Blood in the water

Description

>*Blood in the Water* recounts the history of an infamous prison rebellion in which, on September 9, 1971, nearly 1,300 incarcerated men seized control of a major section of New York State’s Attica Prison. Over the next four days, these rebels attempted to negotiate for the release of 43 hostages, but rather than accede to their demands, New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller deployed an assault force that recaptured Attica by killing 29 rebels, 10 hostages, and seriously wounding more than 100 others. For several days thereafter, an untold number of rebels were subjected to sadistic torture. State actors attempted to cover-up their role in the violence. Protracted legal battles between the state, the rebels, and the families of the slain and injured hostages ensued until 2005. - [Orisanmi Burton](/authors/OL12918537A) in a critical [book review](https://abolitionjournal.org/diluting-radical-history-blood-in-the-water-and-the-politics-of-erasure/)

Description

"Historian Heather Ann Thompson offers the first definitive telling of the Attica prison uprising, the state's violent response, and the victims' decades-long quest for justice--in time for the forty-fifth anniversary of the events"-- On September 9, 1971, nearly 1,300 prisoners took over the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York to protest years of mistreatment. Holding guards and civilian employees hostage, the prisoners negotiated with officials for improved conditions during the four long days and nights that followed. On September 13, the state abruptly sent hundreds of heavily armed troopers and correction officers to retake the prison by force. Their gunfire killed thirty-nine men--hostages as well as prisoners--and severely wounded more than one hundred others. In the ensuing hours, weeks, and months, troopers and officers brutally retaliated against the prisoners. Ultimately, New York State authorities prosecuted only the prisoners, never once bringing charges against the officials involved in the retaking and its aftermath and neglecting to provide support to the survivors and the families of the men who had been killed. Drawing from more than a decade of extensive research, historian Heather Ann Thompson sheds new light on every aspect of the uprising and its legacy, giving voice to all those who took part in this 45-year fight for justice: prisoners, former hostages, families of the victims, lawyers and judges, and state officials and members of law enforcement. This book is the first full account of one of the most important civil rights stories of the last century.--Adapted from dust jacket.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Blood in the water: the Attica prison uprising of 1971 and its legacyPantheon Books2016-01-01
• Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its LegacyVintage2017-08-22