Blueprint for Control Units
Reprinted from "Breaking men's minds: Behavior Control
and Human Experimentation at the Federal Prison in Marion, Illinois"
PNS, Nov.-Dec., 1992. Submitted by Tommy Silverstein, P.O. Box 1,000 Leavenworth,
KS 66048-1000
Blueprint for Control Units 30 years old Special Handling
Unit. Behavior Modification Unit. Different names, but the same things.
These are units that have been specially designed to control behavior; it
is where human experimentation on prisoners is legal. The purpose of [the]
Marion control unit is to control revolutionary attitudes in the prison
men and in the society at large." This, according to former Marion
Warden Ralph Aron.
Federal Judge James Foreman has stated, "In several instances [the
control unit] has been used to silence prison critics. It has been used
to silence religious leaders. It has been used to silence economic and philosophical
dissidents."
In 1962 at a meeting in Washington, D.C. between social scientists and prison
wardens, Dr. Edward Schein presented his ideas on brainwashing. Addressing
the topic of "Man Against Man: Brainwashing," he said: "In
order to produce marked changes of behavior and/or attitude, it is necessary
to weaken, undermine or remove the supports of old patterns of behavior
and the old attitudes. Because most of these supports are the face-to-face
confirmation of present behavior and attitudes, which are provided by those
with whom close emotional ties exist, it is often necessary to break those
emotional ties. This can be done either by removing the individual physically
and preventing any communication with those whom he cares about or by proving
to him that those whom he respects aren't worthy of it and, indeed, should
be actively mistrusted." Dr. Schein then provided the group with a
list of examples:
1. Physical removal of prisoners from those they respect to positively break
or seriously weaken close emotional ties.
2. Segregation of all natural leaders.
3. Use of cooperative prisoners as leaders.
4. Prohibition of group activities not in line with brainwashing objectives.
5. Spying on prisoners and reporting back private material.
6. Tricking men into written statements which are then shown to others.
7. Exploitation of informers and opportunists.
8. Convincing prisoners that they can trust no one.
9. Treating those who are willing to collaborate in far more lenient ways
than those who are not.
10. Punishing those who show uncooperative attitudes.
11. Systemic withholding of mail.
12. Preventing contact with anyone non-sympathetic to the method of treatment
and regimen of the captive populace.
13. Building a group conviction among the prisoners that they have been
abandoned by and totally isolated from their social order.
14. Undermining all emotional supports.
15. Preventing prisoners from writing regarding the conditions of their
confinement.
16. Making available and permitting access to only those publications which
are neutral to or supportive of the desired new attitudes.
17. Placing individuals into new and ambiguous situations for which the
standards are kept deliberately unclear and then pressuring them to conform
to what is desired in order to win favor and a reprieve from the pressure.
18. Placing individuals whose emotional support has been severely weakened
or eroded into a living situation with several others who are more advanced
in their thought-reform whose job it is to further undermine the individual's
emotional supports.
19. Using techniques of character invalidation, i.e. humiliations, revilements
and shouting to induce feelings of guilt, fear and suggestibillity coupled
with sleeplessness, an exacting prison regimen and periodic interrogation
interviews.
20. Meeting with renewed hostility all insincere attempts to comply with
cellmates' pressures. 21. Repeatedly pointing out to the prisoner by cellmates
of where he has in the past, or in the present, not even lived up to his
own standards or values. 22. Rewarding submission and subservience to the
attitudes encompassing the brainwashing objective with a lifting of pressure
and acceptance as a human being. 23. Providing social and emotional supports
that reinforce new attitudes.
Following Dr. Schein's address, then director of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons
James V. Bennett, commented, ". . . one of the things we must do is
more research. It was indicated that we have a large organization with some
24,000 men in it now and that we have a tremendous opportunity here to carry
on some of the experimenting to which various panelists have alluded. We
can manipulate our environment and culture. We can perhaps undertake some
of the techniques Dr. Schein discussed. Do things on your own. Undertake
a little experiment with what you can do with the Muslims. There's a lot
of research to do. Do it as individuals. Do it as groups and let us know
the results."