ABSTRACT

For the prison movement, the 1970s was a complicated period of opportunity and adversity, stunning gains and tragic reversals. The continued protests by prisoners, dramatized most severely by the bloody suppression of the Attica rebellion, delegitimized prisons and jails amongst large swaths of the public, pushing forward calls for institutional reform. The impact of the Attica uprising stretched well beyond Stateville. During the days and weeks that followed, men and women held behind bars revolted in sympathy and solidarity. Transfers were the routine mechanisms officials used to punish organizers. Yet, every forced move created other opportunities. Organizers gained access to new facilities, where they could organize a union chapter and recruit members. During the early 1970s, prisoners and their free world allies looked to the federal courts for assistance in challenging the conditions of their confinement. For nearly a decade, district court judges had been forced to pay particular attention to the needs of state prisoners.