25 Photos of What Prison Looked Like in the 1970s

Daniel Bonfiglio Published 11/26/2024 in wow

Depending on who you were, and where you were, prison in the 1970s was rough.

Prison reform became a topic in the public eye for the first time, and protests and uprisings took place across the country & the world. Prisoners in places like Attica Correctional Facility and Tombs took matters into their own hands, and southern cotton-farm inmates protested their conditions.

Here are 25 photos of what prison looked like in the 1970s.

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1.
A prisoner riding a motorcycle inside the walls of the Walla Walla State Penitentiary, 1970s.
2.
Cummins prison farm, 1975.
3.
Convict guards waiting to go to the fields at Cummins Farm Unit, 1971.
4.
The Arkansas prison farm essentially used inmates as slave labor to pick cotton.
5.
6.
7.
A 1974 court ruled that the prison subjected prisoners to “torture and inhumane punishment.”
8.
Inmates at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York negotiating with Russell G. Oswald, after the Attica Prison revolt, 1971.
9.
10.
The 1970 Tombs Uprising.
11.
Elton John at H.M. Prison in Grenada in the 70s.
12.
Thanksgiving Day 1972: B.B. King performs for inmates at Sing Sing Prison.
13.
In 1972, 300 inmates at the Charles-III prison in France revolted.
14.
15.
Non-violent protest at Holman prison in Alabama.
16.
Inmates playing chess from their prison cells. Attica Correctional Facility, NY, 1972.
17.
San Quentin prison rock band, 1975.
18.
Two inmates and a seal, 1974.
19.
Divans, 1971.
20.
San Quentin football team, 1974.
21.
Inmate banquet, 1978.
22.
1974.
23.
Public relations activity, 1974.
24.
Soul Day, 1975.
25.
Big Gaunt gym profile, 1975.

1.
A prisoner riding a motorcycle inside the walls of the Walla Walla State Penitentiary, 1970s.
2.
Cummins prison farm, 1975.
3.
Convict guards waiting to go to the fields at Cummins Farm Unit, 1971.
4.
The Arkansas prison farm essentially used inmates as slave labor to pick cotton.
5.
6.
7.
A 1974 court ruled that the prison subjected prisoners to “torture and inhumane punishment.”
8.
Inmates at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York negotiating with Russell G. Oswald, after the Attica Prison revolt, 1971.
9.
10.
The 1970 Tombs Uprising.
11.
Elton John at H.M. Prison in Grenada in the 70s.
12.
Thanksgiving Day 1972: B.B. King performs for inmates at Sing Sing Prison.
13.
In 1972, 300 inmates at the Charles-III prison in France revolted.
14.
15.
Non-violent protest at Holman prison in Alabama.
16.
Inmates playing chess from their prison cells. Attica Correctional Facility, NY, 1972.
17.
San Quentin prison rock band, 1975.
18.
Two inmates and a seal, 1974.
19.
Divans, 1971.
20.
San Quentin football team, 1974.
21.
Inmate banquet, 1978.
22.
1974.
23.
Public relations activity, 1974.
24.
Soul Day, 1975.
25.
Big Gaunt gym profile, 1975.