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Committee to End the Marion Lockdown

The Committee to End the Marion Lockdown (CEML) was a movement organization that opposed control unit prisons in particular, and racism and oppression in general. It was founded in 1985 and came to a close in 2000. Over the course of those 15 years, CEML led and organized hundreds of educational programs and demonstrations in many parts of the country and tried to build a national movement against “end-of-the-line” prisons. Along the way the Committee wrote thousands of pages of educational and agitational literature and pioneered new ways of analyzing and fighting against this national quagmire that morphed into the proliferation of the “prison industrial complex.”

Collection includes: Publications on their efforts to shut down the Marion Prison control unit, prevent the opening of USP Florence, CO; protests against toxic water at Crab Orchard Lake; efforts to improve conditions for inmates; efforts to stop the proliferation of Control Units in general; and further human rights and social justice in the US prison system.

Kurshan, N. (2012). OUT OF CONTROL: A Chronological Narrative of the Committee to End the Marion Lockdown's 15 Year Struggle (manuscript ed., p. 1).

Documents

Marion Appeal Press Conference Marion Appeal Press Conference
Date: 3/1/1988Call Number: PM 431Format: CassetteProducers: Committee to End the Marion LockdownCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Press conference on the appeal of Bureau of Prisons decision to keep the Marion Lock down, they're treatment of prisoners in violation of Human Rights standards and the 8th Amendment, and the classification of prisoners or lack thereof. Speakers include Dr. Steve Whitman and Attorney Jan Susler.
Aids in Prison: A forum for Education and Action Aids in Prison: A forum for Education and Action
Publisher: Committee to End the Marion LockdownYear: 1988Format: FlyerCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Flyer for educational event on Aids in the prison environment. Includes list of events.
Letter to Friends Letter to Friends
Publisher: Committee to End the Marion LockdownYear: 1988Format: CorrespondenceCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Letter informing members of CEML activities. Request for petition to Michael Quinlan.
No More Poison Water at Marion! No More Poison Water at Marion!
Publisher: Committee to End the Marion LockdownYear: 1988Format: CorrespondenceCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Petition to Michael Quinlan and John Clark of the BOP to end the contaminated drinking water supply.
Protestors Confront Federal Prison Chief Protestors Confront Federal Prison Chief
Publisher: Chicago TribuneYear: 1988Format: ArticleCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Article on the 11/12/1988 Quinlin protest CEML at the 40th annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology.
Protestors Confront Head of Bureau of Prisons Protestors Confront Head of Bureau of Prisons
Author: Nancy KurshanPublisher: Committee to End the Marion LockdownYear: 1988Format: MonographCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Personal account of the Quinlin protest at the 40th annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology.
The Marion Penitentiary: It Should by Opened Up, Not Locked Down The Marion Penitentiary: It Should by Opened Up, Not Locked Down
Author: Steve WhitmanPublisher: Southern IllinoisianYear: 1988Format: ArticleCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Reproduction of 8/27/1988 opinion piece on the Bureau of Prison's denial of third party inspections inside USP Marion.
For Immediate Release For Immediate Release
Author: Steve WhitmanPublisher: Committee to End the Marion LockdownYear: 1988Format: Press ReleaseCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
7/27/1988 Press release regarding a coalition of organizations and concerned individuals to hold a press conference to denounce the April 1 decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the continuation of the Marion Lockdown.
State Dept. Weaves tangled Web on Cuban Jails State Dept. Weaves tangled Web on Cuban Jails
Authors: Adrian DeWind, Aryeh NeierPublisher: New York TimesYear: 1988Format: ArticleCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Reproduction of 7/26/1988 response to "Cuba Has to Do More Than Fix Up Its Prisons" (Richard Schifter) by the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Americas Watch Committee.
Racism in Prison System is Topic of Lawyers Guild Meet Racism in Prison System is Topic of Lawyers Guild Meet
Publisher: People's Daily WordYear: 1988Format: ArticleCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Reproduction of 7/23/1988 article on the Lawyers Guild luncheon discussion of the disproportionate numbers of African Americans in the US prison system