Browse Items (1263 total)

Prisoners suspect that guards are hiding weapons.

Prisoners suspect that guards are hiding weapons.

While the prison is relaxed on the surface, there is underlying anxiety for both the prisoners and the guards. Recently, a "dangerous situation" occurred, in addition to prisoners being drugged. Bigelow asserts that several major decisions must be…

Citizen observer describes schedule of the day during 7-3 shift on April 10, 1973. He notes lack of thorough post-visitor searches and tactics to discourage citizen observers.

The observers record subjects such the presence of a reporter.

Ad Hoc Committee letter asking for supporters to attend a meeting to address crisis at Walpole

Prisoners are thankful for observer presence. They express complaints about guards cutting into their visiting time, lack of medical aid, and disrespectful behavior by guards.

Bergstrom lists several incidents, including a man not getting paid for working in the kitchen, another prisoner's outbreak over the phone, and the hospital being crowded with patients due to a drug problem.

Cells in Blocks 3 and 7 are tidy. However, the gym floor is torn up, there are no pool tables/card tables/ping-pong tables, and the walls outside the cells need cleaning.

A typed observer report written by Delvin E. Benjamin on March 16th, 1973

One guard has several jobs and thus often sleeps at his post.

Prisoners walk around hand-in-hand with women, presumably as couples.

Observers were "forced" to sign releases, which Becker describes as an attempt to intimidate them.

A guard had spilled milk and didn't clean it up, leading prisoners to complain about the smell.

One prisoner notes that the doors leading outside were not closed until 8:30 pm. He suspects that this is intentional, to cause an "escape" or other incident.

Bayne warns of the risk that the observer program can lose credibility if prisoners are punished for things told in confidence to observers. He urges for observers to respect prisoners' privacy, be sensitive to the prisoners' situation when talking,…

Bayne warns of the risk that the observer program can lose credibility if prisoners are punished for things told in confidence to observers. He urges for observers to respect prisoners' privacy, be sensitive to the prisoners' situation when talking,…