the NPRA

As the NPRA gained power within Walpole in March of 1973, it developed a detailed committee structure in order to govern. Within this structure, each Board Member chaired at least one committee, which was headed by a cellblock representative. This committee head was accountable to the committee chair, who was accountable to the board of directors, who was in turn accountable to the prisoner population at large. The committee chair had complete access to his area of responsibility, and was expected to submit a committee report to the board of directors twice a week.

Dellelo assigned prisoners to committees based on their individual interests and their preexisting areas of expertise. The Education, Furlough, Vocational Training, and Visiting Committees focused on developing programs to help the prison population; they would submit their work to the Legal Committee to be verified and turned into proposals, which were then submitted to the board of directors for review. If the proposal was approved by the board, it was brought to the Department of Corrections or to Walpole’s superintendent for consideration. On the other hand, the Sports Recreation Committee provided recreational equipment for prisoners, as well as other features like a playground for the prisoners’ children. Though the Department of Corrections maintained control of industries like the laundry and brush shop, the NPRA created committees to ensure the safety of working conditions and fairness in the employment process. Additionally, the NPRA took control of the canteen and put the profits toward initiatives such as halfway houses for prisoners.

When it came to conflicts, the NPRA developed a code of behavior founded on the principle of idealized brotherhood: “We are all brothers. Don’t do anything that you would not do to your brother.” Ralph Hamm and Larry Rooney—a Black man and a white man—took charge of teaching the men at Walpole this code, as well as settling any disputes that did happen. Considering the racialized nature of many of these conflicts, they focused on “teaching the prisoners how to live with each other across differences and across racial polarity” (Bissonette 143). With cross-racial solidarity as a pillar of the NPRA’s organizing, the period during which it acted as the prisoners’ elected representative and ran Walpole—March 15 to May 18—saw no murders and little reported violence—a stark contrast with Walpole’s prior status as one of the nation’s most dangerous prisons.