This Day in History: The Central Intelligence Agency released documents on this day in 1977 under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments.
"If you’ve never heard of Project MKUltra, you might find it hard to believe. Also known as “the CIA Mind Control Program,” the effort was launched by the agency in 1953. The program used drug experiments on humans, oftentimes on prisoners who were tested against their will or in exchange for early release. The experiments were undertaken so CIA agents could better understand how to extract information from enemies during interrogations. Here is a description from the History Channel:
MK-Ultra’s 'mind control' experiments generally centered around behavior modification via electro-shock therapy, hypnosis, polygraphs, radiation, and a variety of drugs, toxins, and chemicals. These experiments relied on a range of test subjects: some who freely volunteered, some who volunteered under coercion, and some who had absolutely no idea they were involved in a sweeping defense research program. From mentally-impaired boys at a state school, to American soldiers, to “sexual psychopaths” at a state hospital, MK-Ultra’s programs often preyed on the most vulnerable members of society. The CIA considered prisoners especially good subjects, as they were willing to give consent in exchange for extra recreation time or commuted sentences.
Whitey Bulger, a former organized crime boss, wrote of his experience as an inmate test subject in MK-Ultra. 'Eight convicts in a panic and paranoid state,' Bulger said of the 1957 tests at the Atlanta penitentiary where he was serving time. 'Total loss of appetite. Hallucinating. The room would change shape. Hours of paranoia and feeling violent. We experienced horrible periods of living nightmares and even blood coming out of the walls. Guys turning to skeletons in front of me. I saw a camera change into the head of a dog. I felt like I was going insane.'
How was any of this legal? Well, it wasn’t, which is why the CIA understood it had to be concealed from the American public at all costs.
'Precautions must be taken not only to protect operations from exposure to enemy forces but also to conceal these activities from the American public in general,' wrote a CIA auditor. 'The knowledge that the agency is engaging in unethical and illicit activities would have serious repercussions in political and diplomatic circles.'" Source
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