CHESTER, Ill. -- Mass-murderer John Wayne Gacy and another inmate condemned to die in the state's electric chair, were stabbed Tuesday in an uprising at the death row unit at the Menard Correctional Center.
Gacy, convicted in March 1980 in the sex-slayings of 33 young men and boys, was not seriously injured although suffering a stab wound in the upper left arm, said Department of Corrections spokesman Nic Howell.
Howell said condemned inmate William Jones, 28, Mount Vernon, also was stabbed in the attack. His condition was not immediately known.
Howell said multiple murderer Henry Brisbon, 27, broke away from a security officer accompanying him to the law library in the second tier of cells at the death row unit.
Although he was tackled by the security officer almost immediately, Howell said, Brisbon was able to stab Gacy and Jones, who were outside their cells conducting routine cleaning of the unit.
Gacy was taken to the prison's hospital for treatment.
Gacy buried the bodies of 26 of his victims in the fetid, worm-infested crawl space under his home. Authorities began pulling the bodies of the young men and boys from beneath the suburban home just before Christmas 1978.
The bodies of seven other victims were found in other locations, including nearby rivers.
Testimony showed Gacy began his killing spree Jan. 3, 1972, and ended it Dec. 11, 1978, when he strangled Robert Piest, 15, Des Plaines. Police began tracking Gacy after that slaying and eventually began unearthing bodies from his crawl space.
