The Most Common Causes of Riots - Essay Example

Your Number February 17, 2007 Three Major Prison Riots: Causes and Outcomes A prison riot occurs "when the authorities lose control of a significant number of prisoners, in a significant area of the prison, for a significant amount of time" (Useem and Kimball, 4, quoted in Gaes, 27). The sad fact is that prison riots occur all too often, and they do not occur in a vacuum. There is always some reason why they happen, and this reason is usually apparent well before the riot takes place. The most common causes of riots are poor administration and a failure to care about the needs or well being of the prisoners (Gaes, 27-28). Three major prison riots in the United States have taken place in Attica, NY, McAlester, OK, Santa Fe, NM. As will be shown below, in each of these cases, the prisoners felt abandoned and ignored by the administration, and they felt like they had no other choice but to riot in order to get their demands heard. Attica, NY: Attica Correctional Facility On the morning of September 9, 1971, prisoners at the Attica Correctional Facility were rounded up and told that one of the inmates had to remain in his cell (Attica Prison Riots). Rumors began flying that this prisoner was going to be tortured by the prison guards (Attica Prison Riots). Five of his companions decided that they were not going to let that happen. They freed him, and when one of the guards went to check on the status of the prisoner, he was attacked (Attica Prison Riots). The riot had begun. Causes This riot had actually been a long time in the making. Inmates had written a letter to prison officials, telling what some of their concerns were. This letter was completely ignored (Attica Prison Riots). The prisoners probably felt like they had no other choice if they were going to get anything resolved. Here are some of the things that sparked the prisoners' anger: 1) Overcrowding: Attica was designed to hold 1,200 inmates, but it actually housed, at the time, 2,225 (Attica Prison Riots). 2) Bad living conditions: The prisoners were only allowed to have one roll of toilet paper a month and one bucket of water a week to use as a shower (Attica Prison Riots). The prisoners were also subjected to mail censorship (Attica Prison Riots). In addition, they were denied any educational opportunities (Attica Prison Riots). 3) Racial factors: "54% of the inmates were African American and 9% Puerto Rican; however, all of the 383 correctional officers were white" (Attica Prison Riots). The prison guards hit the inmates with large batons they called "Nigger Sticks" (Attica Prison Riots). There was no shortage of racism at Attica. Outcomes Four days after the riots began, Governor Rockefeller ordered state troopers to end it by any means necessary (Attica Prison Riots). The state troopers opened fire, killing 10 guards and 29 prisoners (Attica Prison Riots). One officer died from wounds he received at the hands of inmates at the beginning of the riot, and four inmates were killed as a result of "inmate justice" (Attica Prison Riots). Even though Governor Rockefeller refused to respond to the inmates' demands, the riot did call attention to the need for prison reform all across the United States, especially in regards to race relations (Attica Prison Riots). In the more than 35 years since the riot took place, there has been a major push in many areas of the country to increase the numbers of minority employees, and to teach non-minority employees how to have a better understanding of multicultural differences (Camp, Saylor, and Wright, 1). In 1988, the state of New York finally settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the families of the prisoners who were killed when the state troopers opened fire (Attica Prison Riots). In 2004, the state paid out a 12 million dollar financial settlement to the families of the officers who were killed that day. McAlester, OK: Oklahoma State Penitentiary The riot that occurred in McAlester, OK, had similar causes. At two-thirty in the afternoon on July 27, 1973, five prisoners attacked two guards - Captain C.C. Smith and Lieutenant Thomas Payne - in the dining hall of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary (OSP) in McAlester (OKTrooper). This sparked a chain of events leading to the "most devastating riot" in Oklahoma's history (OKTrooper). Causes Why did this riot occur What motivated those five men to attack the two guards in the first place It could have been a combination of factors, including: 1) Overcrowding: The penitentiary, "with a capacity for about 1,100 inmates, had a population of about 2,2000 in the summer of 1973" (OKTrooper). 2) Governor David Hall's refusal to sign parole recommendations for those incarcerated because of drug-related and violent crimes (OKTrooper). 3) Mismanagement and mistreatment of the penitentiary employees: The officers in charge were often uneducated, untrained, and underpaid (OKTrooper). Additionally, the prison was severely understaffed (OKTrooper). 4) Mistreatment of the prisoners: The guards probably felt inadequate, and they took out their insecurities on the inmates. In the three years preceding the riot, there were at least 19 "violent deaths, 40 stabbings, and 44 serious beatings of inmates" (OKTrooper). The prisoners also experienced varying degrees of racial discrimination and segregation (OKTrooper). 5) Poor communication between the prisoners and prison authorities: Prior to the riot, prisoners staged a hunger strike to try to get the establishment to listen to their concerns (OKTrooper). They were ignored, and this devaluing of their needs and opinions was probably the "straw that broke the camel's back." Outcomes This riot was particularly devastating because of its scope of destruction. Four lives were lost (one inmate died of a heart attack), as well as 24 buildings, and an assortment of utilities, equipment, furniture, and food supplies (OKTrooper). Once the riot was over, the inmates were homeless for months, and had to depend on the American Red Cross to survive (OKTrooper). All in all, the damage done cost Oklahoma taxpayers over 20 million dollars (OKTrooper). There were some good things that happened as a result of the riot, however. Governor Hall met with the ringleaders of the riot on July 28, 1973, and he agreed that the prison did need a better system of keeping prisoners informed about what was going on (OKTrooper). He also put into effect a better system of health care, a more uniform (and less abusive) form of punishment, and more favorable living conditions (OKTrooper). When OSP was finally rebuilt, it was a much smaller maximum-security facility. It could only hold 400-500 prisoners, and each man was allowed to have his own cell (OKTrooper). Santa Fe, NM: New Mexico State Penitentiary Poor communication and overcrowding were also factors in the riot that broke out at the New Mexico State Penitentiary in Santa Fe. On the morning of February 2, 1980, four out of 15 prison guards were taken hostage in the space of a just a few minutes (New Mexico State). This was the beginning of what would become known as "one of the worst prison riots in the history of the American correctional system" (New Mexico State). Causes Some of the reasons for this riot include: 1) Prison mismanagement and "poor communication between staff and inmates" (Gaes, 26; New Mexico State). 2) Overcrowding: Over one thousand prisoners were living in a facility that was built for 900 (New Mexico State). Prison overcrowding is a very serious issue because it can lead to an increased rate of physical illness and extreme psychological distress (Gaes, 62). 3) Staff incompetence, shortages, and misconduct. The prison guards developed something called the "snitch game" (New Mexico State). In this game, an uncooperative inmate would be labeled as a snitch. Then he would be stigmatized and abused by the other prisoners (New Mexico State). The goal if this horrific "game" was to make the "snitch" hate, and inform on, his abusers (New Mexico State). 4) Unacceptable living conditions: The prisoners often complained about the lack of educational and rehabilitation programs. They also didn't like eating the terrible food they received (New Mexico State). Outcomes Thirty-three inmates are known to have died in this tragedy, although the figure may actually have been higher (Gaes, 26; New Mexico State). It was difficult to get an exact body count because of the fires and the amount of mutilation and dismemberment performed on the bodies (Gaes, 26; New Mexico State). An additional 200 or more prisoners, as well as seven guards, were injured (New Mexico State). Some of the prisoners were convicted of crimes they committed during the riot, but none of the sentences was severe (New Mexico State). This was due more to the fact that much of the evidence was lost in looting by investigating officers than it was to any feelings of good will toward the prisoners (New Mexico State). Overall, the demands of the prisoners were ignored, although the prison was kept under federal oversight for 20 years (New Mexico State). Sadly, there was no attempt to reform the prison at all until Toney Anaya became governor of New Mexico in 1983 (New Mexico State). All of these riots had very similar causes, and they all stemmed from the same source. The prisoners wanted to be treated as human beings, and they were being treated worse than most people treat their pets. They were ignored, ridiculed, and even abused. It is reasonable to say that anyone, under these circumstances, would react the same way. Fortunately, these riots did affect some positive changes within the prison system, but there are still many problems under the surface. Until prison administrators start really listening to every legitimate complaint made by inmates, it is very likely that prison riots will continue to happen. References "Attica Prison Riots." 2007. Wikipedia.com. 17 February 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attica_Prison_riots Camp, Scott D., Saylor, William G., and Wright, Kevin N. "Racial Diversity of Correctional Workers and Inmates: Organizational Commitment, Teamwork and Worker Efficacy in Prisons." 18 August 2000. Federal Bureau of Prisons. 17 February 2007. http://bop.gov/news/research_projects/published_reports/equity_dive rsity/oreprca mp_jq2.pdf Gaes, Gerald G. "Prison Crowding Research Re-Examined." 1994. Federal Bureau of Prisons. 17 February 2007. http://bop.gov//news/research_projects/published_reports/cond_envi r/oreprvariance.pdf "New Mexico State Penitentiary Riot." 2007. Wikipedia.com. 17 February 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico_State_Penitentiary_Riot "The 1973 Mc Alester [sic] Prison Riot and Fire." 2007. OKTrooper.com. 17 February 2007. http://oktrooper.com/bigmac.html Read More