12. Dennis Cunningham, Michael Deutsch, and Elizabeth Fink, “Remembering Attica Forty Years Later,” Prison Legal News (September 2011).
13. “Attica Hostages Pressing Law Suits,” New York Times, January 20, 1976.
14. Morris Jacobs, Deposition, January 26, 2001, 26, taken by Gary Horton for FVOA, in author’s possession.
15. Ibid., 35.
16. Ibid.
17. William Cunningham, telephone conversation with author, October 18, 2004.
18. Werner v. State of New York, Court of Appeals of the State of New York, 53 N.Y.2d 346 (1981), argued June 1, 1981, decided July 6, 1981.
19. Cunningham, Deutsch, and Fink, “Remembering Attica Forty Years Later.”
20. Tom Wicker, “Justice for One: A Widow’s Attica Lawsuit,” New York Times, March 22, 1985.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. Cunningham, Deutsch, and Fink, “Remembering Attica Forty Years Later.”
24. “Court Bars Claim for Attica Victim,” New York Times, December 31, 1972.
25. Cunningham, Deutsch, and Fink, “Remembering Attica Forty Years Later.”
26. Tom Wicker, “Attica Reopened,” New York Times, January 4, 1974.
27. Nelson Rockefeller, Deposition, Lynda Jones v. State of New York et al. (Claim No. 54555) and Elizabeth M. Hardie v. State of New York et al. (Claim No. 54684), State of New York Court of Claims, April 22, 1977, 40.
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid., 46.
30. Ibid., 48.
31. Ibid., 49.
32. William Cunningham, telephone conversation with author, October 18, 2004.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.
35. Ibid.
36. Ibid.
37. Ibid.
38. Tom Goldstein, “Echoes of the 1971 Attica Uprising Haunt Courtroom in Damages Suit,” New York Times, November 24, 1978.
39. Lynda Jones v. State of New York et al. (Claim No. 54555) and Elizabeth M. Hardie v. State of New York et al. (Claim No. 54684), Hearing transcript, Vol. XIV, State of New York Court of Claims, October 20, 1978, William Cunningham Papers; John Pauley, “Troopers in Attica Retaking to Be Named Today,” Buffalo Courier-Express, November 2, 1978.
40. Cunningham, Deutsch, and Fink, “Remembering Attica Forty Years Later.”
41. Bob Buyer, “ ‘Truth’ Asked as Hearing on Attica Closes,” Buffalo Evening News, November 30, 1978.
42. Goldstein, “Echoes of the 1971 Attica Uprising Haunt Courtroom in Damages Suit.”
43. Nancy Monaghan, “Contempt Ruling Delayed in Attica Suit,” Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York), November 30, 1978.
44. John Pauley, “Troopers in Attica Retaking to Be Named Today.”
45. Janis Marston, “Leader of State Police Fails to Produce Letter,” Times Union (Albany, New York), November 2, 1978.
46. Ibid.
47. Nancy Monaghan, “Names of Troopers Remain a Secret,” Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York), November 3, 1978.
48. Goldstein, “Echoes of the 1971 Attica Uprising Haunt Courtroom in Damages Suit.”
49. William Cunningham, telephone conversation with author, October 18, 2004.
50. Russell Oswald, Testimony, Lynda Jones v. State of New York et al. (Claim No. 54555) and Elizabeth M. Hardie v. State of New York et al. (Claim No. 54684), Hearing transcript, William Cunningham Papers, 144–45.
51. Nancy Monaghan, “Oswald: ‘To Say I Am to Blame Is an Outrage,’ ” Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York), undated, William Cunningham Papers.
52. Remarkably, no one in the news media and no one in the Monteleone family ever heard this testimony though.
53. Major Blake Muthig, Testimony, Lynda Jones v. State of New York et al. (Claim No. 54555) and Elizabeth M. Hardie v. State of New York et al. (Claim No. 54684), Hearing transcript, William Cunningham Papers, 22.
54. Lew Plumley, Testimony, Lynda Jones v. State of New York et al. (Claim No. 54555) and Elizabeth M. Hardie v. State of New York et al. (Claim No. 54684), Hearing transcript, William Cunningham Papers, 142, 87–101.
55. Quigley Order, Lynda Jones v. State of New York, 96 A.D.2d 105 (N.Y. App. Div. 1983), August 31, 1982, 26.
56. Ibid., 75.
57. Ibid., 29.
58. Ibid.
59. Ibid., 34.
60. Ibid., 47.
61. Ibid., 49.
62. Ibid., 52.
63. Ibid., 56.
64. Ibid., 76.
65. Ibid.
66. Ibid., 79.
67. Ibid., 83.
68. William Cunningham, telephone conversation with author, October 18, 2004.
69. Wicker, “Justice for One: A Widow’s Attica Lawsuit.”
55. BITING THE HAND
1. Gary Horton, conversation with author, August 12, 2004.
2. “Assembly Approves Day of Mourning for Attica Guards,” New York Times, June 15, 2000.
3. Ibid.
4. David Staba, “Survivors, Families Cope with Attica Riot After Three Decades,” Niagara Falls Reporter, May 14, 2002.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Dee Quinn Miller, telephone conversation with author, May 7, 2006.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. “Assembly Approves Day of Mourning for Attica Guards.”
12. Ibid.
13. Horton, conversation with author, August 12, 2004.
14. Dee Quinn Miller, telephone conversation with author, May 7, 2006.
15. Andrew Tilghman, “Attica Victims Seek Justice, Relief,” Times Union (Albany, New York), July 28, 2002.
16. Staba, “Survivors, Families Cope with Attica Riot After Three Decades.”
17. Horton, conversation with author, August 12, 2004.
18. Ibid.
56. GETTING HEARD
1. Gene Warner, “Echoes of Attica,” Buffalo News, May 9, 2002.
2. Attica Task Force Hearing, May 9–10, 2002, Rochester, New York, 4.
3. John Stockholm, Testimony, ibid., 12.
4. Mary Stockholm, Testimony, ibid., 20.
5. June Fargo, Testimony, ibid., 23–24.
6. Ibid., 24–25.
7. Susan Fargo, Testimony, ibid., 28.
8. Dean Wright, ibid., 67–68.
9. Ibid., 68.
10. Ibid., 69.
11. Ibid., 72.
12. Scott Wright, Testimony, ibid., 76.
13. William Cunningham, Testimony, ibid., 80.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid., 83.
16. Gene Tenney, Testimony, Attica Task Force Hearings, May 9–10, 2002, Rochester, New York, 93.
17. Ibid., 96.
18. Ibid., 97–98.
19. Ann Driscoll, Testimony, ibid., 144.
20. Ibid., 146.
21. Ibid., 147.
22. Ann Valone, Testimony, ibid., 153.
23. Ibid., 155.
24. Ibid., 158.
25. Ibid., 160.
26. Mary Ann Valone, Testimony, Attica Task Force Hearing, July 31, 2002, Albany, New York, 106–7.
27. Ibid., 111.
28. Ibid., 112.
29. Ibid., 117–18.
30. Ibid., 126.
31. Mark, John, and James Cunningham, Testimony, ibid., 5.
32. Ibid., 6.
33. Ibid., 12–13.
34. Eugene “G. B.” Smith, Testimony, ibid., 52.
35. Gary Walker, Testimony, ibid., 71.
36. Don Werber, Testimony, ibid., 77–78.
37. Morris Jacobs, Testimony, Attica Task Force Hearing, July 30, 2002, Albany, New York, 98.
38. Ibid., 99.
39. Ibid., 100.
40. Sharon Smith, Testimony, ibid., 215–16.
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid., 218–19.
43. Ibid., 215–16.
57. WAITING GAME
1. Dee Quinn Miller, telephone conversation with author, May 7, 2006.
2. Ibid.
&nbs
p; 3. Rick Harcrow, conversation with author, Batavia, New York, August 12, 2004.
4. Dee Quinn Miller, telephone conversation with author, May 7, 2006.
5. Forgotten Victims of Attica, “A Time for Truth,” report, February 13, 2003, in author’s possession.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Scott Christianson, “Attica Hostages and Kin Demand Reparations and Apology,” Independent Media Center, February 21, 2003.
10. John R. Dunne, Statement, “Open Letter to Families and Friends of the Forgotten Heroes of Attica,” September 11, 2002, in author’s possession.
11. Ibid.
12. Letter, Malcolm Bell to Honorable George A. Pataki, July 16, 2003.
13. Ibid.
14. Tony Strollo, conversation with author, Albany, New York, February 16, 2004.
15. Ibid.
16. “NYSCOPBA Shows their support for the Forgotten Victims of Attica,” about rally at the capitol, New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, 2003, www.nyscopba.org website, accessed February 24, 2004, copy in author’s possession.
17. This money would go to the hostage survivors and widows and also to Joe Christian, who had been wounded during the retaking, shot by one of his own men. Even though there had been much controversy surrounding Christian’s story of why shots had been fired near him during the retaking, the task force had determined that “his injury was indistinguishable from those of the other victims.” See: Attica Task Force, Report to the Governor, Draft Report, September 2003, 11.
18. Ibid., 12.
19. Ibid., 16.
20. Hugh L. Carey v. State of New York, New York Supreme Court: County of Wyoming, 92 Misc. 316 (1977), decided November 29, 1977, as referenced in: Attica Task Force, Report to the Governor, Draft Report, September 2003, 18.
21. Attica Task Force, Report to the Governor, Draft Report, September 2003, 22; Forgotten Victims of Attica, Letter to New York State Legislature, Subject: “Draft report circulated by Glenn Goord to members of Task Force,” January 13, 2004.
22. Attica Task Force, Report to the Governor, Draft Report, September 2003, 22; Forgotten Victims of Attica, Letter to New York State Legislature, Subject: “Draft report circulated by Glenn Goord to members of Task Force,” January 13, 2004.
23. Attica Task Force, Report to the Governor, Draft Report, September 2003, 22; Forgotten Victims of Attica, Letter to New York State Legislature, Subject: “Draft report circulated by Glenn Goord to members of Task Force,” January 13, 2004.
24. Tom Precious, “Pataki to Ask Aid for Staff in Attica Riot—$12 Million Would Go to About 50 Families,” Buffalo News, January 14, 2005.
25. Dee Quinn Miller, telephone conversation with author, May 7, 2006.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. The Forgotten Victims of Attica, Letter to New York State Legislature, Subject: “Draft report circulated by Glenn Goord to members of Task Force,” January 13, 2004.
29. Ibid.
30. The issue of accessing state files regarding the Attica uprising was a more complicated matter than either the task force or the FVOA fully understood. Not only were volumes 2 and 3 of the Meyer Report—and presumably all materials that were used to create them—sealed by not one but two judges, but all records related to the extensive investigation into Attica that the McKay Commission had conducted were also sealed—in this case because Arthur Liman had fought hard, and successfully, to keep these records out of the hands of those trying to prosecute prisoners back in 1972. So the only records that were theoretically available to the FVOA were those held in the attorney general’s office at the World Trade Center and in off-site storage but it was unclear which of these documents would in fact be disclosed.
31. Attica Task Force, Report to the Governor, Draft Report, September 2003, 22; Forgotten Victims of Attica, Letter to New York State Legislature, Subject: “Draft report circulated by Glenn Goord to members of Task Force,” January 13, 2004.
32. Attica Task Force, Report to the Governor, Draft Report, September 2003, 7; Forgotten Victims of Attica, Letter to New York State Legislature, Subject: “Draft report circulated by Glenn Goord to members of Task Force,” January 13, 2004.
33. Attica Task Force, Report to the Governor, Draft Report, September 2003, 7; Forgotten Victims of Attica, Letter to New York State Legislature, Subject: “Draft report circulated by Glenn Goord to members of Task Force,” January 13, 2004.
34. Forgotten Victims of Attica, Letter to New York State Legislature, Subject: “Draft report circulated by Glenn Goord to members of Task Force,” January 13, 2004.
35. Ibid.
36. Precious, “Pataki to Ask Aid for Staff in Attica Riot.”
37. Goord, “Commissioner’s Commentary.”
38. Ibid.
39. For more information on these organizations, see their websites: http://cpof.org/ and http://www.cusa.org/.
40. Dee Quinn Miller, email to author, February 17, 2014.
41. Dee Quinn Miller, telephone conversation with author, May 7, 2006.
42. Dee Quinn Miller, email to author, February 17, 2014.
43. See: Ethan Sachs, “A State and Its Prison: The Attica Riot of 1971 and Untold Stories Since,” University of Michigan, Senior Honors Thesis, April 2, 2012.
44. Dee Quinn Miller, telephone conversation with author, May 7, 2006.
58. A HOLLOW VICTORY
1. Forgotten Victims of Attica, “A Time for Truth,” Report, February 13, 2003.
2. Dee Quinn Miller, telephone conversation with author, May 7, 2006.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid., June 21, 2005.
9. Author’s notes, Forgotten Victims of Attica, meeting, August 9, 2004.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Michael Telesca, conversation with author, August 13, 2004.
13. Dee Quinn Miller, telephone conversation with author, June 21, 2005.
14. Melissa Long, “Settlement for Forgotten Victims of Attica,” WROC-TV, May 13, 2005.
15. Dee Quinn Miller, telephone conversation with author, June 21, 2005.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. See: New York State Special Commission on Attica, McKay Report, 391–93, and Bell, Preliminary Report on the Attica Investigation.
19. “Attica State Employees Victims’ Compensation Fund Amended Order. This Order, and Schedule A attached hereto, are amended for the sole purpose of correcting the spelling of some of the claimants’ names and, in all other respects, the Order and Certification issued by this Court on July 12, 2005 remain unchanged,” United States District Court, Western District of New York.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid.
29. Decision and Order, Akil Al-Jundi et al. v. Vincent Mancusi et al., 113 F.Supp.2d 441 (2000), NO. CIV-75-132, August 28, 2000. Final Summaries.
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid.
32. Gary Craig, “Attica Victims Split $12M,” Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York), July 18, 2005.
33. Ibid.
34. Long, “Settlement for Forgotten Victims of Attica.”
35. Gary Horton, conversation with author, August 12, 2004. Also see prologue of this book regarding why this author chose to reveal all information that was available to her.
EPILOGUE · PRISONS AND POWER
1. “Democrats Back Demands,” New York Times, September 19, 1971.
2. “Rockefeller Offers Package for Prison Reform,” New York Times, April 2, 1972.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Gerald Benjamin and Stephen Rappaport, “Attica and Prison Reform,” Proceedings of the Academy of Political Sc
ience 31, no. 3, 200–13, 1974.
6. Gary Gold, Letter to Brian Conboy, Subject: “Federal legislation to implement the 28 Attica Demands,’ ” September 15, 1971, Senator Jacob A. Javits Collection, Box 6, Special Collections and University Archives, Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York.
7. It was in 1972 that prisoners’ right to the “reasonable opportunity to pursue their faith” was confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Cruz v. Beto. In 1976 the court similarly supported prisoners’ right to medical care in Estelle v. Gamble. Perhaps most significantly, thanks to the many successful legal actions taken by prisoners around the country in the wake of Attica, by 1983 “eight states had their prison systems declared unconstitutional and 22 other states had facilities operation under either a court order or consent decrees.” What is more, Attica sparked a tremendous amount of civil rights activism in the nation’s court system even after the 1970s. Whereas prisoners had filed only 218 civil rights suits in 1966; in 1980, even as civil rights activism in the streets seemed to have disappeared, prisoners filed a record 12,718 civil rights actions in courts across America. In 1985 they filed 18,863 suits, and by 1995 they filed a record 41,679 civil cases in state and federal courts. That mattered on the ground. It meant that by 1985 a full “forty-two states had their correctional systems or facilities encumbered by the courts in some way,” which, in effect, meant that someone was watching how prisoners were being treated in those jurisdictions. See: Cruz v. Beto 405 U.S. 319 (1972); Estelle v Gamble 429 U.S. 97 (1976). For one of the most remarkable cases of this in Texas, see: Robert Chase, Civil Rights on the Cell Block: Prisoners’ Rights Movements and the Construction of Carceral States, 1945–1995, manuscript in preparation for the University of North Carolina’s “Justice, Power, and Politics” series. For another detailed history of prisoner rights activism, see: Dan Berger, Captive Nation: Black Prison Organizing in the Civil Rights Era (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2014); Table 1. Prisoner petitions filed in U.S. district court by federal and state inmates, 1980–2000. Data source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Report of the Proceedings of the Judicial Conference of the United States, in John Scalia, BJS Statistician, “Prisoner Petitions Filed in U.S. District Courts, 2000, with Trends 1980–2000,” January 2002, NCJ 189430. It is also interesting to note that in 1983, 9,938 general civil rights actions were filed, whereas 18,477 prisoner civil rights actions were filed.
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