BUFFALO, N.Y., Sept. 13 -- On the 25th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising, a New York State politician who witnessed the nation's bloodiest prison riot warned that recent cuts in inmate programs could lead to another deadly confrontation. State Assemblyman Arthur Eve, an invited observer and mediator during the 1971 conflict, blasted the state Legislature and New York Gov. George Pataki for prison legislation passed last year. 'The governor and the state Legislature wanted to look tough on crime so they cut out all high school and B.A. programs for prison inmates and it was the dumbest thing they could have done,' Eve told United Press International. 'The cuts have made prisons unsafe for the prisoners and for the guards.' On Sept. 13, 1971, the prison, located outside of Buffalo, was the scene of the nation's bloodiest conflict in a correctional facility. Four days of rioting ended when state police assaulted the prison with tear gas and gunfire, leaving 32 inmates and 11 guards dead. The anniversary of the clash was marked by events in western New York by prison advocacy groups as well as corrections officers. Attica was built in 1930 to relieve overcrowding in Sing-Sing, and the state's other prisons. More than $1 million was spent on the medieval fortress-like facility which was touted as a model prison with its roomy 6-by-9 cells and nearly all its inmates working in trade shops. But by 1971, Attica was also plagued by overcrowding and on September 8 a group of prisoners took control of a cellblock with pipes, razors and baseball bats.
Within 30 minutes, the inmates controlled most of the prison, with 41 guards and prison employees hostage. The aftermath of the riot lead to charges that police were overly vicious in subduing the rebellious prisoners In his report on Attica more than 20 years ago, New York University Law School professor Robert McCay blamed the inmate revolt on overcrowding, low morale and idleness, and said Attica was not unique. 'The explosion that occurred first at Attica was probably chance, but the elements for replication are all around us. Attica is every prison and every prison is Attica,' McCay said. A law enforcement group held a news conference in front of Attica's stone walls this week and blamed the uprising for 25 years of 'inmate coddling.' 'I wish for the day that brutal inmates' behavior will not go unpunished for acts of violence against corrections officers and that prison perks such as cable TV, eggs cooked to order and free college education will be targeted to the point of extinction,' said Law Enforcement for All of America director James Fortis.
