-3-
 Since neither the   sh treatment given Sobell, no    ie unusually heavy
  sentence imposed on him altered his determination to stick to the truth,
  The Attorney General's office set out on a new approach, that of a
  temporary liberalization of the condition of his imprisonment.  They were
  sufficiently aware of the fact that the trial's end had not negated their
  need for a spurious "confession".  This liberalization was calculated to
  appeal to Morton Sobell's obviously deep attachment to his family and
  scientific work.  He was permitted to work at a job more commensurate
  with his background, that of repairing and maintaining electrical
  installations at the Federal House of Detention.  His visiting program was
  somewhat relaxed.  He was even permitted, at times, to make and recieve
  telephone calls to and from his family.  These steps were taken in the
  hope that Sobell would become so reluctant to give up his family and
  scientific work for 30 years that his "cooperation" would be forthcoming.

  What the Attorney General's office did not foresee, however, was that the
  Rosenberg-Sobell case would alert a tremendous number of Americans to the
  ultimate consequences of McCarthyism and hysteria.  The campaign for truth
  and justice in the case was beginning to reveal the incongruities and
  falsehoods by which the Rosenbergs and Sobell convictions had been obtained.
  The Attorney General's office, feeling now the first twinges of concern,
  began to withdraw these liberalizations.  When it quickly became apparent
  that the campaign to win clemency for the Rosonbergs was reaching world
  dimensions, the condition of Morton  Sobell's imprisonment became more
  severe.  Now, more than before, his "confesion" was needed to still those
  numerous cries that would eventually become virtually the single voice of
  the world.

  All this occurred fairly early in the campaign in behalf of the Rosenbergs.
  In the summer of 1951, the Attorney General's office, in complete disregard
  of the laws pertaining to federal prisoners, whisked  Sobell to Atlanta
  Penitentiary.  This was done without warning or notice to Sobell, his
  family, or his attorney, and violated those statutes which give federal
  prisoners whose cases are on appeal an option: they may elect to remain at
  the Federal House of Detention, in which case the time they spend there  is
  not credited to them as time served, or they may elect to be sent to a
  federal penitentiary to begin serving their time.  Morton Sobell had
  elected to remain at the Federal House of Detention, so that he might be
  available for consultation on his appeals.

  Sobell's attorney vigorously protested this volation of the federal laws.
  When he made it clear that he would appeal this unlawful step in the courts,
  Morton Sobell was returned to the House of Detention.  His return without
  a court order was a tacit admission by the Attorney General's office that it
  had broken the law.

  The conditions of his imprisonment gradually worsened.  All work was denied
  him.  Visits by the family and attorney became more difficult.  Stoolpigeons
  were planted at  his side, whispering to him of the rewards that could easily
  become his if he chose to "cooperate".

  As a next-to-the-last resort, prison regulations were thrown to the winds,
  and Mr. Sobell was given anonymous letters of a most brutal nature.

  These letters "informed" him that his wife was disloyal, and was leaving him.
  A clue to the mentality of the authors of these anonymous letters was found
  in one of them that relates that Mrs. Sobell was seen walking at the side of
  a Negro.  If nothing else, this bit of racism told Mr. Sobell that the
  authorship of these letters lay at the door of the most bigoted elements in
  American life and government.