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The Attica Prison Riot

With governor Rockefellers refusal to grant amnesty the negotiations came to an impasse and the assault to retake the prison commenced. Tear gas was dropped into the yard and the group of national guard and police opened fire on the courtyard for a reported two minutes straight until 29 prisoners were killed and 10 hostages. The decision to take back the prison was immediately under fire from many who felt that the demands of the prisoners should have been met and that if they had been more patient and waited that one side would have succumbed to the other. The prisoners morale along with supplies were fading and many felt that it was only a matter of time until the prisoners would give up, however that was not the decision and the hasty decision to assault the prison had a high price in human life along with an impact on prison life for many years to come in America. .
             It seems as if the main cause of the riots was years of substandard conditions and treatment. This riot wasn't sparked over night or because of one incident, it was a culmination of events that led up to the riot. The pressure continued to build until finally it was released and many people had to die because of it. Many of the prisoners felt that it got to the point where they felt less than human, they thought the guards thought of them as beasts or dogs and were worth as much as dirt. I think this point is reiterated well by one Attica prisoner who was quoted as saying, "If we can't live as men, we sure as hell can die as men." That statement can very well sum up the thought process of these prisoners. Many of the guards were openly racist and there were absolutely no Hispanic or black correctional officers. 54% of the prison population was black. Add that to the fact that most of the men were from the city and urban areas then transported to a middle to upper white community that was the home for many of the correctional officers and there starts to become a real cultural divide.


Essays Related to The Attica Prison Riot

1. Attica

... of prisoners and hostages." In 1976, Governor Hugh Carey closed the state's book on the Attica riot. He commuted the sentence of John Hill, the man convicted of murdering Guard William Quinn. He ordered no disciplinary action be taken against police officers involved in the retaking, as was recommended by a state prosecutor. He ordered the state's records on the Attica Prison riot sealed for 50 years. No person or entity has ever ... been held responsible for the violence and deaths at the Attica Prison from September 9-13, 1971. No answers, no justice. The widows, surviving hostages, i...

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