Written by:

Russell "Maroon" Shoats
AF-3855, SCIG
1040 E Roy Furman Hwy.
Waynesburg, Pa. 15370-8090
©Shofam Corporation

IN 1994 THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS OPENED IT'S FLAG-SHIP "CONTROL UNIT" AT IT'S BRAND NEW STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION AT GREENE (SCIG), LOCATED NEAR WAYNESBURG, PENNSYLVANIA. Until that time they had a number of Mini Control Units scattered throughout a number of other prisons in the state. Many of these are still in operation, but SCIG is officially their premier institution for the implementation of Control Unit policies.

A Control Unit is a special section within a prison that's designed to house prisoners whom the administrators have determined will be kept locked-up for 23 hours daily for a indefinite period. It's sometimes called the "Restricted Housing Unit (RHU), "Secure Management Unit" (SMU), "Super Max", "Maxi- Maxi Prison", "ADX" and other names.

The Control Unit differs from all other forms of restrictions within a prison (The Hole", Solitary Confinement, etc.), because of it's "indefinite" nature. All other forms of restrictions within a prison is governed by clearly defined rules that dictate how long a prisoner will be subjected to the restriction, and what a prisoner can and should try to do to have the restrictions removed. Not so for Control Units. The prisoner in the Control Unit can be kept there by the administrators for their entire sentence, or till they die.

The most notorious Control Unit in the U.S. History was operated by the Federal Government between 1933 and 1963. Alcatraz("The Rock") sat on a island in San Francisco Bay. It was used by the federal government to house (what they termed "incorrigible prisoners." The regime at this prison was so harsh that it was known as "Death By Regulation". Similarly a prisoner could be kept on "The Rock" indefinitely.

The history of Alcatraz is replete with some of the most bloody uprisings that shook the prison system of it's time. It was also unmasked as a place of official / unofficial torture and human depravity on the part of prisoners and officials.

Officially, the idea behind Alcatraz was that if all the "incorrigible prisoners" could be lumped together in one place, the prison system and society could best benefit by their removal.

Unofficially, the idea was to make the regimen so brutal that most of the prisoners would be destroyed as functional individuals; and therefore no longer a threat to anyone. They proved to be a dismal failure in both areas.

In the first place, instead of (unofficially) destroying most prisoners, the harsh regimen only embittered them; engendering in them a fierce determination to survive... solely to avenge themselves against real and perceived enemies and tormentors. This separation from most other prisoners of these "incorrigibles" may gave helped the prison system, but it sure didn't those communities that the overwhelming majority of these prisoners returned to, upon release! They all left Alcatraz much more dangerous individuals than they were when they arrived.

The "Technicians" who helped engineer and operate this diabolical scheme were sold on a new methodology around 1962. Spurred on by the advances in field of "Behavior Therapy" they began to introduce new models of control that relied on these methods. The "Technicians" were impressed with the argument that foreigners (CHINESE, RUSSIANS AND NORTH KOREAN had used these methods to almost totally subdue American PRISONERS OF War during the Korean conflict. If it worked on trained and battle hardened soldiers, surely it would work on criminals! They were also impressed with the seemingly way these method could be implemented without recourse to actions that could be detected by those who were accustomed to looking for outward signs of abuse of the subjects. The newly adopted methods did not rely on physical force or "Dungeon" style environments. The new methods were centered on the manipulation of the mind! The technicians no longer wanted to "Break The Prisoner" (in the old way), now the objective was to "Break his/her Mind". They believed this could be accomplished while still adhering to the "Evolving Standards of Decency" that the courts had mandated, mainly in response to the prisoners struggles and community awareness.

The primary tools used in this new method were "Sensory and Perceptual Isolation." "The brain and nervous system, or "The Mind," cannot function normally without stimulation. Neither can it function normally when given to much stimulation. The brain and nervous system must be maintained in a "steady state." ("Solitary Confinement as Psychological Punishment": T.B. Benjamin and Kenneth Lux)

The new style control Unit therefore could be clean, will lighted and outwardly "clinically" comfortable looking. The prisoner could be fed a balanced diet and there is no need to introduce a regimen of physical punishments. (However)... The evidence appears overwhelming that solitary confinement alone, even in the absence of physical brutality or unhygienic conditions can produce emotional damage, declines in mental functioning and even the most extreme forms of psycho pathology such as depersonalization, hallucination and delusions.(Benjamin& Lux, Supra)

Therefore the new style Control Unit is devoid of a adequate level of external stimulation. There is very little (if any) activity that provides educational instruction, shop training, physical activity or contact with the outside society,

At SCIG the Control Unit is totally separated from the rest of the prison by 18 foot walls. Each building is separated into 4 "Pods", of 24 cells each. Each Pod functions totally independently of the others. Within each 12x 6 cell there is a steel bed, steel eating surface and stool, steel toilet/sink/mirror and bedding. All meals are taken in the cell. A prisoner is only allowed out of his cell for 5 hours of outdoor exercise per week; and 3 ten minute showers. The exercise is taken "Alone", in a razor wire topped fence and no type of exercise equipment (balls, weights, etc.) is ever provided. Each prisoner is issued a jumpsuit, tennis shoes (work shoes in winter) 2 PAIR SOCKS, 2 TEE SHIRTS, 2 PAIR UNDERWEAR, 2 SHEETS, A MATTRESS, A BLANKET, A PILLOW, A TOWEL, A WASHCLOTH AND SOAP, SHAVING GEAR, TOOTHPASTE AND TOOTHBRUSHES AND COMBS ARE ISSUED PERIODICALLY (ALSO TOILET PAPER.)

Other than the daily meals, these are the only items that a Control Unit prisoner has constant contact with. Furthermore, these items are strictly regulated and it is against the rules to possess a extra ration or any of them. They are exchanged on a one-for-one basis. A prisoner is not allowed to save any food, except a ration of fruit.

The Control Unit is governed by the Department of Corrections, Administrative Directive 802 (DC-ADM 802). It reads (in part) as follows:

A. Administrative Custody is a status of confinement for maximum custody level inmates which provides the highest level of security and control. Inmates confined in this status shall not have the privileges accorded to inmates in lower security levels. The following conditions apply:

B. (The Program Review Committee) PRC or Security Level 5 Unit Teams" May" add to the above "Privileges" (my quotation marks) based on an individual's need, on safety and security, and on "Behavioral Progress" (my quotations) of the inmate. To add to this Spartan environment, Control Unit prisoners several doors away are forbidden to hold conversations with others prisoners several doors away. It's considered "Loud Talking". Add to this the "indefinite" character of the stays in this Control Unit; one can see that this is no "Country Club", or "Warehouse" for that matter.

There are men in SCIG Control Unit who have 23, 17 and 16 years in Control Units, with no prospects of "Ever" Being Released!! If Prison personnel went about the prison severing the nerve cells in prisoner's hands, we could well recognize that they were intentionally destroying part of the prisoners' capacity to function. We would have no trouble drawing this conclusion.

In psychological sphere, cruel treatment and it's results are not so flagrant because mental destruction is less immediately apparent than is physical destruction. Damage to the mind is not as visible as a withered hand. But the reality is the same. (Benjamin & Lux, Supra)

SCIG's Control Unit is being operated in violation of the United Nations accepted standards, The United States Constitution, State Law, Department of Health Education and Welfare Policies on Human Experiments, and "The Evolving Standards of Decency of our Society"

After witnessing the results of solitary confinement, we believe that it is criminality at one of it's highest levels. We are drawn to this conclusion when we ponder the deeply injurious behavior exercised upon prisoners by the permission and mandate of public authorities charged with their safekeeping. (Benjamin & Lux, Supra). The international covenant on civil and political rights (The Covenant) is in accord with and expands the rights established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United States and all it's Federal and state Agencies are bound by the later, since being adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, The former was ratified by the United States in June of 1992. The Covenant States in Part; No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 7 of the Universal Declaration imposes an affirmative duty on each State (Country) party to afford protection against the acts prohibited under it, "Whether inflicted by people acting in their official capacity, outside their official capacity, or in private capacity." (International Human Rights Instruments, HRI/GEN/1, 4 SEPTEMBER 1992, GENERAL COMMENT 20 (ARTICLE 7) (44TH SESSION, 1992 : NO.1.)

When our government, it's agencies, the press, media and general public recoil in horror when the practices of former Soviet Bloc countries, China and various Asian and African: and South American countries are unveiled, how much more would many of them be outraged to discover that their tax dollars serve to subsidize similar practices in their back yards? They would undoubtedly be alarmed to realize that they were supporting policies that promote "Social Suicide"; seeing how most of the control unit prisoners will be returning to their communities (Remember Alcatraz?!)

These type of "Vampirish" prison policies cannot exist in the full glare of a public examination. Several years ago the Federal Government was forced to close it's Control Unit for Women that it was operating at Lexington Kentucky; after various organizations, concerned individuals and relatives were able to make it's policies known to a broad section of the public. Similarly no other Control Unit would be able to function given the same level of scrutiny. This form of treatment of prisoners has been universally condemned: Article 10 of "The Covenant" prohibits convicted prisoners from being "subjected to any hardship or constraint other than that resulting from the deprivation of Liberty......The Human Rights Committee has commented that treating prisoners with humanity and respect for their human dignity "is a fundamental and universal applicable rule. (National Prison Project Journal, Oct. 1993).

Control Units cannot be allowed to exist because they serve no purpose other than to dehumanize it's occupants. Our collective welfare demands that we do everything within our power to bring about a end to this form of imprisonment.

Russell "Maroon" Shoats
AF-3855, SCIG
1040 E Roy Furman Hwy.
Waynesburg, Pa. 15370-8090