logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2021
9 m

When the prisoners ran the prison

Bbc World Service
About this episode

In March 1973 guards went on strike at Walpole maximum security prison in the US state of Massachussetts, and the prisoners took over. For the next three months the inmates, organised in the National Prisoners Reform Association, ran daily life in the prison. They were helped by a group of outside observers, drawn from members of the community. Mike Lanchin has been hearing from the organiser of the observer teams, Rev. Ed Rodman, about his memories of this unique, but ultimately doomed, experiment in prison reform.

(Photo credit: The Boston Globe)

Up next
Today
How BRICS got its name
In 2001, a few months after 9/11, economist Jim O’Neill was working at Goldman Sachs when he wrote a report about which countries might become big players in the world economy. That’s when he came up with the name BRIC - short for Brazil, Russia, India and China. At first, nothin ... Show More
9m 55s
Yesterday
Japan surrenders in Beijing
Eighty years ago, in the autumn of 1945, World War II surrender ceremonies took place across the Japanese Empire.The one in China was held at the Forbidden City in Beijing bringing an end to eight years of occupation. Thousands of people watched the incredible moment Japanese gen ... Show More
10m 12s
Oct 8
The remote island that was evacuated to 10,000km away
On 10 October 1961, a volcanic eruption threatened the population of Tristan da Cunha, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, and all 264 islanders were evacuated to the UK. Two years later, the majority voted to return. In an interview she gave to the BBC in 1961, M ... Show More
10m 43s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2023
Open Prisons
Adrian Turner joined the prison service 1988 as a prison officer, working at Ashford Remand Centre. He subsequently worked at HMP Full Sutton, HMP Norwich, HMP Whitemoor, PSC Newbold Revel, HMP Lindholme, HMP Channings Wood, HMP Gloucester, HMP Eastwood Park, HMP Bristol, HMP Sud ... Show More
55m 48s
Jan 2021
La prison dans la peau
Paroles d'un surveillant enfermé Alexandre est surveillant pénitentiaire depuis 20 ans. Fils de maton, la prison est sa maison, son repaire, son jardin bien gardé.  Il la raconte de son point de vue : entrez dans la tête d’un maton. Je m’appelle Alexandre et je vis en prison (« O ... Show More
30m 46s
Dec 2023
How did Britain's prisons go so wrong?
Host Aggie Chambre explores the crisis in Britain's prison system and asks what can be done to fix it. She goes inside a prison riddled with drugs and violence, and hears from the governor and from long-serving inmates about what's really going on. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk se ... Show More
43m 51s
Apr 2021
Prison Break
Luke Jones speaks to; Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Prison Reform, former prisoner Andrew Morris and the national chairman of the Prison Officers' Association Mark Fairhurst on how prisons have been during the pandemic. PLUS: Libby Purves and Rachel Sylv ... Show More
39m 39s
Nov 2023
Introducing: Breaking Badness
Join former homicide detective Gary Jubelin as he goes into a maximum security prison. During a career spent locking up murderers, gang leaders and rapists, Jubelin didn’t care what happened to them after. Deep inside the prison walls he discovers how you can lock men up and turn ... Show More
1m 40s
Feb 2023
Inside Story: Life in Prison, As Told by Formerly Incarcerated People
For people who have not experienced it, life in prison can seem unimaginable. So reporters who have themselves been incarcerated can offer an important perspective when covering the prison system. NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Lawrence Bartley, host of the new series Inside Story ... Show More
10m 40s
Jul 2023
Prison Escapees On The Run - July 6 2023
July 6th: William Eugene Hall Arrested (1988) What happens when dangerous men manage to escape the confines of prison walls? On July 6th 1988 a man was finally arrested after weeks on the run. A timeframe in which he was able to take the lives of 2 helpless individuals.  https:// ... Show More
14m 7s
Dec 2016
Should inmates be allowed cellphones in prison?
Ray White commented on a call for prison inmates to be allowed cellphones in prisons for safety, following reports of an incident in Port Elizabeth that saw prisoners being killed due to gang violence. His view is that prisoners should not dictate to correctional services, rights ... Show More
1m 21s
Apr 2021
America’s solitary inmates
Since the pandemic struck, millions around the world have endured lockdowns, with many finding it hard to tolerate long periods indoors. But what if lockdown meant years on end spent entirely alone, in a single room, sometimes no bigger than a large elevator? In many US states, j ... Show More
26m 28s