In less than two months, the 53rd anniversary of the deadliest prison riot in U.S. history will be observed in New York State. The infamous Attica Prison Riot, also called the Attica Prison Rebellion, took place from September 9 to September 13, 1971, at the Attica Correctional Facility. The facility is situated at 639 Exchange Street in Wyoming County, Attica, New York.
According to reports, the riot that took place resulted in the loss of 43 lives, including 33 inmates and 10 correctional officers and employees. Surprisingly, 40 of the victims were killed by law enforcement officers when they regained control of the prison. The uprising was a result of the inmates’ frustration with the poor treatment and overcrowding in the prison. The facility was originally designed to house 1,200 inmates, but the population had swelled to 2,243. Additionally, racial tensions were a contributing factor, with the majority of prisoners being black and all but one of the guards being white. This information is available on Wikipedia.
According to available data, African American men constituted 54% of the prison population, followed by 9% of Puerto Rican men and 37% of white men. It is worth noting that almost all of the guards, except for one as per some sources, were white.
The prison guards discarded letters addressed to inmates that were written in Spanish. Additionally, they forced African American prisoners to work in the least lucrative positions.
On the day preceding the riot, there was a confrontation between certain inmates and corrections officers. This event stirred up discontent among the prisoners, leading to the outbreak of violence the following day. By midday on September 9, the prisoners had taken over fifty percent of the prison. During the negotiations, a 21-year-old inmate named Elliott James “L.D.” Barkley emerged as the spokesperson for the prisoners. He conveyed the prisoners’ demands. Barkley stated,
As men, we refuse to be treated like mere beasts. We are determined to put an end to the cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners in this facility and across the country. This incident is just the beginning of a much larger movement. We will not settle for anything less than fair and just treatment. We implore all compassionate citizens of America to join us in our fight against this injustice. The lives of not only us, but of every one of you, are at stake.
Commissioner of Corrections Russell Oswald was presented with a list of demands from the inmates. Out of the 28 demands, he agreed to comply with all of them, except for two. He refused to grant amnesty to the prisoners involved and also declined to dismiss warden Vincent R. Mancusi.
According to the inmates, the violence and mistreatment from the guards escalated after the prison was taken back. If you’re interested in learning more about the Attica Prison Riot, there is additional information available.