Finding Aid

The Pontiac Prison Rebellion:

On July 22, 1978, prisoners at Pontiac Prison (Illinois) rebelled. During the rebellion 3 white guards were killed and millions of dollars of damage was done to the prison. For the next 8 months, prisoners were locked in their cells 24 hours a day while investigators gathered their evidence. Testimony by these investigators during the pre-trial motions revealed that bribery (over $75,000 at that point had been paid to witnesses) and intimidation (reluctant witnesses were threatened with the electric chair) were tools of “persuasion.” Eventually, 31 men, 28 Black and 3 Latino, were indicted for various crimes. Sixteen of these men, all Black, were charged with killing each guard 4 different ways. These men faced a total of 200 charges, any one of which could lead to the death penalty. The Pontiac case is the largest civilian death penalty case in the history of the US.

Pontiac Prisoner’s Support Coalition (PPSC):

The Pontiac Prison Support Coalition was a broad based coalition of community and human rights organizations, working within the larger Coalition to Free the Pontiac Brothers. The PPSC was called into existence by the Pontiac Brothers and other concerned prisoners and acted in accordance with the desires of the Brothers who were consulted in detail on every non-trivial issue. The PPSC and the Pontiac Brothers were unified in:

• Demand the abolition of all inhuman and abusive conditions at Pontiac and other Illinois prisons
• Repeal Class X legislation
• Revoke the Death Penalty
• Expose the investigation and its coercive strategy to scapegoat prisoners
• End the deadlocks

PPSC maintained an office, put out regular publications calling for demonstrations, and challenged the myths about the case put forward by the mass media. They were organized into three committees- Finance, Education and Outreach. They specifically took responsibility for:

• Educating primarily white people about the racist nature of the prison system
• Combating anti-prisoner, racist attitudes and practice
• Winning support for the demands of the prisoners
• Providing political and legal support for the prisoners who will be charged