The Racial Viewpoint of the Attica Prison Riot
On September 9th, 1971 over a thousand inmates rioted at the Attica Correctional Facility of Attica, New York in reaction to the poor prison conditions and cruel punishment they were forced to endure. Between the years of 1965-1971 violent crimes had significantly increased. The cases of violent crimes reported increased from 58,802 to 145,048 incidents. Murder rates had also increased in 1965 from 836 to 1,823 homicides; this had led to an overpopulation of the Attica prison (Slade). The maximum security cells only allowed enough room for the width and length of the average man, creating a tight space where they'd spend eighteen hours a day. Inmates were often denied the right to call their family members and enjoy recreational time leading…show more content… Strangely only one of these guards faced charges, but they did receive minor consequences such as suspensions. (Ciment.) After 27 years the courts ordered the state of New York to pay eight million dollars in compensation to the inmates who were harassed during and after the riot. Over 1,200 inmates received money from New York in compensation for their suffering. Following the riot, conditions in maximum security prisons improved significantly. After Rockefeller’s refusal to intervene in the riot, many citizens were outraged. The state of New York eventually caved into the demand for better prison conditions and offered money to train guards. In addition to the state of New York offering to fund training, they also began to build safer prisons to prevent future uprisings. The gruesome riot that lasted four days significantly improved prison systems nationally, but ironically Attica itself has not improved much. Today, the prison is still overcrowded and the prison conditions are
