The Attica Prison rebellion , also known as the Attica Prison rebellion or Attica Prison Riot , occurred at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, USA , in 1971. Based on the prisoner's demands for better living conditions and political rights, the uprising was one of the most famous and significant Revolt Movement Rights Convicts. On September 9, 1971, two weeks after the assassination of George Jackson at the San Quentin State Prison, about 1,000 from the prison in Attica about 2,200 inmates screwed up and took over the prison, carrying 42 hostages.
During the next four days of negotiations, the authorities agreed on the 28 demands of the detainees, but would not agree to a demand for full amnesty from criminal prosecution for a jail takeover or for the dismissal of Inspector Athena. At the behest of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, the state police took back the reins of the prison. When the uprising ended, at least 43 people were killed, including ten prisoners and civil servants, and 33 inmates.
Rockefeller, who refused to visit detainees during the uprising, stated that the prisoners "committed a cold-blooded murder they had threatened from the beginning," although only one of the officers and four inmates died as a prisoner. New York Times author Fred Ferretti says the uprising ended in "mass deaths that four days of tough negotiations have been trying to avoid".
As a result of the unrest, a number of changes were made in the New York prison system to meet some of the demands of detainees, ease tensions within the system, and prevent future insurgencies. By 2018, there has never been another riot anywhere near the scale of the Attica insurgency in the United States.
Video Attica Prison riot
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At about 4:20 am on Thursday, September 9, 1971, 5 Companies were lined up to be absent. Hearing rumors that one of their friends will remain in his cell after being isolated for an incident involving an attack on a prison officer, a small group of 5 inmates protested that they would also be locked up and begin walking back to their cell. The rest of the 5 Companies continue towards breakfast. As the protesting group walked past the isolated prisoners, they freed him from his cell. They then rejoin the 5 other Companies and continue their journey towards breakfast. Moments later, when the commando staff found out what had happened, they changed the usual scheduling of the prisoners, but did not inform the correctional officer in charge of leading 5 Companies to the yard. Instead of going to the grounds after breakfast as usual, the prisoners were taken there to find the locked door, confuse them and the correctional officer. Complaints cause anger when more correctional officers arrive to lead prisoners back to their cells. An officer was attacked and riots began.
The inmates quickly mastered the parts, the D-yard, the two tunnels, and the central control room, referred to as "Times Square". Inmates carry 42 officers and civil hostages, and produce a list of complaints that demand that their conditions be met before they surrender.
Maps Attica Prison riot
Negotiation
Throughout the negotiations, there was leadership and organization among the prisoners. Frank "Big Black" Smith was appointed chief of security, and he also kept the hostages and the observers safe. In addition, an excited orator, Elliott James "L.D." who is 21 years old. Barkley, was a powerful force during the negotiations, spoke with great articulation to inmates, camera crews, and outsiders at home. Barkley, just a few days from his release schedule at the time of the insurrection, was killed during the jail re-arrest. Assemblyman Arthur Eve testified that Barkley was alive after the prisoners surrendered and the state regained control; another inmate stated that the officer searched it, shouted for Barkley, and shot him in the back.
We are men! We are not wild animals and we do not intend to be beaten or pushed like that. The entire prison population, that means we are all here, has changed forever to change the brutalization of the cruel and ignore the lives of the prisoners here and throughout the United States. What happened here was just a voice before their oppressed anger. We will not compromise on any terms except the terms agreed by us. We have called on all cautious Americans to assist us in ending this situation that threatens not only our lives but also each of you.
When speakers like Barkley lifted their spirits, the rebel negotiating teams made their requests to the commissioners. The Freedom of Terrorism Request Manifesto is a compilation of complaints written by Attica prisoners, who speak directly to "sincere people of the community". It includes 27 demands, such as better medical care, equitable visit rights, and an end to physical brutality. The detainees also asked for better sanitation, better food quality, and a set of rules for the state among many other demands. The Manifesto specifically gave the power to negotiate with five inmates: Donald Noble, Peter Butler, Frank Lott, Carl Jones-El, and Herbert Blyden X. In addition, the document specifically lists "cruel and cruel slave masters" who oppress prisoners like as governor of New York, New York Corruption, and even the United States Court.
Detainees continued to unsuccessfully negotiate with Corrective Services Commissioner Russell G. Oswald, and later with a team of observers including Tom Wicker, an editor of The New York Times, James Ingram of the Michigan Chronicle i>, state senator John Dunne, state representative Arthur Eve, civil rights lawyer William Kunstler, and others. The inmates asked for the presence of Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Nation of Islam, but he refused.
This situation may be further complicated by the rejection of Governor Rockefeller to come to the rebellion and meet with inmates, although some later evaluation of the incident will postulate that his absence from the scene actually prevented the situation from deteriorating. The negotiations failed, and Oswald was unable to grant further concessions to the prisoners. However, he did not tell them that the negotiations had ended and he would take the prison back violently, even stating, "I want to continue negotiating with you." Oswald then phoned the Rockefeller Governor and begged him to return to the prison to calm the riot. After the governor's rejection, Oswald stated that he would order the State Police to reclaim the facility by force. Rockefeller agreed with Oswald's decision to retake the prison by force, a decision that was later criticized.
Caring for prison and retaliation
Because the demands were not met, negotiations stalled and the mood among the detainees deteriorated. It seems as though the Governor of Rockefeller remains opposed to the demands of the prisoners, and they become restless. The defense trenches have been dug, the metal gates have been electrified, the raw frames are made of metal tables and soil, the gasoline is put in a position to ignite when a conflict occurs, and the "Times Square" prison command center is fortified. The inmates brought four corrective officers to the top of the command center and threatened to slit their throats. Journalists in the helicopter surrounding the prison reported that the hostages in Page D were also being prepared to be killed. Governor Rockefeller has ordered that jails be recaptured that day if negotiations fail. The commander of Oswald's situation, seeing the dangers of the hostages, ordered that the prison be recaptured by force. From that decision, he then said "On a much smaller scale, I think I have a feeling now about how Truman felt when he decided to drop A-bomb."
At 9:46 am on Monday, September 13, 1971, tear gas was dropped onto the yard and the New York State police fired nonstop for two minutes into the smoke. Among the weapons used by the troops was a rifle, which caused injury and killing of hostages and inmates who did not resist. Former prison officers were allowed to participate, the decision was then called "unforgivable" by the commission set up by Rockefeller to study the unrest and its aftermath. By the time the facility was recaptured, nine hostages and 29 prisoners were killed. A tenth of the hostages died on October 9, 1972, due to the gunshot wounds received during the attack.
The latest death toll from the rebellion also includes officers who were seriously wounded at the start of the uprising and four inmates who were targeted by sadistic killings. Nine hostages were killed by gunfire by state troops and soldiers. The New York State Commission for Attica wrote, "With the exception of the Indian massacre of the late 19th century, the State Police attack that ended a four-day prison term was the bloodiest one-day encounter between Americans since the Civil War for the Blair Mountain Battle of West Virginia on year 1921.
Media reports state that prisoners of inmates cut the throats of many of their hostages, reports contrary to official medical evidence. The newspaper headline made a statement like "I Saw Slit Throats", implying that prisoners had cut the necks of the hostages when an armed attack occurred. These reports set the stage for retaliation by police and prison officers. Inmates were made to disarm and crawl through the mud and then some were made naked among the ranks of angry officers, who beat the inmates. A few days after the uprising ended, the prison doctor reported more beating evidence. The Special Commission found that state officials failed to quickly disprove the false rumors and reports.
Vengeance by Weatherman
At 7:30 pm on September 17, Weatherman launched a retaliatory attack against the New York Corruption Department, detonating a bomb near Oswald's office. "The communique that accompanies the attack calls the prison system an example of 'how a society run by a white racist maintains its control,' with white supremacy being 'the main problem whites have to deal with.'"
Legal and payment charges
In four years of uprising, 62 inmates have been indicted on 42 charges with 1,289 separate numbers. A state policeman was indicted for endangerment.
Prisoners and families of prisoners who died in prison demanded re-suing New York State for violations of civil rights by law enforcement officers during and after the resumption of Attica. After years in court, in 2000, the State of New York agreed to pay $ 8 million ($ 12 million minus legal costs) to settle the case. The State of New York also recognizes the families of the prison workers who were killed in 2005 with $ 12 million in financial settlements.
The Forgotten Victim of Attica has also asked the State of New York to release a state record of a public uprising. In 2013, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said he would seek the release of the entire 570-page Meyer Report, a state review of the insurgency. This report was prepared by former US Supreme Court Judge Bernard S. Meyer and submitted in 1975. One volume was published, but a State Supreme Court judge ordered in 1981 that the other two were permanently sealed. In May 2015, 46 pages of the report were released. The released pages contain reports of witnesses and inmates depicting torture, arson, and sexual harassment of detainees by prison authorities.
Racial issues
At the time of the uprising, black empowerment increased and many black prisoners had been transferred to Attica, increasing the population of 1,200 prisoners designed to 2,243. 54% of them are black American, 9% Puerto Rican, and 37% white; However, most of the 383 prison officers were white. Some officers of the correction are openly racist and attack the prisoners with their wands, which they call "negro stalks." In addition, two weeks before the uprising at San Quentin State Prison, George Jackson, a member of the Black Panther Party, was shot and killed after picking up several guards and two prisoners inmates. In addition to his death, the incident ended with the death of 5 hostages.
Al Jundi v. Mancusi
It is believed that a group of Muslims are responsible for the rebellion and loss of the hostages, when in fact the Muslim group protects the hostages from other inmates. The Muslim leader even told other inmates that if one of the inmates tried to harm the hostages, that they would "kill [the detainees involved] or die to protect the hostages." The trial at Al Jundi v. Mancusi , 113 F.Supp.2d 441 writes:
A number of former Muslim inmates testified that they had been chosen to be treated "brutally" by "special forces" and prison officials because they had played an active role in protecting the hostages for four days before the take-back. Because a number of militant inmates were prepared to injure the hostages, Frank "Big Black" Smith, along with Muslim leaders, implemented plans to secure the safety of the hostages during the negotiations.
This view was corroborated by Michael Smith, age 51, formerly a corrective officer who was a hostage until September 13, 1971. He testified that he was held hostage on 9 September 1971 by a group of uncontrollable prisoners. He described them as "a wave of human emotions". He is responsible for the metal sheet shop and develops rapport with inmates working under him and they protect him from militant groups. But eventually he was under the control of the takeover group and found himself at the D-Yard center with the other hostages. One of the inmates, Don Noble, whom he befriended and who worked in the sheet metal shop, and Carl Reighn (originally mentioned in an earlier interview as Carl Rain) protected him on September 9, 1971, trying desperately to find a way to hide or save him and protect him , and then will save his life on September 13, 1971. Carl Reighn was present from the moment they ruined the door of an iron shop.
Smith was interviewed by the media while being held hostage along with Cunningham Corrections Officer. He said that the prisoners' demands were to improve conditions and report that he was not harmed. She blindfolded most of the time. Upon receiving the Quinn Officer's Corrective death report, the negotiation process failed.
On Sunday night, September 12, 1971, the feeling was "grim". He gets a pen and writes a goodbye letter to his wife and family with the dollar bill in his wallet. He testified that the hostages sat in a circle and leaned against each other for support.
On Monday, September 13, 1971, he was elected along with several other hostages to be taken on the A-Yard catwalk and the hostage execution was arranged. He was taken to the catwalk by three inmates and sat in a chair with his eyes closed. Inmate Don Noble was on his left and holding a knife to his throat. When the Army helicopter hovered over them and dropped tear gas, the shooting began and the inmate on his right was shot twice and detonated over the catwalk fence. Don Noble pulled him to the left and the inmate immediately behind him received a fatal shoot-out. Noble was shot and Smith shot four times in the stomach and one time on the arm. The chair in which he sits is split from gunfire. Smith said in court, "I do not know how long the shooting took place, you can hear people crying, people dying and people shouting." He never lost consciousness when he lay on the catwalk until a policeman stood over him pointing a gun at his head. A prison officer saw what was happening and shouted to the police, "He is one of us," who then focuses on Noble, at which point Smith tells the police, "He saved my life".
He was eventually taken by a National Guard medical officer to St. Hospital. Jerome in Batavia for an extensive treatment period involving multiple operations. He was eventually released from service as a corrective officer because of his physical inability to perform his duties. He commented on the inaccuracies of the McKay Report claiming that he just fainted - not mentioning widespread gunshot wounds or how they were obtained. He publicly declared that his life was saved when he was taken hostage because of the dedicated effort of the Muslim group in Attica. "In fact, I can recall hearing one of the Muslim leaders instructing one of their men that if anyone tried to break through their Muslim perimeter to kill them or die to protect the hostages."
Effects on the New York State jail system
As an indirect result of the Attica revolt, the New York Corruption Department 1) initiated a complaint procedure, in which inmates could grieve (action objection) by staff members who violated the published policy, 2) started in each prison program where the warden and senior management others meet monthly with elected representatives of inmates, and 3) begin allowing packages to inmates to be accepted throughout the year.
In popular culture
Books
The first historical record of the Attica Prison Jail ( A Time to Die , 1975) was written by Tom Wicker, an N.Y. Times editor, who was present in the prison as an observer. A more detailed historical record of the uprising was published by historian Heather Ann Thompson in 2016. The book entitled Blood in Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy , was taken from interviews with former inmates, hostages , victims' families, law enforcement, lawyers, and state officials, as well as significant archives of previously unreleased material. Malcolm Bell's history account The Turkey Shoot: Tracking Attika Cover-up has been written and Bell is involved with the New York Special Commission (State) in Attica.
Movies
Live coverage of the Attica Prison rebellion:
- ScreenSlate describes the Cinda Firestone documentary, titled Attica (1974), as follows:
The 1974 film Firestone, restored in 2007, brings together major recordings of surveillance and news cameras together with interviews of prisoners, families, and carers to make reports of the massacre that has been described as a quiet yet undeniable act with respect to state action. Like the 1974 review of the New Yorker, the calm image of Cinda Firestone uses a gruesome movie recording: shots taken through state troop telescopic rifles, meditations by inmates who sometimes, sometimes grumbling into anger against a world that finds a description of the great Attica, an insensitive quall riot proud of their skill with weapons, showing off their prowess before the commission of inquiry... If Attica interrupted our sleep for a month or two, one of the trumpet call quality of this movie is that it makes a nuisance defensive. "
- At least three fictional films about the uprising have been produced: Attica (1980), with George Grizzard and Morgan Freeman, John Frankenheimer Against The Wall (1994) with Samuel L. Jackson, Kyle MacLachlan, and Clarence Williams III; and The Killing Yard (2001), directed by Euzhan Palcy, along with Alan Alda and Morris Chestnut.
- As part of the 40th anniversary, filmmakers Chris Christopher and David Marshall, who teamed up with Blue Sky Project, produced a documentary film nominated for 60 minutes entitled Criminal Injustice: Death and Politics in Attica , first aired on PBS in 2012, unifying previously unavailable interviews that deconstructed and exposed many myths and misconceptions about the Attica Prison rebellion, its causes, and its closure.
Criminal Injustice: Death and Politics in Attica brought this historic event to life in a completely new and surprising way. Based on interviews with eyewitnesses who have just told their stories, as well as filmmakers access to newly discovered documents, Criminal Injustice brings with it new evidence of what actually happened in Attica between September 9-13 1971 and the roles played by local, state, and even federal officials. Indeed this film raises important new questions about the deaths caused in Attica, about individual involvement at the White House in Attica, and the influence of Nelson Rockefeller's political aspirations on decisions made before, during, and long after the controversial and deadly retrieval of the prison. Forty years after this great and catastrophic event, filmmakers Marshall and Christopher find that many are willing to speak with new candor that adds depth, and in some cases alters, historical records. The film includes a final interview on Attica given by NYT reporter Tom Wicker (who is an observer/negotiator at the scene and author of A Time to Die) about his experience in Attica, Malcolm Bell, the special prosecutor changed the whistle blower, Dr. Heather Thompson, who is the country's leading academic authority for the Attica prison rebellion - as well as inmates, former hostages, law enforcement officers, and others.
Several other films refer to the rebellion:
- In the Half Nelson film (2006), one of Dunne's disciples tells the history of Attica with a short half-hour monologue into the film.
- In the movie Dog Day Afternoon, (1975), Al Pacino character Sonny, who holds eight bank employees, started the singing, â € Å"Attica! Attica! Â €, in front of the police outside, awaken an excessive police force used in response to the Attica revolt. The song "Attica! Attica!" has been parodied or used for comedy effects in many movies and television shows. For example, In the movie Naked Gun 33 1/3: Last Insult , (1994), Leslie Nielsen's character, Frank Drebin, shouted "Attica! Attica!" when he was disguised in prison. Similarly, in the movie Saturday Night Fever (1977), John Travolta's Tony Manero wakes up after a night out at the disco and, looking at himself in the mirror and looking at Al Pacino's poster in Serpico (1973), debating whether he resembles Al Pacino. Being enamored of the idea, he shouted "Al Pacino!" and then open the door of his room, walk down the hall, and sing "Attica! Attica!"
Music
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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