Hilliard in his autobiography recounted the disabling of prisoners at Vacaville through overmedication including how inmates who were perceived as having a high potential for violent behavior were left palsied by prolixin.

Hilliard's Accounts of the Disabling Effects of Vacaville

Hilliard in his autobiography documented the treatment of disabled prisoners at Vacaville ranging from how for a diabetic prisoner Hilliard asked for the Panther's help to ensure this inmate was kept at Vacaville rather than being sent to another facility where the prisoner would not receive medical support for his diabetes. In addition, Hilliard documented medical neglect against a paraplegic prisoner who was provided no assistance with eating, bathrooming, or bathing. The responsibility was put on Hilliard and other prisoners to care for those being neglected. 

Hilliard's Accounts of Treatment of Disabled Inmates at Vacaville

David Hilliard - former Chief of Staff of the Black Panther Party - was also imprisoned at Vacaville and later went on to detail this experience in his 1993 autobiography "This Side of Glory."

University of Wisconsin - Madison

- Articles Putting Pressure on Vacaville
- David Hilliard Autobiography
- "Tearing Out Our Thoughts: Psychosurgery and the Black Community"
- California State Senate Hearings
- Stories Run Concurrently with 504 Sit-In

Black Panther Party Fight Against Return of Psychosurgery

Schalk, Sami. Black Disability Politics, New York, USA: Duke University Press, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781478027003

Black Disability Politics

In 1971 when "Vacaville-America's Headquarters for Medical Genocide" appeared in the Black Panther, it was found that doctors from Vacaville's Psychiatric Diagnosis Unit applied for federal funds for a psychosurgery program. The plan was to use psychosurgery against prisoners that psychiatrists deemed to be "biologically violent." This application was met with mainstream alarm over the potential for abuse in psychosurgery. 

Vacaville Medical Facility's Use of Psychosurgery

David Hilliard

"Tearing Out Our Thoughts: Psychosurgery and the Black Community" published on January 6, 1973 in The Black Panther was the first article published by the paper to use the word psychosurgery.

"Tearing Out Our Thoughts: Psychosurgery and the Black Community"

In 1973 the Black Panther Party addressed the California State Senate, with representation from lawyer Fred J. Hiestand, about their opposition to the Center for the Study and Reduction of Violence at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Black Panther Party Testimony to the California State Senate

The Black Panther published their final articles on psychosurgery in 1977 - these articles, published concurrently with coverage of the 504 Sit-In, detailed the story of Lou Byers.

Black Panther 1977 articles about Psychosurgery

- Centering of Disabled People of Color
- Critical Stance Towards Medical Professionals
- Not Distancing Blackness from Disability
- Critique of the Black Panther's Coverage

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