Inmates were to be transferred from Charlestown to Walpole over a six-month period, and medieval-style Charlestown closed and was later razed.

The DOC wanted Walpole to be a model institution where inmates would be under maximum security, while at the same time offering programs that would better prepare them for life after their return to society.

The first step was sending Charles-town's correction officers (COs) in classes of about 27 each for two weeks of intensive training at the State Police Academy in Framingham. The training included a heavy dose of physical regimen under the supervision of State Police drill instructors, coupled with classroom instruction by so-called penal experts. A typical day ran from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

"I actually enjoyed the physical part," said Joe Rull, an ex-marine from South Boston. The instructors were something like the DIs at Parris Island. They didn't send the old-timers to the Academy... Most of them retired about that time or were not required to go to the Academy. We were all World War II or Korean vets, mostly in our 20s or 30s."

In looking back, Rull feels that the classroom instruction as mostly a waste. "Some of the discussion on criminology was OK, but the penal experts talked in conceptual terms... stuff from books. It was like we had never handled inmates.

"It was mostly a waste, but we had a good laugh back in the barracks," he said. "We did well at the firing range. Most of us had plenty of previous experience."

"We didn't know what to expect when we arrived at Framingham, and there was some uncertainty on both sides whether or not the drill instructors were supposed to treat us like State Police recruits," said Paul Sullivan of Chelmsford. "It wasn't like they could flunk anyone who couldn't run two miles or do 50 pushups. There was a compromise, and everyone made the best of getting through the two weeks. The State Police DIs were great guys - very cooperative.

"There was a graduation ceremony, and we had to get 'appropriate' haircuts. The DOC wanted us to invite our wives and families like it was the real deal. Most of us didn't... It was very hot and we just wanted to get out of there."

Sullivan felt that the "new penology" didn't work. "When we left the academy and opened Walpole, we soon found that the new penology was a disaster," he said. "The convicts were the same people we knew from Charlestown. They took full advantage of the freedom allowed with the walls of Walpole."

Korean War veteran Ralph White of Walpole, a young CO, was a union official at Walpole. He pointed out how bad things were at the new institution.

"For example," he said "there was a theatre-style auditorium where inmates were allowed to both produce and act in their own plays. They received advice and assistance from volunteers who would come into the prison. On show nights, the relatives and friends of inmates were invited to come and view the production like it was a high school event... Inmates were the ushers. It became an open pipeline for drugs and other contraband which in turn led to violence.

"We convinced the Legislature that the new style of running a prison at Walpole wasn't working. Senator McCann and others intervened on our behalf. It took us a couple of years to establish maximum security within the walls as well as on the walls at Walpole."

Editor's Note: While most correction officers viewed the State Police Academy as an interesting and memorable experience, they saw little connection between the new penal concept introduced by "experts" and the reality of running a prison.

The early years at Walpole with its myriad inmate privileges, lacked the strict controls necessary for the protection of the correction officers and the inmates themselves. While numerous officers were assaulted, many inmates, who just wanted to do their time, fared even worse. Without proper protection, they were victimized by the hard-core convicts on a daily basis. Murder and mayhem abounded.

It was only through the intervention of the Correction Officers Union and the State Legislature that COs gained control of the prison. Senator Frank McCann (D-Cambridge) led a House-Senate panel, which introduced sweeping changes at Walpole. The Walpole Superintendent and the Commissioner of Correction, both from out-of-state, were dismissed. John Gavin, of Belmont, a career Massachusetts CO, was put in charge of Walpole. Working with the union and supported by the Legislature, Gavin was able to turn things around within the walls of Walpole.

Today, the Correction Officers Union, under the leadership of President Steve Kenneway, a decorated Desert Storm and Iraq veteran, continues to be the voice of what the public expects our state's correction institutions to be - secure facilities, where inmates are treated in a humane manor, controlled by well-trained correction officers.