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Prison Riot

During the 1971 uprising at Attica State Prison, prisoners wearing cloaks and football helmets, some of them with makeshift weapons, waited to negotiate their demands with state officials.
Looking Back September 14, 2021
Revisiting the Attica Riot in Real-Time 50 Years Later
The infamous 1971 prison revolt ended with a bloody police siege. We retell the story, minute-by-minute.
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At Briscoe Unit and many other prisons across Texas, prisoners have defeated locks using tools such as a shoelace and a bar of soap.
News August 11, 2020
Breaking Out With A Bar of Soap
In Texas, prisoners are opening their cells to chat—and to riot.
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Life Inside April 24, 2020
During the COVID-19 Crisis, Don’t Shoot the Messenger
When you lead the Inmate Liaison Committee in a pandemic, you have to deliver bad news with finesse.
By Corey Devon Arthur
Life Inside June 27, 2019
We Thought Our Prison Strike Was a Success. Then Came the Officers in Riot Gear
“Panic ensued as everyone braced for the inevitable attack.”
By Mangaaka Ade
Matthew Petrillo said he was struck in the face with a door of a locker by a guard during the incident at the prison.
Feature November 15, 2016
Inmates Say They Paid a Bloody Price for a Guard's Injury
Prisoners describe a rampage by correctional officers in a New York prison.
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Commentary September 9, 2016
Revisiting the Ghosts of Attica
A wrenching new book recounts the bloodiest prison battle in our history.
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Inmates of the Attica Correctional Facility negotiating with Russell G. Oswald, lower left, the state prisons commissioner, in September 1971.
News August 25, 2016
Revisiting Attica Shows How New York State Failed to Fulfill Promises
A new book brings attention to the deadly 1971 prison uprising. Reporters for The New York Times and The Marshall Project describe what has changed since then, and what hasn’t.
By Michael Winerip, and Michael Schwirtz
Q&A May 26, 2015
The Attica Turkey Shoot
Malcolm Bell, former special state prosecutor and whistleblower, on getting away with murder.
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Prisoners stand at the western fence as law enforcement officials from a wide variety of agencies converge on the Willacy County Correctional Center in Raymondville, Texas on Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 in response to a prisoner uprising at the private immigration detention center. A statement from prison owner Management and Training Corp. said several inmates refused to participate in regular work duties early Friday. Inmates told center officials of their dissatisfaction with medical services. (AP Photo/Valley Morning Star, David Pike)
News March 16, 2015
After Willacy
A private prison company, a prison riot, and what comes next.
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Feature February 28, 2015
Attica’s Ghosts
A savage beating, a culture “beyond repair.”
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