The Attica Prison riot took place at the Attica Correctional Facility state prison in Attica, New York. The riot started on September 9, 1971, with a violent takeover of the prison control center in which one prison officer, William Quinn, was killed. It ended on September 13 with the highest number of fatalities in the history of United States prison riots. Of the 43 men who died (33 inmates and 10 correctional officers and employees), all but one guard and three inmates were killed by law enforcement gunfire when the state retook control of the prison on the final day of the riot. The Attica riot has been described as a historic event in the prisoners' rights movement.
Prisoners revolted to seek better living conditions and political rights, claiming that they were treated as beasts. On September 9, 1971, 1,281 of the approximately 2,200 men incarcerated in the Attica Correctional Facility rioted and took control of the prison, taking 42 staff hostage. During the four days of negotiations, authorities agreed to the majority of the prisoners' 28 demands, but did not accept the demand for the removal of Attica's warden or to allow the inmates complete amnesty from criminal prosecution for the prison takeover. By order of Governor Nelson Rockefeller (after consultation with President Richard M. Nixon), armed corrections officers and state and local police were sent in to regain control of the prison. By the time they stopped firing, at least 39 people were dead: 10 correctional officers and civilian employees and 29 inmates, with nearly all killed by law enforcement gunfire. Law enforcement subjected many of the survivors to various forms of torture, including sexual violence.
Rockefeller had refused to go to the prison or meet with prisoners. After the riot was suppressed, he stated that the prisoners "carried out the cold-blood killings they had threatened from the outset". Medical examiners confirmed that all but the deaths of one officer and three inmates were caused by law enforcement gunfire. The New York Times writer Fred Ferretti said the rebellion concluded in "mass deaths that four days of taut negotiations had sought to avert".
As a result of the riot, the New York Corrections Department made changes in prisons to satisfy some of the prisoners' demands, reduce tension in the system, and prevent such incidents in the future. While there were improvements to prison conditions in the years immediately following the uprising, many of these improvements were reversed in the 1980s and 1990s. Attica remains one of the most infamous prison riots to have occurred in the United States.
Background
Many of the prisoners in Attica participated in the riot because they desired better living conditions. Historian Howard Zinn wrote the following about the conditions in Attica prior to the uprising,
Prisoners spent 14 to 16 hours a day in their cells, their mail was read, their reading material restricted, their visits from families conducted through a mesh screen, their medical care disgraceful, their parole system inequitable, racism everywhere.
Overcrowding contributed to the poor conditions, as in recent years the prison's population had increased from the 1,200 prisoners for which it was designed, to 2,243.
Additionally, as in many American prisons, racial disparities existed at Attica. Within the prison population, 54% of the incarcerated men were African American, 9% of them were Puerto Rican, and 37% of them were white. The guards often threw out letters written in Spanish to or from Puerto Rican prisoners, and relegated black prisoners to the lowest-paid jobs and subjected them to regular racial harassment. Racist treatment by prison guards fueled prisoners' anger.
The previous year, multiple rebellions occurred throughout the New York City Jail system. Inmates at the Manhattan House of Detention held five guards hostage for eight hours, until state officials promised to hear prisoner grievances and they also promised not to take any punitive action against the rioters. Despite that promise, officials had the primary ringleaders shipped to various New York State Prisons and many were brutalized, held for months in solitary confinement and faced further criminal charges. Incarcerated people and state authorities in Auburn Correctional Facility engaged in an ongoing conflict and confrontation between November 2, 1970, and June 9, 1971. Several participants in what came to be known as the Auburn prison riot were subsequently transferred to other New York State prisons, including Attica.
In July 1971, a group of Attica inmates presented a list of 27 demands regarding improvements in living conditions in Attica to state Commissioner of Corrections Russell Oswald and Governor Nelson Rockefeller. These demands included improvements in multiple areas such as diet, the quality of guards, rehabilitation programs, and, in particular, education programs. The inmates also demanded increased religious freedom, the ability to engage in political activity, and an end to censorship, which they argued were all vital to a proper education within the prison. The commissioner did not take any actions on the list of demands. Attica warden Vincent Mancusi responded by adding additional restrictions to inmates' reading materials and personal belongings.
In August 1971, George Jackson, an author and prominent member of the Black Panther Party, was shot and killed during an escape attempt in which three prison guards and two white inmates were murdered at San Quentin State Prison in California. Through his writings, Jackson had encouraged imprisoned people throughout the United States to become politically active. Many incarcerated people in Attica had read Jackson's books and cited Jackson's death as a major catalyst for the riot. The day after Jackson's death, at least 700 Attica inmates participated in a hunger strike in his honor.
Initial uprising
On Wednesday, September 8, 1971, two inmates fought during their recreation break, and a correctional officer came up to intervene. One inmate had already left the area, but the officer demanded the remaining inmate return to his cell, and in the ensuing argument the inmate hit the officer. Other inmates and guards joined the commotion, and another inmate also hit the same officer, Lt. Richard Maroney, but before the violence could intensify, Lieutenant Robert Curtiss moved to deescalate the situation. Later that evening, warden Vincent Mancusi ordered the two inmates involved in the altercation, Leroy Dewer and Ray Lamorie, to be taken to solitary confinement, but when the officers arrived at 5 Company to take the inmates away, other prisoners resisted. The other inmates in 5 Company shouted and threw things at the guards and one inmate, William Ortiz, hit an officer, Tom Boyle, with a can of soup, resulting in him being assigned to "keep lock", or confinement to his cell.
The morning of Thursday, September 9, 1971, prisoners of 5 Company were still upset and demanded that officers tell them what would become of Ortiz. Officer Gordon Kelsey told them he did not know and tried to continue the routine. As inmates headed to breakfast, some managed to open Ortiz's cell door and he left with them to the mess hall. When the command staff found out what had occurred, they decided to return all of the men of 5 Company to their cells after breakfast but they did not inform all the correctional officers, and when officers led inmates out toward the recreation area after breakfast, both officers and inmates were surprised to find the doors locked. The inmates believed they were about to be punished and a melee broke out, which resulted in chaos as some inmates attacked the guards and others tried to flee. The chaos spread to other nearby companies of inmates, and the uprising began. During this stage, several guards and inmates were injured. Officer William Quinn would die in the hospital two days later of injuries sustained during the initial riot.
By noon on September 9, correctional officers and police controlled about half the prison and its inmates, while 1,281 of Attica's approximately 2,200 inmates controlled the other half, including D-yard, two tunnels, and the central control room, referred to as "Times Square". Inmates held 42 officers and civilian employees as hostages.
Negotiations
Once inmates had secured their section of the prison, they began organizing. Inmates elected leaders to represent them in negotiations, appointed inmates to serve as medics and security, and began drafting a list of demands for officials to meet before they would surrender. For example, Frank "Big Black" Smith (September 11, 1933 – July 31, 2004) was chosen to be head of security, to keep negotiators from outside safe. Additionally, 21-year-old Elliott James "L.D." Barkley, an ardent orator, was a strong force during the negotiations. He spoke eloquently to the inmates, journalist camera crews, and viewers at home. Barkley, just days away from his scheduled release at the time of the uprising, was killed during the recapturing of the prison.
We are men! We are not beasts and we do not intend to be beaten or driven as such. The entire prison populace, that means every one of us here, has set forth to change forever the ruthless brutalization and disregard for the lives of the prisoners here and throughout the United States. What has happened here is but the sound before the fury of those who are oppressed. We will not compromise on any terms except those terms that are agreeable to us. We've called upon all the conscientious citizens of America to assist us in putting an end to this situation that threatens the lives of not only us but of every one of you, as well.
— Declaration to the People of America, Read by Elliott James "L.D." Barkley, September 9, 1971
As speakers such as Barkley raised morale, the elected group of negotiators drafted proposals to present to the commissioner. The Attica Liberation Faction Manifesto of Demands was a compilation of complaints written by the Attica prisoners, which speak directly to the "sincere people of society". It included 33 demands, including better medical treatment, fair visitation rights, improved food quality, religious freedom, higher wages for inmate jobs, "an end of physical abuse, for [access to] basic necessities like toothbrushes and showers every day, for professional training, and access to newspapers and books." The manifesto assigns the power to negotiate to five inmates elected to represent the others: Donald Noble, Peter Butler, Frank Lott, Carl Jones-El, and Herbert Blyden X. Additionally, the document specifically lists "vile and vicious slave masters" who oppressed the prisoners, such as the New York governor, New York corrections, and the United States courts.
Inmates requested a team of outside observers to assist with negotiations, whom they considered knowledgeable of prison conditions, many of whom officials were able to persuade to come to Attica. Observers included Tom Wicker, an editor of The New York Times; James Ingram of the Michigan Chronicle; State Senator John Dunne, head of a Prisons Committee in the legislature; State Representative Arthur Eve; U.S. congressman from New York and attorney Herman Badillo; civil rights lawyer William Kunstler; Clarence B. Jones, publisher of the Amsterdam News in New York and former advisor to Martin Luther King Jr.; representatives of the Young Lords, and others. Prisoners requested Minister Louis Farrakhan, national representative of the Nation of Islam, but he declined. Inmates also requested representatives from the Black Panther Party; Bobby Seale addressed the inmates briefly on September 11 but did not stay long and some believed that he inflamed tensions.
The prisoners and team of observers continued to negotiate with Commissioner of Corrections Russell Oswald, who agreed to 28 of the inmates' demands, but refused to agree to amnesty for the inmates involved in the uprising or to fire the Attica warden. William Kunstler, a lawyer who agreed to represent the inmates in negotiations, said, "The prisoners had two non-negotiable demands: the removal of the warden, and general amnesty, and they had already given up on the removal of the warden. And on the general amnesty, we had worked out several formulas that we were discussing with the commissioner hours before the attack, and if we had been allowed to continue, everyone would be alive and the matter would be settled today."
The situation may have been further complicated by Governor Rockefeller's refusal even to come to the prison or meet with the inmates. Instead, Rockefeller dispatched Commissioner of the Office of General Services Almerin C. O'Hara, a retired National Guard major general, as his personal representative and liaison. Because Rockefeller was unwilling to compromise, some analysts' later evaluations of the incident postulated that Rockefeller's absence prevented the situation from deteriorating. Negotiations broke down, as Oswald was unwilling or unable to make further concessions to the inmates. Oswald and members of the observers committee called Rockefeller and begged him to come to the prison to calm the situation, but he refused. Following the governor's refusal, Oswald and Rockefeller agreed that Oswald would order the State Police to retake the facility by force, a decision which was later criticized.
Retaking of the prison and retaliations
On the night of Sunday, September 12, 1971, plans were drawn up to retake the prison by force. Members of the team of observers argued for Oswald to deliver to inmates one final appeal for a settlement before the forcible retaking. Oswald agreed, but was instructed not to phrase the demand as an ultimatum, as Rockefeller did not want to let inmates know that the assault was beginning. At 8:25 a.m. on Monday, September 13, 1971, Oswald gave the inmates a statement directing them to release the hostages and accept the offered settlement within the hour. However, he did not tell them that negotiations had ended and he would take the prison back by force if they refused, even stating, "I want to continue negotiations with you." The inmates rejected his offer, and as it appeared to them as though Rockefeller remained opposed to their demands the mood among the inmates deteriorated.