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American Friends Service Committee

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a social justice organization of people of faith committed to justice and peace through humanitarian service and political action. It aims to support values of non-violence and justice through the expression of love and divinity of all humans.

This collection focuses specifically on the AFSC's efforts to shut down Control unit prisons in the US, quickly leading to the formation of the National Campaign to Stop Control Unit Prisons (NCSCUP), a subgroup of AFSC members and concerned community members inside and outside prison walls dedicated to putting an end to the inhumane conditions within Control Units. NCSCUP was founded at a 1994 AFSC gathering of organizations and individuals concerned with the growing number of Control units within US federal penitentiaries. The organization focused primarily educational and awareness efforts surrounding Control units violation of the UN Minimum Standards for the treatment of Prisoners and asserted the use of control units as cruel and unusual punishment.

The Collection includes materials surrounding the educational and legal efforts of the organizations main east coast headquarters and 3 regional branches. The material reflects an extensive partnership between NCSCUP and prisoners, as well as other anti-prison groups.

The Campaign to Abolish Control Unit Prisons. (1995, March 21). Campaign to abolish control
unit prisons. In University of Massachusetts. Retrieved July 26, 2012, from http://people.umass.edu/kastor/groups/nacun/c.u.pamphlet.html

American Friends Service Committee. (1994, June 19). Mission and values. In American Friends Service Committee. Retrieved July 26, 2012, from http://afsc.org/mission-and-values

American Friends Service Committee. (2011, July). CA prisoners end hunger strike as officials vow positive changes. In American Friends Service Committee. Retrieved July 26, 2012, from http://www.afsc.org/story/ca-prisoners-risk-death-challenge-isolation-policies

Documents

Social Control & The Politics of Prisons Social Control & The Politics of Prisons
Publisher: National Campaign to Stop Control Unit PrisonsFormat: ReportCollection: American Friends Service Committee
Details action of the NCSCUP, Control Unit Monitoring project, the NCSCUP Meeting in Wisconsin.
Buried Alive: Long-Term Isolation in California's Youth and Adult Prisons Buried Alive: Long-Term Isolation in California's Youth and Adult Prisons
Publisher: Laura Magnami, American Friends Service CommitteeYear: 2008Format: ReportCollection: American Friends Service Committee
Includes: History; Conditions; California; The Way to the SHU- Or Who is the "Worst of the Worst?"; Parole, Snitch, or Die?; The Mental Illness Factor; Taking it to the Courts; Youth and Isolation; Human Rights Protocol; Recommendations.
The Prison Inside the Prison: Control Units, Supermax Prisons, and Devices of Torture The Prison Inside the Prison: Control Units, Supermax Prisons, and Devices of Torture
Publisher: Rachael Kamel; Bonnie Kerness, American Friends Service CommitteeYear: 2003Format: ReportCollection: American Friends Service Committee
Includes: The "Marionization" of Imprisonment; Manufacturing Madness; An evolving Institution; Political Prisoners in the United States; Inside the Labyrinth; Isolation, Torture and the International Community; Devices of Torture; Turning the Tide; AFSC Resources on Control Units and Isolation. Online PDF version available at: http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/afsc/prison-inside-prison.pdf
Notice: Recent Changes in the Law Notice: Recent Changes in the Law
Format: ReportCollection: American Friends Service Committee
Changes in law affecting the inmate population of South Carolina. Part of 8/1997 mailing.
Control Units in Pennsylvania Control Units in Pennsylvania
Format: ReportCollection: American Friends Service Committee
Information on S.M.U at S.C.I. Camp Hill and Green, PA. Part of 3/1997 mailing.
The Use of Control Unit Prisons in the United States: Interim Report The Use of Control Unit Prisons in the United States: Interim Report
Publisher: The Monitoring Project of the National Campaign to Stop control unit PrisonsYear: 1997Format: ReportCollection: American Friends Service Committee
Information on the proliferation of control unit prisons in the US prison system. Includes: General information; Conditions of Confinement; Placement and Exit criteria for all control unit type facilities.
Human Rights or Control Units: Two Essays by New Afrikan Political Prisoner of War Human Rights or Control Units: Two Essays by New Afrikan Political Prisoner of War
Publisher: Maroon Russell ShoatsYear: 1996Format: ReportCollection: American Friends Service Committee
Essays published by Lancaster ABC-SG: Death by Regulations: Pennsylvania Control units and Human Rights Abuses; Control Units and the Community. Part of 12/1996 mailing.
ADX Florence prison legal project ADX Florence prison legal project
Year: 1996Format: ReportCollection: American Friends Service Committee
Summarizes problems, response and purpose of ADX legal project to address human rights violations at USP ADX Florence, CO. Part of 12/1996 mailing.
Report on National Campaign to Stop Control unit Prisons Hearings Report on National Campaign to Stop Control unit Prisons Hearings
Publisher: Porter Kirkwood, Jr.Year: 1996Format: ReportCollection: American Friends Service Committee
Report on 4/27/1996 Northeast Region hearing. Includes details on further steps for the campaign. Part of 7/1996 mailing.
Memorandum: Minutes and Materials from Dec. 3-4 Meeting Re Control Units Memorandum: Minutes and Materials from Dec. 3-4 Meeting Re Control Units
Publisher: Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center Prisoner Rights ProjectYear: 1996Format: ReportCollection: American Friends Service Committee
Additional information on the CRIPA statute (Civil Rights of the Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 USC sec. 1997) relied upon by the DOJ to investigate constitutional violations at the Maryland Supermax. Part of 7/1996 mailing.