32 years ago on Sept. 11, the Attica prison in upstate New York was in the middle of a five-day uprising. Nearly 1,300 prisoners took control of the prison to protest the inhumane treatment at the facility. The unnamed prisoners took control of the prison for four days and held 39 prison guards hostage. There was no attempted escape. Negotiations between the inmates and the state took place. Then on Sept. 13, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller ordered armed state troopers to raid the prison.
It would become one of the bloodiest days of the 20th century in the United States. Troopers shot indiscriminately over 2000 rounds of ammunition. 39 men would die, 29 prisoners and 10 guards. After the shooting stopped, police beat and tortured scores of more prisoners. 90 of the surviving prisoners were seriously wounded but were initially denied medical care. And the state would originally claim that all of the guards had died at the hands of the inmates. The New York Times reported on its front page the throats of all of the guards were slashed. But it was lies. The guards had been shot dead during the raid. After a quarter century of legal struggles, the state of New York would eventually award the surviving prisoners of Attica $12 million in damages.
Though it happened 30 years ago, Attica crystallizes many issues concerning criminal justice, race, and governmental accountability that are still troubling our society today. It goes down in history as the bloodiest uprising in an American penal institution. The four-day takeover began on September 9, 1971, at the Attica Correctional Facility, located in Attica, a town in Upstate New York. 1,281 inmates, mostly black, gained control of the prison, took 39 hostages, and issued 31 demands, primarily concerning improvements in inhumane prison conditions. Negotiations with State Corrections Commissioner Russell Oswald lasted four days, and involved 33 observers (including New York Times columnist Tom Wicker, Congressman Herman Badillo, Assemblyman Arthur Eve, and civil rights lawyer William Kunstler), with New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller tracking the stand-off from afar. After negotiations stalled, 500 armed troopers stormed the prison. In the end, 29 hostages and 10 guards were killed, all by police fire. Brutal retaliations and a cover-up followed. Inmates who suffered physical torture and reprisals filed a class action suit against the state. After 26 years, the case was settled with a $12 million award to inmates and their attorneys. Now the hostages are asking New York State for equal recognition.
Issues Raised by the Attica Uprising
Race and class were commonly acknowledged as being at the heart of tensions within Attica in 1971, but the huge disparity between African American and white felons continues today, raising questions about the color-blindness of the judicial system.
Attica became the well-spring for the ëprisoners' rightsí movement and the catalyst for reform in such areas as religious freedom, censorship of letters and reading materials, medical care and diet, visiting rights, educational programs, and legal services.
Many of these reforms have eroded in the past decade as a "lock 'em mentality" came back into favor. Numerous educational and training programs have ceased, and in 1998, Gov. Pataki vetoed funding for Prisoners' Legal Services. Attica changed the way hostage negotiations are conducted. In training films, it serves as a textbook example of excessive and unnecessary government force. Today a "wait 'em out" strategy prevails. As a result, no one has been killed in any prison rebellion since Attica.
governmental accountability for wrongdoing is still a live issue with Attica. As guard Mike Smith states in the film, "I don't know any other employer who could murder their employees and get away with it, except the government." The State of New York has never offered help, compensation, or an apology to the hostages or their widows. Only last year was the civil action suit settled with the inmates, who were subjected to torture and brutal retaliations after the state regained control of the prison.
The saga continues even now. As a resulting of lobbying by the Forgotten Victims of Attica, Governor Pataki formed a commission this spring to look into their request for an apology, counseling, compensation, the release of sealed records, and the right to an annual memorial service in front of the prison.
http://www.courttv.com/onair/shows/mugshots/indept h/attica/
Watch this video clip.
It would become one of the bloodiest days of the 20th century in the United States. Troopers shot indiscriminately over 2000 rounds of ammunition. 39 men would die, 29 prisoners and 10 guards. After the shooting stopped, police beat and tortured scores of more prisoners. 90 of the surviving prisoners were seriously wounded but were initially denied medical care. And the state would originally claim that all of the guards had died at the hands of the inmates. The New York Times reported on its front page the throats of all of the guards were slashed. But it was lies. The guards had been shot dead during the raid. After a quarter century of legal struggles, the state of New York would eventually award the surviving prisoners of Attica $12 million in damages.
Though it happened 30 years ago, Attica crystallizes many issues concerning criminal justice, race, and governmental accountability that are still troubling our society today. It goes down in history as the bloodiest uprising in an American penal institution. The four-day takeover began on September 9, 1971, at the Attica Correctional Facility, located in Attica, a town in Upstate New York. 1,281 inmates, mostly black, gained control of the prison, took 39 hostages, and issued 31 demands, primarily concerning improvements in inhumane prison conditions. Negotiations with State Corrections Commissioner Russell Oswald lasted four days, and involved 33 observers (including New York Times columnist Tom Wicker, Congressman Herman Badillo, Assemblyman Arthur Eve, and civil rights lawyer William Kunstler), with New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller tracking the stand-off from afar. After negotiations stalled, 500 armed troopers stormed the prison. In the end, 29 hostages and 10 guards were killed, all by police fire. Brutal retaliations and a cover-up followed. Inmates who suffered physical torture and reprisals filed a class action suit against the state. After 26 years, the case was settled with a $12 million award to inmates and their attorneys. Now the hostages are asking New York State for equal recognition.
Issues Raised by the Attica Uprising
Race and class were commonly acknowledged as being at the heart of tensions within Attica in 1971, but the huge disparity between African American and white felons continues today, raising questions about the color-blindness of the judicial system.
Attica became the well-spring for the ëprisoners' rightsí movement and the catalyst for reform in such areas as religious freedom, censorship of letters and reading materials, medical care and diet, visiting rights, educational programs, and legal services.
Many of these reforms have eroded in the past decade as a "lock 'em mentality" came back into favor. Numerous educational and training programs have ceased, and in 1998, Gov. Pataki vetoed funding for Prisoners' Legal Services. Attica changed the way hostage negotiations are conducted. In training films, it serves as a textbook example of excessive and unnecessary government force. Today a "wait 'em out" strategy prevails. As a result, no one has been killed in any prison rebellion since Attica.
governmental accountability for wrongdoing is still a live issue with Attica. As guard Mike Smith states in the film, "I don't know any other employer who could murder their employees and get away with it, except the government." The State of New York has never offered help, compensation, or an apology to the hostages or their widows. Only last year was the civil action suit settled with the inmates, who were subjected to torture and brutal retaliations after the state regained control of the prison.
The saga continues even now. As a resulting of lobbying by the Forgotten Victims of Attica, Governor Pataki formed a commission this spring to look into their request for an apology, counseling, compensation, the release of sealed records, and the right to an annual memorial service in front of the prison.
http://www.courttv.com/onair/shows/mugshots/indept h/attica/
Watch this video clip.
