Malcolm Bell papers on the Attica Prison uprising, 1968-2025

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Summary

Creator:
Bell, Malcolm, 1931-
Wicker, Tom
Jelinek, Donald A.
Thompson, Heather Ann, 1963-
Abstract:
Malcolm Bell (born 1931) is an author, lawyer, and whistleblower. Formerly a prosecuting attorney for the State of New York's Department of Law task force investigating the September 1971 Attica Prison uprising. Collection includes Bell's investigative notes, witness statements, legal memoranda, trial records, correspondence, writings, clippings, subject files, audio recordings, drafts and other assorted materials related to the Attica uprising. Also included are materials related to The Turkey Shoot, first published in 1985 and audio recordings from November 1975 between Malcolm Bell and Donald Jelinek on the Attica uprising and their involvement at the time. Major correspondents throughout the collection include Tom Wicker, Donald Jelinek, Heather Ann Thompson, and NY state officials. Topics include events during the uprising; the subsequent cover-up, investigative efforts, and legal cases; Attica anniversary events; activism on behalf of the Attica uprising victims; and related topics such as police violence, political corruption in the state of New York, African Americans in the prison system, the US legal system in general, and effects of system racism in the US. Additional topics include social issues such as corporate corruption and immigrant rights. Acquired by the Human Rights Archive.
Extent:
12 Linear Feet
0.66 Megabytes (7 files)
Language:
English
Research Center:
Human Rights Archive
Collection ID:
RL.12024

Background

Scope and content:

Collection includes investigation files, correspondence, legal memoranda, court records and transcripts, drafts and published writings, interviews, clippings, subject files, audiovisual materials, and other assorted materials touching upon the September 1971 Attica Prison uprising in New York, its aftermath, related criminal and civil trials from 1971-2017, and related activism and anniversaries. Materials were created or assembled by Malcolm Bell, former prosecuting attorney and whistleblower, and often feature Bell's edits and annotations. Subjects include events during the Attica uprising and subsequent legal cases and political repercussions; media coverage of the uprising; police violence at Attica and elsewhere; African Americans in the prison system; the US legal system in general; and the effects of systemic racism in the US.

Notable materials include Bell's Attica uprising investigative files detailing the trajectory of the initial investigation and subsequent cover-up investigation after Bell's resignation from the State of New York's Attica Task Force in 1974; a report on the cover-up sent to NY Governor Hugh Carey in 1975; activities by the support group and activist organization, the Forgotten Victims of Attica (FVOA); Bell's published work, The Turkey Shoot; and audio recordings between Bell and Donald Jelinek about the Attica uprising and their involvement at the time.

The collection features correspondence with prison rights activists; Attica uprising victims and those in FVOA; New York justices, investigative officials, and attorneys including Anthony Simonetti, Don Schecter, and Robert Fischer; attorneys, journalists, and authors such Don Jelinek, Heather Ann Thompson, and Tom Wicker; and others including readers, supporters, Elizabeth Fink, and Frank "Big Black" Smith.

Biographical / historical:

Biographical note: Malcolm Bell

Malcolm Bell (born 1931) is an American author, attorney, and whistleblower currently based in Vermont. Formerly a corporate attorney in New York City, he was hired in 1973 by the State of New York's Attorney General's Office as a prosecuting attorney on the Organized Crime Task Force investigating the 1971 Attica Prison uprising. After a year on the legal team, Bell recognized that government officials were engaged in a cover-up of criminal acts by law enforcement and state officials. Resigning from the task force in 1974, Bell sent a report to then-Governor Carey in 1975, portions of which became public, and wrote a letter of resignation in protest, printed in the New York Times, which brought to light the injustices of the trial proceedings and potential criminal behavior of officials and attorneys involved in the case.

Bell's whistleblowing resulted in two official investigations and the absolving of nearly everyone for their crimes. It figured prominently in all subsequent trials and other proceedings. He wrote and lectured extensively on the cover-up, publishing a book in 1985, Turkey Shoot: Tracking the Attica Cover-Up, revised in 2017 and published as The Attica Turkey Shoot: Carnage, Cover-Up, and the Pursuit of Justice. He also has written essays, articles, and a play on social issues such as racism, mass incarceration, social inequities, peace activism, and migrant rights.

Historical note: Attica Prison Uprising

The Attica Prison Uprising took place in September 1971 when, after years of tensions over abuses and inequities at the State of N.Y. prison, over 1000 inmates rioted and took over the prison, taking dozens of prison staff hostage. After negotiations and an armed stand-off, State Police, and a few corrections officers carried out a violent assault, killing 29 inmates and 10 hostages; after the massacre, law enforcement abused and tortured the surviving inmates. During the ensuing State Attorney General Office's investigation and beyond, state officials and others destroyed, ignored, suppressed, and manipulated evidence of crimes committed during and shortly after the re-taking of the prison.

As a result of prosecuting attorney Malcolm Bell's resignation letter of protest, published in the New York Times in its entirety, and his report about the conspiracy and cover-up, portions of which were made public, the state launched the Meyer Commission in 1975 and associated hearings and trials, which resulted in pardons for almost all accused inmates, as well as the suspension of prosecutions of officials and law enforcement. Civil suits ensued over the release of investigative records, and for reparations to Attica victims, continuing into the 2000s.

The Attica Uprising is regarded as a watershed moment in the history of prisons and prisoners' rights in the United States, and is seen as a paradigmatic example of the lengths to which officials may go to protect police from answering for their violent crimes. Its fiftieth anniversary occurred in 2021.

Acquisition information:
The Malcolm Bell papers on the Attica Prison Uprising were acquired by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library from Malcolm Bell as a gift in 2022, 2023, and 2026.
Processing information:

Processed by Craig Breaden, Matthew Ferrell, Zoe Finiasz, Paula Jeannett, August 2022-2023; Tere Elizalde, May 2026.

Accessions represented in this collection guide: 2022-0072, 2022-0202, 2023-0078, 2026-0026

Arrangement:

Arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Court Records and Legal Cases; Investigative Notes; Printed Materials; Subject Files; Writings, Speeches, and Interviews.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Access note. Some materials in this collection are audiovisual formats that need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Access note. Some materials are electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright Guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Malcolm Bell papers on the Attica Prison uprising, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1916p