On the morning of Sept. 13, 1971, New York state troopers raided the rural upstate Attica prison where prisoners had taken control four days earlier, holding dozens of guards and other employees hostage and demanding reforms. By the time order was restored, 10 hostages and 29 prisoners had been killed by police gunfire. Scores more were wounded. Four others — one guard and three prisoners — were killed by the prisoners earlier in the rebellion.
The Marshall Project has written about the tensions and brutality that still pervade Attica today and the many books that explore the conditions that made Attica ripe for revolt and the investigations that followed.
To mark the 50th anniversary of this seminal moment in American criminal justice history, The Marshall Project told the story of the uprising from beginning to end. As we did five years ago for the 45th anniversary, we used Twitter to walk through the events that led up to the riot, the days of negotiations for the release of the hostages and finally, the violent state police siege that ended the stalemate.
Each tweet went out at roughly the same date and time as the events 50 years earlier. Here, we've collected the entire updated storyline from @atticasghosts.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 7, 2021Fifty years ago this week, men imprisoned at New York’s Attica Correctional Facility started an uprising.
Days later, thirty-nine people were killed by authorities retaking control of Attica. The incident spurred landmark prison reform efforts.
In the coming days, we’ll live-tweet the events of the Attica uprising just as they happened in 1971, with highlights and context from the @marshallproj archives. We'll begin now.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 7, 2021
Become a Member Join the community that keeps criminal justice on the front page.The scene. pic.twitter.com/QSfZb8rufK
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 7, 2021
Sept. 8, 1971
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 8, 2021A lieutenant confronts Leroy Dewer in A yard after witnessing him scuffling with another prisoner and orders him to return to his cell.
Dewer, who was transferred to Attica after participating in a riot at Auburn prison the year before, is suspected of being a troublemaker.
Lt. Richard Maroney grabs Dewer’s arm, and Dewer strikes him, twice. Nearby prisoners leap to his defense, and correctional officers retreat.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 8, 2021
Prison Supt. Vincent Mancusi orders Dewer and Ray Lamorie, one of the men who defended him in the yard, to be sent to solitary. Four officers drag Dewer from his cell. Lamorie goes quietly.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 8, 2021
A full can of soup is thrown from a cell, striking Officer Tom Boyle in the face. Officers charge William Ortiz with throwing the can and order him confined to his cell.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 8, 2021
Leaving A-block to take Lamorie to solitary, Lt. Robert Curtiss hears a shout from the cells, “We’ll get you in the morning, motherf*ckers!”
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 8, 2021
Sept. 9, 1971
Other prisoners spring Ortiz, accused of hitting a guard with a can of soup, from his cell so he can go to the mess hall for breakfast.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
After Ortiz is discovered out of his cell, everyone from his unit is ordered back to their cells.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021Lt. Curtiss approaches the men to send them to their cells. They respond by beating him, knocking him unconscious.
Prisoners attack other guards nearby and take their keys.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021Prisoners break down the gate at Times Square, the main intersection of tunnels between four cell blocks at the center of the prison.
The rebellion spreads through the prison. Prisoners now have access to four main cell blocks.
As prisoners pour into Times Square, some beat Officer William Quinn, and his skull is fractured in two places. pic.twitter.com/j2AjCQWzmM
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Now armed with pieces of pipe, chain, broomsticks, hammers and homemade knives, rioters capture two tear-gas launchers stored at Times Square.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
The prison alarm is raised. pic.twitter.com/KwGiRSAO0R
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
1,281 men assemble in D yard holding 43 correctional officers and prison staff hostage. Rioters control five cell blocks and six other buildings. pic.twitter.com/3S5HYFMKAQ
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Some prisoners, particularly Black Muslims, protect the prison employees held hostage from beatings and abuse.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Authorities seize parts of the prison that are now empty. Prisoners control B and D blocks, exercise yards, tunnels and catwalks.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021See AlsoAttica Correctional Facility | History, Riots & ReformsGefängnisaufstand: Die Toten von Attica 1971 - WELT50 years after Attica prison uprising in New York, families still waiting for apology50 Years After Attica, Prisoners Protest Brutal Conditions
Russell Oswald, New York Commissioner of Correctional Services, arrives at Attica.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
State Assemblyman Arthur Eve of Buffalo and SUNY Buffalo law professor Herman Schwartz visit D yard. Prisoners present them with a list of demands. (Thread)
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Demand 1: Amnesty for the men in the prison and guarantees against physical or legal reprisals.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Demand 2: Transportation to a foreign country.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Demand 3: Federal intervention and oversight of the administration of Attica.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Demand 4: Reconstruction of the prison under the supervision of the prisoners themselves.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Demand 5: A committee of journalists, attorneys and activists must be allowed to observe conditions and negotiate with the prisoners.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Demand 6: All communication and negotiation must happen in the parts of Attica controlled by the prisoners, who guarantee the safety of negotiators.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Commissioner Oswald enters D yard with Rep. Eve and Professor Schwartz and talks with the men there, agreeing to demands for food, water and outside observers. pic.twitter.com/3uYtiqoWAG
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
New York State Police officials assure Oswald they have enough force to retake the prison, but he refuses an assault because he has committed to negotiating with the prisoners.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021Oswald, Eve, Schwartz and a group of reporters return to D yard, where they are presented with 15 “Practical Proposals.”
The proposals include applying minimum wage laws to prison labor, offering healthy, fresh food and improved medical care. https://t.co/PyMvVXdM2C pic.twitter.com/q6aiXcJFJA
Deputy Commissioner of Correctional Services Walter Dunbar goes to D yard and meets with prisoners who demand a federal injunction against reprisals.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
In her book "Blood in the Water," @hthompsn describes the tension in the yard: https://t.co/OeGJ5o7u9t pic.twitter.com/XHiX4PqQqK
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Members of Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s staff arrive at Attica.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Professor Schwartz flies to Vermont to get a federal court injunction to protect prisoners from sanctions.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 9, 2021
Sept. 10, 1971
Professor Schwartz returns with an injunction from a federal judge. Prisoners believe it is too narrow and that because it lacks an official seal, it is not legally binding.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 10, 2021
Oswald visits D yard. The men gathered there tear up the judge’s injunction. https://t.co/7HW9rkBB9F pic.twitter.com/x3EkYuz3VA
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 10, 2021
Oswald decides to stop negotiating directly with the prisoners.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 10, 2021
The men in D yard hold elections for representatives to speak for them in negotiations with the prison administrators.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 10, 2021
Thirty-three outside observers — lawyers, community activists, politicians and journalists who were requested by the men in D yard — meet at Attica and receive a briefing from officials.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 10, 2021
Observers visit D yard. One of them, lawyer William Kunstler, calls Black Panther Bobby Seale from inside the prison.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 10, 2021
Life Inside newsletter Subscribe to get essays delivered to you as they're published every week.The observers’ committee again goes to D yard to hear demands, which now include the removal of Attica Supt. Vincent Mancusi.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 10, 2021
Sept. 11, 1971
Observers leave D yard.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021
Three of the observers visit Wyoming County District Attorney Louis James to ask for amnesty for the rebelling prisoners.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021
A group of men are assigned to dig a large trench across D yard to be used as a shelter should corrections officers invade the yard with force.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021
District Attorney James offers a statement that there will be no vindictive prosecutions or reprisals. https://t.co/mnfPSBrYsO
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021
Several observers believe James’ letter is too tepid and will be rejected by the men in D yard. Committee leaders try to whittle down the list of demands.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021See AlsoFormer Attica Prisoner Describes Racist, Brutal Treatment That Sparked Deadly Uprising 50 Years Ago
At Rochester General Hospital, Officer William Quinn dies from the skull fractures he suffered during the initial burst of the rebellion at Times Square.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021
The observers’ committee crafts 28 proposals for reforms that will be acceptable to Commissioner Oswald. The proposals include increased recreation time, an inmate grievance commission and drug treatment programs, but not amnesty for the uprising.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021
Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, arrives at Attica at the behest of observer and lawyer William Kunstler.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021
After waiting for an hour while Commissioner Oswald and the observers discuss admitting him to the prison, Seale leaves.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021
Oswald sends the state police to ask Seale to return to Attica.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021
Bobby Seale enters Attica. pic.twitter.com/7h1RE76RmL
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021Seale refuses to endorse the observers’ 28 proposals without provisions for amnesty and without consulting the Central Committee of the Black Panther Party.
A group of observers present the 28 proposals to the men in D yard, and some spend hours discussing the points. pic.twitter.com/7b0SnkJ2Qy
The prisoners refuse to settle the rebellion, worried that after Quinn’s death they face likely physical attacks from prison staff as well as criminal prosecution, and the 28 proposals are ripped up.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 11, 2021
Sept. 12, 1971
The observers’ committee issues a public statement asking Gov. Nelson Rockefeller to come to Attica.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 12, 2021
Observers call Rockefeller personally, asking him to meet with them at Attica. He refuses. https://t.co/6O6xYWK7rw
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 12, 2021
Commissioner Oswald sends a statement to the men in D yard, requesting the release of the hostages and offering negotiations.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 12, 2021
Nine observers enter D yard after signing waivers releasing the state from liability in case they are injured or killed.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 12, 2021
Observers are accompanied by a group of Black and Puerto Rican journalists, who interview the hostages.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 12, 2021
The observers leave D yard.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 12, 2021
Gov. Rockefeller says publicly he will not come to Attica. https://t.co/wz2ZE0kXxc pic.twitter.com/m6wyFzAUyP
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 12, 2021
Observers beg Commissioner Oswald for more time to negotiate with the men in D yard.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 12, 2021
Sept. 13, 1971
Commissioner Oswald calls Gov. Rockefeller to try to persuade him to come to Attica, but he again refuses.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Commissioner Oswald delivers a final message to the prisoners in D yard, asking them to release all hostages immediately and restore order to the prison. He demands an answer within an hour. pic.twitter.com/ehLy7opaOW
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
State police marksmen set up positions on the roofs and top floors of A and C blocks. pic.twitter.com/zln1r9HXmf
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Police attack units gather on the lower floors of A and C blocks, preparing to retake the prison. Major John Monahan, commanding the state police at Attica, has told his officers he does not want this to turn into a “turkey shoot.”
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Prisoners lead eight blindfolded hostages, knives at their throats, to an elevated walkway near Times Square, where the riot began.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
The prisoners reject Oswald’s ultimatum to release the hostages and ask for the observers committee and Oswald to come back to negotiate.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Eleven corrections officers, unaware of the attack plan, gather with weapons in a third-floor corridor.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
The power to the prison is cut.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
A helicopter drops tear gas on D yard. pic.twitter.com/dTf50kwyFk
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Marksmen open fire in a bid to retake Attica. State troopers armed with shotguns and clubs begin to storm the yard. https://t.co/5yHgiiaVjA
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
A state police helicopter broadcasts an announcement demanding that the prisoners surrender.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
New York State Police officials report that Attica has been fully secured.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Observers continue to hear shots being fired inside the prison.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Ten hostages and 29 prisoners are dead or dying in Attica, all hit by bullets and buckshot fired by corrections officers and state troopers.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Three hostages, 85 prisoners and one state trooper are wounded in the assault. pic.twitter.com/IQjSCALOQM
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Two hostages have been seriously injured by the prisoners.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Authorities find the bodies of three White prisoners, stabbed and beaten to death. The three are believed to have been killed for being “traitors” to the uprising and for threatening hostages.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Commissioner Oswald tells observers the prison was retaken “with excellent discipline and without brutality.” pic.twitter.com/EXUUflxBW2
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Rockefeller phones President Richard Nixon to claim victory. Details of that call emerged in 2011. https://t.co/zl12rcwnTd pic.twitter.com/Z8wp75M3Af
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
New York Department of Correctional Services Public Relations Director Gerald Houlihan tells reporters all the hostages were killed by prisoners. Seven or eight of the hostages, Houlihan says, had their throats slit.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Deputy Commissioner Dunbar tells the press that during the siege, the prisoners castrated one hostage and stuffed his genitals in his mouth. This claim, which will be refuted the next day by doctors, persists in retellings of the uprising for years afterward.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 13, 2021
Sept. 14, 1971
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021Monroe County Medical Examiner Dr. John Edland tells reporters that the hostages were not mutilated, and all had died of gunshot wounds.
None of the rioting prisoners had guns. Only the state troopers and police sent to rescue the hostages had firearms.
Gov. Rockefeller later describes the misreporting of atrocities carried out by the prisoners at Attica as a “very unfortunate and embarrassing situation.”
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
After four days of rebellion, the prison was retaken swiftly by police with scores of people injured or dead. The effects of the uprising and the assault linger at Attica for years to come. https://t.co/kZyAC4GdW1 (Thread)
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
Decades after the uprising, the state reached settlements to pay millions of dollars to the men in D yard and also to the hostages and their families.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
Of the 28 proposals for reforms that Commissioner Oswald agreed to, many have never been fully adopted, @MarshallProj reported: https://t.co/8r1cJyYR5a
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
A culture of violence persisted at Attica, and correctional officers continued to severely beat men incarcerated there. This 2015 @MarshallProj story recounts the case of a man who had both of his legs broken, along with several other bones, by officers: https://t.co/Y9m6JHMc6o
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
After that story, New York installed thousands of cameras in Attica, and it began to change how the prison operated, as @JohnJLennon1 reported for @MarshallProj in 2018. https://t.co/8C7k6HZShO
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
This retelling of the Attica uprising has been produced by The Marshall Project, a news organization dedicated to covering criminal justice in America. Follow us at @MarshallProj and read about how the underlying issues in 1971 persist in many prisons today.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
Sign up for our @MarshallProj newsletters to get daily email roundups of news and to learn about “The System” through a limited-run series guiding you through criminal justice in the United States: https://t.co/WUogiP3vZK
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
As a nonprofit news organization, @MarshallProj depends on donations from our readers. If you’d like to support our work and help us pursue much-needed reporting on the criminal justice system, consider donating today: https://t.co/SgLOfvI6gm
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
Sources for this timeline include Tom Wicker’s book 1975 “A Time To Die”, https://t.co/i445qJXZcB
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
...The Special Commission on Attica’s report https://t.co/ja8C921TJz
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
...and @hthompsn's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Blood in the Water.” https://t.co/Ap6PHde8fr
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
To understand the mood at Attica 50 years ago, listen to the recent @earhustlesq episode about the death of George Jackson at San Quentin prison in California less than three weeks before the Attica rebellion. https://t.co/45ddHE9b5F
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
Jackson was an internationally known incarcerated activist and writer accused of killing a correctional officer. On Aug. 21, 1971, he was part of an uprising at San Quentin that left three guards and two prisoners dead before he was shot and killed.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
The day after Jackson’s death, @hthompsn writes in “Blood in the Water,” the men at Attica staged a sit-in, wore black armbands and refused to eat in the mess hall, an unusual display of solidarity that shook the prison staff.
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
.@MarshallProj curates the best reporting on Attica then and now: https://t.co/QuEkIgVpfT
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
Five years ago, for the 45th anniversary of the uprising, @tommy_robb reviewed “Blood in the Water” and other books probing the Attica riot and its aftermath for @marshallproj:. https://t.co/kZyAC4GdW1
— Tweeting Attica Prison Uprising 1971 (@atticasghosts) September 14, 2021
