1
00:00:48,241 --> 00:00:51,922
Something always
was ready to happen at Attica.

2
00:00:54,362 --> 00:00:56,361
The population was tired.

3
00:01:00,441 --> 00:01:03,442
Tired of lies, of promises.

4
00:01:05,961 --> 00:01:07,201
We were tired.

5
00:01:09,521 --> 00:01:12,162
Someone hit the guard.

6
00:01:12,202 --> 00:01:14,441
And after you hit a guard,
it's over.

7
00:01:14,482 --> 00:01:16,602
But then all hell broke loose.

8
00:01:23,521 --> 00:01:24,962
I'm in the metal shop.

9
00:01:25,001 --> 00:01:26,842
We start hearing
these sirens going off.

10
00:01:26,882 --> 00:01:28,298
I said,
"Damn, what the hell is this?"

11
00:01:28,321 --> 00:01:29,562
I was in the shower.

12
00:01:29,602 --> 00:01:32,442
I came out, I'm soaking wet,

13
00:01:32,482 --> 00:01:33,801
and the place is going crazy.

14
00:01:33,842 --> 00:01:36,202
And all of a sudden,

15
00:01:36,241 --> 00:01:38,762
I seen the metal shop
door open,

16
00:01:38,802 --> 00:01:40,962
and I seen guys come running
in there

17
00:01:41,002 --> 00:01:43,362
with great big pipes
and knives.

18
00:01:43,401 --> 00:01:45,002
And before you knew it,

19
00:01:45,041 --> 00:01:46,722
everybody was running
all over the place.

20
00:01:46,762 --> 00:01:51,402
Then you started seeing
people sticking their faces

21
00:01:51,442 --> 00:01:54,282
through the broken windows
and saying,

22
00:01:54,322 --> 00:01:55,818
- "- Grab the guards!
- Grab the guards!

23
00:01:55,842 --> 00:01:57,562
- Grab the keys!
- Get the keys!"

24
00:01:57,602 --> 00:01:59,322
There's guards
that are getting beat up.

25
00:01:59,362 --> 00:02:02,601
Anybody that fell
in your hand that was part

26
00:02:02,642 --> 00:02:05,362
of the administration
was gonna get a beatdown.

27
00:02:05,402 --> 00:02:08,562
Here's my opportunity to fight
those who beat me down now,

28
00:02:08,601 --> 00:02:11,202
'cause I'm with
a whole lot of killers now.

29
00:02:11,241 --> 00:02:12,842
It's us versus them.

30
00:02:12,881 --> 00:02:15,201
- I just jumped in there.
- I didn't plan anything.

31
00:02:15,242 --> 00:02:16,841
I wasn't that type of thinker.

32
00:02:16,882 --> 00:02:19,522
- I was kicking the police's ass.
- I felt good about it.

33
00:02:19,562 --> 00:02:21,002
It would have ended
right there,

34
00:02:21,042 --> 00:02:22,601
because they were
in a confined area,

35
00:02:22,642 --> 00:02:26,122
locks on the block, locks here,
Times Square was locked,

36
00:02:26,161 --> 00:02:28,842
but the prisoners went back
towards Times Square

37
00:02:28,882 --> 00:02:31,722
and began to yank on the gates.

38
00:02:31,762 --> 00:02:35,402
All the four blocks
met at Times Square.

39
00:02:35,442 --> 00:02:37,961
In the context of the layout
of the prison,

40
00:02:38,002 --> 00:02:40,321
Times Square is the hub,

41
00:02:40,362 --> 00:02:42,722
the central hub of the prison.

42
00:02:46,282 --> 00:02:47,561
The morning of the riot,

43
00:02:47,602 --> 00:02:50,002
my father was in Times Square.

44
00:02:50,041 --> 00:02:53,201
He had keys
to all of the doorways,

45
00:02:53,242 --> 00:02:57,482
and unfortunately, the inmates
that were in A tunnel

46
00:02:57,522 --> 00:03:01,602
continued to push against, uh,

47
00:03:01,642 --> 00:03:02,801
that cell door,

48
00:03:02,842 --> 00:03:05,801
and they began yelling, um,

49
00:03:05,842 --> 00:03:08,722
for my dad to unlock the gate.

50
00:03:08,762 --> 00:03:12,042
As Quinn jumped back, I said,
"Oh, shit, this is... ".

51
00:03:12,082 --> 00:03:15,042
And he hit that horn,
and the foghorn, like...

52
00:03:17,642 --> 00:03:20,282
And then they started banging
on the gate,

53
00:03:20,322 --> 00:03:22,042
banging on the gate,
banging on the gate.

54
00:03:22,082 --> 00:03:23,682
And unbeknownst to anybody,

55
00:03:23,722 --> 00:03:27,562
one of the hinges
has been welded together,

56
00:03:27,601 --> 00:03:30,282
kind of jury-rigged during
the construction in the 1930s.

57
00:03:30,322 --> 00:03:31,642
That weld broke.

58
00:03:31,682 --> 00:03:34,761
The lock just popped.

59
00:03:34,802 --> 00:03:36,681
And they rushed out. Boom.

60
00:03:36,722 --> 00:03:40,361
When the gate came down,
they attacked my father,

61
00:03:40,402 --> 00:03:41,962
and they took his keys,

62
00:03:42,001 --> 00:03:43,722
which, of course,
gave them access

63
00:03:43,762 --> 00:03:46,602
to all of the doors
within Times Square.

64
00:03:46,642 --> 00:03:49,482
Um, and he was beaten
very severely.

65
00:03:49,522 --> 00:03:51,282
I double back,

66
00:03:51,321 --> 00:03:54,522
and I put two knuckles
on Quinn's neck.

67
00:03:54,562 --> 00:03:57,602
I could feel a pulse,
but it was very faint.

68
00:03:57,641 --> 00:04:00,121
It was like a flutter,

69
00:04:00,162 --> 00:04:03,322
and a minute or two later,
another flutter.

70
00:04:03,362 --> 00:04:06,922
There were some inmates
that knew my dad,

71
00:04:06,961 --> 00:04:10,722
four Muslim inmates who got
a mattress out of A block

72
00:04:10,762 --> 00:04:13,001
and put my dad
on the mattress,

73
00:04:13,042 --> 00:04:17,482
and they brought him
from Times Square

74
00:04:17,521 --> 00:04:20,522
and told them that they have
a correction officer

75
00:04:20,561 --> 00:04:21,962
that has been badly injured,

76
00:04:22,002 --> 00:04:24,042
and he needs
medical attention.

77
00:04:25,682 --> 00:04:29,002
At some point,
an ambulance did arrive.

78
00:04:29,041 --> 00:04:30,721
During that time,
my mother was notified

79
00:04:30,762 --> 00:04:32,361
that my father was injured.

80
00:04:35,361 --> 00:04:39,002
After they got Quinn's keys,
they opened up all four sides

81
00:04:39,042 --> 00:04:41,281
and said, "We got the joint."

82
00:04:41,322 --> 00:04:43,321
- And they hollered it.
- "We got the joint!"

83
00:04:50,242 --> 00:04:51,722
We took every block
in the joint.

84
00:04:51,762 --> 00:04:53,402
We took it.

85
00:04:53,442 --> 00:04:54,602
But we couldn't hold it.

86
00:04:56,361 --> 00:04:59,081
So we all retreated back
to D block.

87
00:05:03,562 --> 00:05:05,961
The place is blowing up.

88
00:05:06,002 --> 00:05:07,881
Smoke pouring
from five buildings,

89
00:05:07,922 --> 00:05:11,961
the prison chapel and laundry
gutted by flames.

90
00:05:12,001 --> 00:05:14,242
We only had control
of that yard.

91
00:05:14,282 --> 00:05:15,841
They had control
of the system.

92
00:05:15,882 --> 00:05:19,322
They had control of the gates
and the doors and the walkways.

93
00:05:19,362 --> 00:05:21,482
They was up on the walkways
with guns,

94
00:05:21,522 --> 00:05:23,722
where they can watch you.

95
00:05:23,761 --> 00:05:28,041
I'm panning now from B block,

96
00:05:28,082 --> 00:05:30,761
taking in the group
on the roof of C block.

97
00:05:33,842 --> 00:05:37,122
Now D yard and D block
is coming into view.

98
00:05:37,162 --> 00:05:41,002
Shooting now
through the .270 rifle scope.

99
00:05:41,041 --> 00:05:45,041
And there is the ugliest,
Blackest Negro gentleman

100
00:05:45,082 --> 00:05:48,122
I've ever seen in my life.

101
00:05:48,162 --> 00:05:52,082
We knew they were
out there on the catwalks.

102
00:05:52,122 --> 00:05:55,721
They would position themselves
in a way...

103
00:05:55,762 --> 00:05:57,602
Although you knew
they were there,

104
00:05:57,641 --> 00:05:59,137
they positioned themselves
out of sight.

105
00:06:02,522 --> 00:06:04,162
Most of the prisoners

106
00:06:04,202 --> 00:06:06,841
have concealed their faces
by wearing scarves, towels,

107
00:06:06,882 --> 00:06:09,802
and what have you
over their faces.

108
00:06:09,841 --> 00:06:14,562
There was a way to guard your
identity from being exposed,

109
00:06:14,602 --> 00:06:17,482
and if they came in,
you know, you had protection.

110
00:06:17,521 --> 00:06:19,242
Or we thought we did.

111
00:06:26,082 --> 00:06:28,921
In Attica, New York,
about 1,000 long-term convicts

112
00:06:28,962 --> 00:06:30,402
today rioted,
and they gained control

113
00:06:30,441 --> 00:06:32,002
of the maximum security prison.

114
00:06:32,042 --> 00:06:34,521
They also seized 33 guards
as hostages

115
00:06:34,561 --> 00:06:36,162
and injured others
in the fighting.

116
00:06:36,201 --> 00:06:38,299
State police have regained
control of most of the prison,

117
00:06:38,322 --> 00:06:40,002
but the trouble
isn't over yet.

118
00:06:42,921 --> 00:06:45,121
When we got
to D yard with the hostages,

119
00:06:45,162 --> 00:06:48,882
we hollered, "We got hostages!"

120
00:06:48,921 --> 00:06:52,921
And you had about
1,000 men shouting that out.

121
00:06:57,522 --> 00:07:00,481
You know, and the hostages
keep the police from coming

122
00:07:00,522 --> 00:07:01,722
and bapping on us.

123
00:07:01,762 --> 00:07:03,522
You gotta have hostages.

124
00:07:03,562 --> 00:07:06,201
That's the only...
That's your only leverage.

125
00:07:06,241 --> 00:07:09,562
As long as they had
the hostages...

126
00:07:09,602 --> 00:07:11,882
They didn't have guns,
and they didn't have this,

127
00:07:11,922 --> 00:07:14,441
and they didn't have that,

128
00:07:14,482 --> 00:07:19,202
but they had hostages,
and they're your people,

129
00:07:19,241 --> 00:07:22,681
and you're responsible
for your people.

130
00:07:22,722 --> 00:07:25,802
You're responsible
to protect your people

131
00:07:25,841 --> 00:07:29,001
and do your job.

132
00:07:29,042 --> 00:07:32,762
"Sit down. Negotiate with us."

133
00:07:32,802 --> 00:07:34,081
You're getting into the area

134
00:07:34,122 --> 00:07:37,562
where the 21 hostages
are being held.

135
00:07:37,602 --> 00:07:39,642
- They're in that main group.
- In the center.

136
00:07:39,681 --> 00:07:41,082
We can't distinguish them

137
00:07:41,122 --> 00:07:43,521
because the prisoners
have taken

138
00:07:43,562 --> 00:07:45,922
their clothing away
and put prison clothes on.

139
00:07:47,962 --> 00:07:50,401
They were blindfolded
in a circle,

140
00:07:50,442 --> 00:07:51,562
in the middle of the yard.

141
00:07:51,601 --> 00:07:54,522
They also had guards,
inmate guards,

142
00:07:54,562 --> 00:07:56,841
that were around them,
protecting them.

143
00:07:58,522 --> 00:08:00,521
And we seen them as captives.

144
00:08:00,562 --> 00:08:02,922
We seen them as people
who were in...

145
00:08:02,962 --> 00:08:06,122
Under our supervision.

146
00:08:07,681 --> 00:08:09,362
So we couldn't do harm to them.

147
00:08:09,402 --> 00:08:13,122
My understanding of Islam was
that you don't harm a captive.

148
00:08:13,161 --> 00:08:17,961
Therefore, it was decided

149
00:08:18,002 --> 00:08:21,602
to allow the Muslim brothers

150
00:08:21,641 --> 00:08:23,242
to look out for them.

151
00:08:23,281 --> 00:08:26,122
I was so mad at them for not
letting us get to the police,

152
00:08:26,161 --> 00:08:27,882
because I wanted
to put my hands...

153
00:08:27,922 --> 00:08:29,282
I wanted to get
one or two of them

154
00:08:29,321 --> 00:08:30,841
and really fuck them up.

155
00:08:30,882 --> 00:08:33,522
These are the same police
that was talking down to me,

156
00:08:33,561 --> 00:08:34,922
dirty to me, and telling me,

157
00:08:34,961 --> 00:08:36,402
"Get over here,
do this, do that."

158
00:08:36,441 --> 00:08:38,218
So I said, "Yeah, now,
what do you think about me now?

159
00:08:38,241 --> 00:08:40,441
Yeah, yeah."

160
00:08:40,482 --> 00:08:42,201
And a good thing
that them Muslims was there,

161
00:08:42,241 --> 00:08:44,121
because a lot of them police
would have been hurt.

162
00:08:44,161 --> 00:08:45,482
Really hurt.

163
00:08:48,121 --> 00:08:49,921
It's hard for somebody

164
00:08:49,962 --> 00:08:53,802
that has never been
incarcerated to understand

165
00:08:53,842 --> 00:08:57,561
how surreal everything is
at this point in time.

166
00:08:57,601 --> 00:09:00,002
We had nobody threatening us.

167
00:09:00,041 --> 00:09:02,082
We had... you know,
it sounds crazy,

168
00:09:02,121 --> 00:09:04,441
but it was... when you had
a little bit of...

169
00:09:04,482 --> 00:09:05,979
Even this much control
over your own life,

170
00:09:06,002 --> 00:09:08,161
even for a short period,

171
00:09:08,202 --> 00:09:12,082
and you know it's gonna cost
you, you know, in spades,

172
00:09:12,121 --> 00:09:15,561
you know, it was a moment
of exuberation,

173
00:09:15,602 --> 00:09:19,282
of somehow doing something

174
00:09:19,322 --> 00:09:21,202
to have some control
over your own life.

175
00:09:37,921 --> 00:09:38,899
When you first got out there,

176
00:09:38,922 --> 00:09:41,002
it was total chaos.

177
00:09:41,041 --> 00:09:45,161
Guys are coming out with food,
clothing, setting up tents.

178
00:09:47,202 --> 00:09:50,121
- It was a festive time.
- We were free.

179
00:09:53,202 --> 00:09:56,001
We came together
as a community.

180
00:09:56,042 --> 00:09:58,282
That's when there was not
such thing

181
00:09:58,321 --> 00:10:01,242
as Black, white, Hispanic,
or whatever.

182
00:10:01,282 --> 00:10:04,322
It was about we are inmates,

183
00:10:04,361 --> 00:10:07,842
and we need to be able
to survive whatever's going on.

184
00:10:07,882 --> 00:10:09,601
Power! Unity!

185
00:10:13,242 --> 00:10:15,242
Come on, 38.

186
00:10:15,282 --> 00:10:17,442
- Tell 'em we ain't dead.
- Tell 'em we ain't dead.

187
00:10:17,482 --> 00:10:18,761
Yeah, get all this here.

188
00:10:20,602 --> 00:10:22,402
Tell 'em we ain't dead.

189
00:10:22,442 --> 00:10:23,561
Ain't nothing dead about us.

190
00:10:23,602 --> 00:10:25,282
We ain't gonna die.

191
00:10:25,322 --> 00:10:27,042
- Nothing.
- We will not die in here.

192
00:10:30,001 --> 00:10:32,842
The guys
that had been to Vietnam,

193
00:10:32,881 --> 00:10:34,762
they said,
"Let's make hooches."

194
00:10:34,801 --> 00:10:37,722
Hooch was a tent.

195
00:10:37,762 --> 00:10:40,362
You took a stick,
and you put a sheet over it

196
00:10:40,402 --> 00:10:42,162
and pulled it back,

197
00:10:42,201 --> 00:10:44,042
and that was your
sleeping quarters.

198
00:10:47,242 --> 00:10:51,561
By the time guys started, uh,

199
00:10:51,602 --> 00:10:53,802
having to go to the bathrooms,

200
00:10:53,842 --> 00:10:55,962
it was... none were working.

201
00:10:56,002 --> 00:10:57,482
The guys that had been
to Vietnam

202
00:10:57,522 --> 00:10:59,162
and been in the army,

203
00:10:59,202 --> 00:11:01,482
they said,
"We gotta make a latrine."

204
00:11:01,522 --> 00:11:03,002
They knew what a latrine was.

205
00:11:03,042 --> 00:11:04,362
I didn't know
what a latrine was.

206
00:11:12,241 --> 00:11:13,562
Give him a little lap.

207
00:11:13,602 --> 00:11:15,202
All right, all right.

208
00:11:15,242 --> 00:11:17,321
Okay.

209
00:11:17,362 --> 00:11:20,682
There was this brother...

210
00:11:20,722 --> 00:11:21,522
And I say brother.

211
00:11:21,561 --> 00:11:22,961
He was white.

212
00:11:23,002 --> 00:11:25,482
His... they called him Tiny,

213
00:11:25,522 --> 00:11:27,081
and he was, like, a nurse

214
00:11:27,122 --> 00:11:29,001
before the Attica rebellion
happened.

215
00:11:31,082 --> 00:11:33,562
They set up the medical
section in the yard

216
00:11:33,602 --> 00:11:35,961
for anybody who had
any problems to go,

217
00:11:36,001 --> 00:11:38,721
and Tiny
would take care of them.

218
00:11:38,762 --> 00:11:42,922
And the medical attention
in the yard was much better

219
00:11:42,961 --> 00:11:45,033
than the medical attention
we got throughout the years.

220
00:11:47,081 --> 00:11:49,441
Oh, and we had a good time.

221
00:11:49,482 --> 00:11:52,522
We was making wine
and cooking food outside.

222
00:11:52,561 --> 00:11:55,201
It was like a big picnic,
like a shantytown.

223
00:11:55,242 --> 00:11:57,762
You know, like Deadwood
when, uh,

224
00:11:57,801 --> 00:11:59,561
when, uh, Buffalo Bill was out.

225
00:11:59,602 --> 00:12:02,441
You ever... you ever watch
Gunsmoke?

226
00:12:02,482 --> 00:12:04,361
The Western?

227
00:12:04,402 --> 00:12:08,322
Well, Matt Dillon
was the marshal of Gunsmoke.

228
00:12:08,361 --> 00:12:10,602
He kept order.

229
00:12:10,642 --> 00:12:13,922
In D yard,
we didn't have a Matt Dillon.

230
00:12:13,961 --> 00:12:17,961
Every man was a law
unto himself.

231
00:12:18,002 --> 00:12:20,681
You did whatever the hell
you wanted to do.

232
00:12:20,722 --> 00:12:22,922
And there was no order.

233
00:12:49,921 --> 00:12:51,762
The assignment editor says,

234
00:12:51,801 --> 00:12:54,281
"There's this place
called Attica,

235
00:12:54,322 --> 00:12:57,601
and there's some
prison riot up there,

236
00:12:57,642 --> 00:13:00,962
and we want you
to go up and do it.

237
00:13:01,001 --> 00:13:05,482
We're not sure about any
of what the details are,

238
00:13:05,521 --> 00:13:07,082
specifically."

239
00:13:07,122 --> 00:13:10,601
And all five went, uh,

240
00:13:10,642 --> 00:13:12,362
up to Buffalo,

241
00:13:12,401 --> 00:13:14,962
and then on to Attica.

242
00:13:20,722 --> 00:13:24,321
This is John Johnson,
ABC News, Attica, New York.

243
00:13:24,362 --> 00:13:28,161
It was just an extremely,

244
00:13:28,202 --> 00:13:30,282
uh, fluid situation,

245
00:13:30,322 --> 00:13:31,802
to say the least.

246
00:13:31,842 --> 00:13:34,242
And it was hard
to get information.

247
00:13:34,282 --> 00:13:36,202
I mean,
we couldn't get inside,

248
00:13:36,241 --> 00:13:38,441
and all we heard was,

249
00:13:38,482 --> 00:13:42,322
these inmates want to talk,
and they have prisoners.

250
00:13:44,682 --> 00:13:48,362
And this was something
almost that had never happened

251
00:13:48,402 --> 00:13:51,642
in history,
this huge institution,

252
00:13:51,682 --> 00:13:53,681
where the inmates
had taken over.

253
00:13:53,722 --> 00:13:54,681
Oh, my goodness.

254
00:13:56,841 --> 00:13:58,081
"Attica, New York?

255
00:13:58,122 --> 00:13:59,339
I never heard of Attica,
New York.

256
00:13:59,362 --> 00:14:01,322
What's in Attica?"

257
00:14:01,361 --> 00:14:04,122
Quite frankly, I did not know
what to expect

258
00:14:04,162 --> 00:14:07,322
when I got to Attica.

259
00:14:07,362 --> 00:14:09,601
We parked right
in front of the prison.

260
00:14:09,642 --> 00:14:12,842
So consequently, we just set up

261
00:14:12,881 --> 00:14:15,162
and started filming

262
00:14:15,201 --> 00:14:17,401
as much as we possibly could

263
00:14:17,442 --> 00:14:21,241
of the activities
outside of the prison.

264
00:14:21,282 --> 00:14:23,922
We had no idea
what was happening inside.

265
00:14:23,961 --> 00:14:25,842
Your instructions are

266
00:14:25,881 --> 00:14:28,361
that your weapon
is not to be taken,

267
00:14:28,402 --> 00:14:30,322
nor are you to be taken.

268
00:14:30,362 --> 00:14:32,761
You're to meet force
with force.

269
00:14:32,802 --> 00:14:34,842
There have been
some of the prison personnel

270
00:14:34,882 --> 00:14:37,522
severely injured here
this morning,

271
00:14:37,561 --> 00:14:40,482
and we certainly don't want
to see any of our people hurt.

272
00:14:42,361 --> 00:14:44,722
The state police officers

273
00:14:44,762 --> 00:14:48,961
were being handed out weapons.

274
00:14:49,002 --> 00:14:52,081
They were making sure
they had gas masks.

275
00:14:52,122 --> 00:14:55,562
It looked to me like
they were ready to go in

276
00:14:55,602 --> 00:14:57,882
and retake the prison.

277
00:14:57,922 --> 00:14:59,481
Sir, are there
any circumstances

278
00:14:59,521 --> 00:15:00,842
might you go inside?

279
00:15:00,881 --> 00:15:02,401
Pardon me?

280
00:15:02,442 --> 00:15:04,059
Might you go inside
under some circumstances?

281
00:15:04,082 --> 00:15:06,282
- Well, one doesn't know.
- I'll have to feel this out.

282
00:15:06,322 --> 00:15:07,721
Have the inmates
made any demands?

283
00:15:07,762 --> 00:15:09,139
Do the prisoners want to meet
with you, sir?

284
00:15:09,162 --> 00:15:10,699
I don't know, they say that
they only want to speak

285
00:15:10,722 --> 00:15:12,602
with the governor or me.

286
00:15:12,642 --> 00:15:15,401
There seemed to be some sense,
at the time,

287
00:15:15,442 --> 00:15:19,602
that we're going to have
to negotiate something

288
00:15:19,641 --> 00:15:22,642
to save the lives
of the hostages.

289
00:15:22,681 --> 00:15:27,081
Because of the hostages
that they have,

290
00:15:27,122 --> 00:15:31,762
there's a possibility
that negotiations will begin.

291
00:15:35,882 --> 00:15:38,562
We're looking at a man

292
00:15:38,601 --> 00:15:42,122
using a loudspeaker,
a bullhorn.

293
00:15:46,642 --> 00:15:49,482
There appears to be a large
meeting going on in this area,

294
00:15:49,522 --> 00:15:51,242
although
we can't hear anything

295
00:15:51,282 --> 00:15:53,322
from that section.

296
00:15:57,602 --> 00:15:59,482
The inmates decided
that, you know,

297
00:15:59,522 --> 00:16:02,161
they're in a situation
that, you know,

298
00:16:02,202 --> 00:16:05,082
that required
a little bit more focus,

299
00:16:05,122 --> 00:16:06,522
a little bit more discipline.

300
00:16:07,921 --> 00:16:09,161
We asked the population,

301
00:16:09,202 --> 00:16:11,882
"Who do you want
to represent you?"

302
00:16:11,921 --> 00:16:13,922
Legal prosecution of any kind!

303
00:16:13,961 --> 00:16:16,882
We had elections
block by block.

304
00:16:16,922 --> 00:16:20,281
That's where we got
our leaders from.

305
00:16:20,322 --> 00:16:24,121
Now, some guys had some juice
in there already.

306
00:16:24,162 --> 00:16:26,282
The guys that had
been there a while,

307
00:16:26,321 --> 00:16:30,082
who other inmates respected.

308
00:16:30,122 --> 00:16:31,362
What they
were saying made sense

309
00:16:31,401 --> 00:16:34,322
to most everybody
that was in that yard.

310
00:16:34,362 --> 00:16:36,201
They had a plan.

311
00:16:36,242 --> 00:16:38,121
And they had a plan about
making things different

312
00:16:38,162 --> 00:16:40,802
for the prison system itself.

313
00:16:40,841 --> 00:16:43,282
All we wanted
is the basic necessities

314
00:16:43,321 --> 00:16:45,682
of being treated
like human beings.

315
00:16:45,722 --> 00:16:46,881
Even though we're in prison,

316
00:16:46,922 --> 00:16:48,418
we're human beings,
and stuff like that.

317
00:16:51,722 --> 00:16:55,362
The prisoners in the yard
must have had a radio.

318
00:16:55,401 --> 00:16:58,121
They heard I was outside.

319
00:16:58,162 --> 00:17:00,762
So they asked for me
to come in.

320
00:17:00,802 --> 00:17:03,081
I said, "Sure."

321
00:17:03,122 --> 00:17:05,442
And they then said,

322
00:17:05,482 --> 00:17:08,322
"We would like Commissioner
Oswald to come in."

323
00:17:08,362 --> 00:17:11,841
And some of his assistants
said,

324
00:17:11,882 --> 00:17:13,962
"Don't go. Don't go.

325
00:17:14,002 --> 00:17:16,921
They'll... you can't trust them."

326
00:17:16,962 --> 00:17:19,681
And Oswald said, "Well,
of course I'm gonna go in."

327
00:17:21,202 --> 00:17:22,642
We are glad to have someone

328
00:17:22,681 --> 00:17:25,482
from the administration,
point blank, coming in.

329
00:17:27,481 --> 00:17:28,459
We making some kind
of headway.

330
00:17:28,482 --> 00:17:29,602
We getting here.

331
00:17:29,642 --> 00:17:31,482
We got some contact
with somebody.

332
00:17:31,522 --> 00:17:33,921
- We got some negotiations.
- You're listening to us.

333
00:17:33,962 --> 00:17:36,241
I've never heard
of this before,

334
00:17:36,282 --> 00:17:39,042
negotiating with inmates,

335
00:17:39,082 --> 00:17:43,002
and I just assumed

336
00:17:43,042 --> 00:17:47,002
that this was going to be
a landmark moment

337
00:17:47,042 --> 00:17:48,762
in American history.

338
00:17:48,802 --> 00:17:53,001
I thought that this
was going to be negotiated

339
00:17:53,042 --> 00:17:54,322
to a decent humanitarian end.

340
00:17:57,322 --> 00:18:01,042
It seems to be a little
misunderstanding about why

341
00:18:01,081 --> 00:18:03,042
this incident developed
here at Attica,

342
00:18:03,082 --> 00:18:06,082
and this declaration here
will explain the reasons.

343
00:18:06,122 --> 00:18:08,162
The entire incident

344
00:18:08,201 --> 00:18:11,562
that has erupted here
at Attica is not a result...

345
00:18:16,002 --> 00:18:18,002
There are college towns,
and there's factory towns...

346
00:18:18,042 --> 00:18:19,881
There's all kinds of towns
in this country,

347
00:18:19,922 --> 00:18:21,641
and this is Attica, New York.

348
00:18:21,682 --> 00:18:22,842
It's a prison town.

349
00:18:25,282 --> 00:18:26,522
Most of the people

350
00:18:26,562 --> 00:18:28,282
in the village of Attica
make their living

351
00:18:28,322 --> 00:18:30,281
working at the state prison.

352
00:18:31,801 --> 00:18:33,482
For 40 years, most have lived

353
00:18:33,522 --> 00:18:35,802
within sight
of the prison walls.

354
00:18:35,842 --> 00:18:37,161
They have never feared it.

355
00:18:41,922 --> 00:18:45,282
The village of Attica
was a great place to live.

356
00:18:45,322 --> 00:18:48,121
It was very typical,

357
00:18:48,162 --> 00:18:50,402
I think, small town,

358
00:18:50,441 --> 00:18:53,642
where you knew everyone.

359
00:18:53,682 --> 00:18:56,042
You were related to probably
half of the town.

360
00:18:58,482 --> 00:19:00,601
We'd ride our bikes
through town,

361
00:19:00,642 --> 00:19:02,162
we'd go to the park,
we'd go swimming

362
00:19:02,202 --> 00:19:03,842
at the public pool,

363
00:19:03,881 --> 00:19:06,282
we'd go hiking
up in the woods.

364
00:19:09,921 --> 00:19:12,921
Attica is a company town.

365
00:19:12,961 --> 00:19:15,322
Many of the people
who work there

366
00:19:15,362 --> 00:19:16,921
and had lived in our town

367
00:19:16,962 --> 00:19:18,841
worked as either
civilian employees

368
00:19:18,882 --> 00:19:22,442
or corrections officers
at Attica.

369
00:19:22,482 --> 00:19:25,961
My grandfather worked there,

370
00:19:26,002 --> 00:19:28,962
my dad worked there,

371
00:19:29,001 --> 00:19:31,402
and between six or eight
of the houses

372
00:19:31,441 --> 00:19:33,002
that were on our street

373
00:19:33,042 --> 00:19:35,721
had correction officers
or civilian individuals

374
00:19:35,762 --> 00:19:37,402
working in them
with their families.

375
00:19:41,802 --> 00:19:44,641
These were
the only jobs in the area.

376
00:19:44,682 --> 00:19:47,882
Dairy farming and the prison.

377
00:19:47,921 --> 00:19:51,282
So there was this culture clash
that came together at Attica.

378
00:19:51,321 --> 00:19:55,082
You had all white guards

379
00:19:55,122 --> 00:19:57,762
and a population of prisoners

380
00:19:57,801 --> 00:20:00,202
that was 70 or more percent.

381
00:20:00,241 --> 00:20:02,802
Black and brown.

382
00:20:02,841 --> 00:20:04,402
What could go wrong?

383
00:20:09,122 --> 00:20:11,802
Attica's reputation
was called "the last stop."

384
00:20:11,842 --> 00:20:14,121
This was the most strict prison
in the state of New York.

385
00:20:14,162 --> 00:20:15,361
It was known.

386
00:20:15,402 --> 00:20:17,401
The word was there
that when you got there,

387
00:20:17,442 --> 00:20:18,722
you know what you was in for.

388
00:20:18,761 --> 00:20:21,002
A hard place. The last place.

389
00:20:21,042 --> 00:20:23,721
- The last place.
- Attica was the last place.

390
00:20:23,762 --> 00:20:25,481
That was... that was the last...

391
00:20:25,522 --> 00:20:28,162
And you had to really be there
to see why.

392
00:20:28,202 --> 00:20:31,362
There was no Black guards
in Attica.

393
00:20:31,401 --> 00:20:34,602
- There was no Spanish guards.
- They were all white.

394
00:20:34,642 --> 00:20:37,722
People, man, that come
from the local neighborhoods,

395
00:20:37,762 --> 00:20:41,602
that don't know nothing about
people who come from Brooklyn,

396
00:20:41,642 --> 00:20:45,162
people who come from Manhattan,
people who come from The Bronx.

397
00:20:45,202 --> 00:20:47,882
They don't know nothing
about this culture.

398
00:20:47,922 --> 00:20:50,522
Most of them don't even
want to talk to you.

399
00:20:50,562 --> 00:20:51,482
They're you giving you
the straight...

400
00:20:51,522 --> 00:20:53,162
"Don't talk to me."

401
00:20:53,201 --> 00:20:55,241
- And it was like that.
- "Don't talk to me."

402
00:20:55,282 --> 00:20:57,802
They would hit that stick... bop.

403
00:20:57,841 --> 00:21:01,482
And this is a metal...
A metal-tipped stick,

404
00:21:01,522 --> 00:21:03,522
and it rings out, and it... bop.

405
00:21:03,562 --> 00:21:05,121
And you walk.

406
00:21:05,162 --> 00:21:08,322
And then when they want you
to stop, they say bop-bop.

407
00:21:08,362 --> 00:21:10,282
That was their communication.

408
00:21:10,321 --> 00:21:12,882
The only thing was right
was being white.

409
00:21:12,921 --> 00:21:15,001
And I mean that
in all sincerity.

410
00:21:15,042 --> 00:21:17,002
Everybody was sort of, like,

411
00:21:17,041 --> 00:21:18,602
not so much mixing
with other cultures,

412
00:21:18,642 --> 00:21:22,521
but staying together
for the purpose of...

413
00:21:22,561 --> 00:21:24,122
survival.

414
00:21:24,162 --> 00:21:27,522
I was white,
so I got the best jobs.

415
00:21:27,562 --> 00:21:30,442
I was always given
a little bit more leeway

416
00:21:30,481 --> 00:21:31,922
than the Blacks.

417
00:21:33,641 --> 00:21:36,202
I could get an extra meal
if I wanted one,

418
00:21:36,241 --> 00:21:38,601
because I was a white guy.

419
00:21:38,642 --> 00:21:39,882
"I'm a white guy.

420
00:21:39,922 --> 00:21:41,442
You know,
give me a little extra."

421
00:21:41,481 --> 00:21:43,162
And I got it.

422
00:21:43,202 --> 00:21:47,562
I always was able to manipulate
the system inside the prison

423
00:21:47,602 --> 00:21:49,281
because I was a white guy.

424
00:21:49,322 --> 00:21:51,481
I'm almost ashamed to say

425
00:21:51,522 --> 00:21:53,961
that I took advantage
of that back then.

426
00:21:54,002 --> 00:21:56,482
But it was the only way
to survive.

427
00:21:56,522 --> 00:21:57,682
It really, really was.

428
00:22:08,042 --> 00:22:09,601
A roll of toilet paper

429
00:22:09,642 --> 00:22:12,562
would have to last you
a month.

430
00:22:12,601 --> 00:22:15,201
You have to be a magician
or tear up papers out of,

431
00:22:15,242 --> 00:22:16,721
you know,
the books and stuff like that

432
00:22:16,762 --> 00:22:17,938
to wipe your behind
and stuff like that.

433
00:22:17,961 --> 00:22:19,881
Guys were complaining
about basic things,

434
00:22:19,922 --> 00:22:23,922
like toothpaste, toilet paper,

435
00:22:23,961 --> 00:22:27,602
a change of sheets
more than once a month,

436
00:22:27,642 --> 00:22:30,602
things like that...
Clothes being cleaned,

437
00:22:30,642 --> 00:22:32,042
personal hygiene things,

438
00:22:32,081 --> 00:22:33,482
being treated
like human beings.

439
00:22:35,682 --> 00:22:39,002
- No school program.
- Attica was...

440
00:22:39,042 --> 00:22:41,642
- I can't describe it.
- I mean...

441
00:22:41,681 --> 00:22:43,041
it was dead.

442
00:22:43,082 --> 00:22:44,242
It was just dead.

443
00:22:48,042 --> 00:22:49,802
There was no
religious freedom,

444
00:22:49,842 --> 00:22:51,362
particularly for

445
00:22:51,401 --> 00:22:53,481
the burgeoning
Muslim movement.

446
00:22:53,522 --> 00:22:57,161
They were denied
the right to worship.

447
00:22:57,202 --> 00:23:00,601
They were fed pork because
the prison also had a farm

448
00:23:00,642 --> 00:23:03,522
where they raised pigs,
so that's what you got.

449
00:23:04,482 --> 00:23:06,641
They fed us on 63¢ a day,

450
00:23:06,682 --> 00:23:08,482
so that's 21¢ a meal.

451
00:23:08,522 --> 00:23:11,281
How can you feed somebody
on 21¢?

452
00:23:14,362 --> 00:23:18,522
I swear to God, one time I got
my head opened up by a guard,

453
00:23:18,561 --> 00:23:21,721
and I was put
into a segregation cell.

454
00:23:21,762 --> 00:23:23,282
And the doctor came,

455
00:23:23,322 --> 00:23:26,801
you know, just out of...
I was bleeding all over.

456
00:23:26,842 --> 00:23:28,802
So I said, "I got a...
They cracked my head.

457
00:23:28,841 --> 00:23:30,802
It's wide open."

458
00:23:30,842 --> 00:23:32,121
He says, "Put it over here."

459
00:23:32,161 --> 00:23:36,001
They had a feeding hole
in the cell.

460
00:23:36,042 --> 00:23:38,441
So I put it there,
and he put a flashlight like...

461
00:23:38,482 --> 00:23:40,842
I swear to God, he hit me
with the fucking flashlight,

462
00:23:40,882 --> 00:23:42,922
right where the cut was...

463
00:23:45,002 --> 00:23:46,281
...and walked away.

464
00:23:51,242 --> 00:23:52,841
They wait until everybody's

465
00:23:52,882 --> 00:23:55,082
locked up at night,
and then they come for you.

466
00:23:55,122 --> 00:23:57,282
Come for you as a goon squad.

467
00:23:59,281 --> 00:24:02,321
These are the beat-up police.

468
00:24:02,362 --> 00:24:05,522
These the guys,
they come nine, ten deep.

469
00:24:05,562 --> 00:24:09,082
Real big guys
with real big sticks.

470
00:24:09,122 --> 00:24:11,602
Then they come in, and they
beat you up in your cell,

471
00:24:11,641 --> 00:24:13,322
and then they take you
to segregation,

472
00:24:13,362 --> 00:24:14,842
and sometimes,
you don't come back.

473
00:24:14,882 --> 00:24:16,161
Attica was...

474
00:24:22,362 --> 00:24:24,042
Fear.

475
00:24:24,082 --> 00:24:27,162
They ran the prison with fear.

476
00:24:27,202 --> 00:24:29,442
Being scared of them
was their means

477
00:24:29,481 --> 00:24:30,802
of running the prison.

478
00:24:35,322 --> 00:24:36,522
You either shut your mouth,

479
00:24:36,562 --> 00:24:38,282
or you were in big trouble.

480
00:24:39,682 --> 00:24:42,282
Some people died.

481
00:24:42,322 --> 00:24:44,042
Some were crippled.

482
00:24:44,082 --> 00:24:46,601
Some were psychologically
damaged for life.

483
00:24:49,641 --> 00:24:53,162
And, uh,
it was a bad place to be.

484
00:24:59,322 --> 00:25:02,882
They wanted to institute
and instill that fear

485
00:25:02,921 --> 00:25:05,442
and that they were in control,

486
00:25:05,482 --> 00:25:07,881
even though they knew
they were losing control.

487
00:25:10,481 --> 00:25:12,162
My generation
that came into Attica,

488
00:25:12,202 --> 00:25:14,202
at that time,

489
00:25:14,242 --> 00:25:16,282
we felt that we wasn't broken.

490
00:25:16,322 --> 00:25:18,482
In other words,
we wasn't shuffling our feet.

491
00:25:18,522 --> 00:25:20,842
We would walk
with our heads up high.

492
00:25:20,881 --> 00:25:22,642
We would talk in our own lingo.

493
00:25:22,681 --> 00:25:24,881
- We was rebellious.
- That's all.

494
00:25:24,922 --> 00:25:26,562
We wasn't gonna take nothing
from nobody.

495
00:25:27,642 --> 00:25:29,001
We wanted respect.

496
00:25:31,041 --> 00:25:34,162
You had to give it to us,
whether you wanted to or not.

497
00:25:34,201 --> 00:25:35,522
I'd read Eldridge Cleaver's.

498
00:25:35,561 --> 00:25:37,682
Soul on Ice, Huey Newton,

499
00:25:37,722 --> 00:25:39,322
and, you know,
the Panther Party,

500
00:25:39,362 --> 00:25:41,201
and the George Jackson story.

501
00:25:41,242 --> 00:25:42,721
I read all that stuff.

502
00:25:42,762 --> 00:25:44,481
George Jackson
was a revolutionary.

503
00:25:44,522 --> 00:25:47,202
He's the guy that got busted
for a ten dollar, uh,

504
00:25:47,241 --> 00:25:49,961
gas station robbery
and got life.

505
00:25:50,002 --> 00:25:52,561
He ended up in the system,
in the Soledad prison.

506
00:25:52,602 --> 00:25:56,762
He showed us... and I mean "us,"

507
00:25:56,802 --> 00:25:59,402
the younger guys
that came into Attica...

508
00:25:59,441 --> 00:26:02,402
That it was okay to say no.

509
00:26:02,441 --> 00:26:05,802
It was okay to be rebellious.

510
00:26:05,842 --> 00:26:08,162
Understand,
there may be consequences

511
00:26:08,201 --> 00:26:10,642
to saying no,

512
00:26:10,681 --> 00:26:12,562
but it was okay.

513
00:26:12,601 --> 00:26:14,482
And it was uplifting.

514
00:26:14,521 --> 00:26:16,522
It was uplifting.

515
00:26:16,561 --> 00:26:18,921
I think racism
is a control device,

516
00:26:18,962 --> 00:26:21,042
control mechanism.

517
00:26:21,081 --> 00:26:24,482
Create an atmosphere
whereby they can control you.

518
00:26:24,521 --> 00:26:28,202
Of course, here in prison,
we see the repression,

519
00:26:28,241 --> 00:26:30,082
the exploitation,

520
00:26:30,122 --> 00:26:33,122
the victimization of, uh,

521
00:26:33,161 --> 00:26:34,922
lower-class peoples.

522
00:26:36,321 --> 00:26:37,681
A lot of Black Panthers

523
00:26:37,722 --> 00:26:39,522
were coming into the prison.

524
00:26:39,562 --> 00:26:40,962
I started hanging out
with them,

525
00:26:41,001 --> 00:26:43,362
and they politicized me.

526
00:26:43,402 --> 00:26:44,818
The Black Panther Party
for Self-Defense

527
00:26:44,841 --> 00:26:46,922
calls upon the American people
in general

528
00:26:46,962 --> 00:26:48,562
and the Black people
in particular

529
00:26:48,602 --> 00:26:51,681
to take careful note
of the racist police agencies

530
00:26:51,722 --> 00:26:54,522
throughout the country
are intensifying the terror,

531
00:26:54,561 --> 00:26:57,321
brutality, murder,
and repression of Black people.

532
00:26:57,362 --> 00:26:59,042
Of course,
you had the Black Muslims,

533
00:26:59,081 --> 00:27:01,841
and his message to a Black man

534
00:27:01,882 --> 00:27:05,762
really awoke a lot of guys
that were in jail.

535
00:27:05,801 --> 00:27:07,601
We want one thing!

536
00:27:07,642 --> 00:27:11,522
We declare our right
on this Earth to be a man,

537
00:27:11,561 --> 00:27:13,322
to be a human being,

538
00:27:13,361 --> 00:27:15,322
to be respected
as a human being,

539
00:27:15,362 --> 00:27:17,562
to be given the rights
of a human being

540
00:27:17,601 --> 00:27:20,761
in this society,
on this Earth, in this day,

541
00:27:20,802 --> 00:27:23,202
which we intend
to bring into existence

542
00:27:23,241 --> 00:27:25,961
by any means necessary!

543
00:27:30,361 --> 00:27:31,802
Officials at California's.

544
00:27:31,842 --> 00:27:33,562
San Quentin Prison
still are trying

545
00:27:33,602 --> 00:27:35,922
to piece together
exactly what happened and how

546
00:27:35,961 --> 00:27:38,041
in that attempted
prison break yesterday

547
00:27:38,082 --> 00:27:41,082
in which three convicts
and three guards died.

548
00:27:41,122 --> 00:27:43,322
One of the dead convicts
was George Jackson

549
00:27:43,362 --> 00:27:45,402
of the self-styled
Soledad Brothers.

550
00:27:45,441 --> 00:27:47,402
Jackson was 29.

551
00:27:47,442 --> 00:27:49,322
George Jackson
was that final straw to say,

552
00:27:49,362 --> 00:27:50,962
"I don't give a fuck no more.

553
00:27:51,002 --> 00:27:52,962
- They're gonna kill us anyway.
- We can't get out.

554
00:27:53,001 --> 00:27:55,242
We're in this fucking cage,
so where we going at?

555
00:27:55,282 --> 00:27:57,962
So if we gonna die,
let's die as men."

556
00:27:58,002 --> 00:27:59,561
And brothers
just got frustrated.

557
00:28:03,202 --> 00:28:07,521
We'd go into the mess hall
with a Black band on your arm

558
00:28:07,562 --> 00:28:08,682
and just sit there.

559
00:28:08,722 --> 00:28:10,722
Take a spoon when you come in.

560
00:28:10,762 --> 00:28:12,402
Take no food.

561
00:28:12,441 --> 00:28:16,522
We didn't speak
during the whole time,

562
00:28:16,561 --> 00:28:18,761
and we didn't pick up any food.

563
00:28:19,321 --> 00:28:22,242
That, I think,
kind of alerted the institution

564
00:28:22,282 --> 00:28:25,522
that we was in solidarity.

565
00:28:25,562 --> 00:28:29,362
They'd probably never seen
that type of solidarity before.

566
00:28:36,162 --> 00:28:40,642
There was a lot of talk
discussing the situation,

567
00:28:40,682 --> 00:28:44,681
because the inmates
were very upset,

568
00:28:44,722 --> 00:28:47,281
and things were
happening there,

569
00:28:47,322 --> 00:28:50,922
and there was great concern.

570
00:28:50,962 --> 00:28:52,921
It was a time bomb
ready to blow,

571
00:28:52,962 --> 00:28:55,241
and we lived with it
every day in my house,

572
00:28:55,282 --> 00:28:57,482
and every day,
I said good-bye to my dad,

573
00:28:57,522 --> 00:28:59,722
and I knew it might be
the last day I saw him.

574
00:28:59,761 --> 00:29:01,681
It was open conversation.

575
00:29:06,081 --> 00:29:07,682
Things were getting worse.

576
00:29:07,721 --> 00:29:10,601
And so they had a meeting
with the administration,

577
00:29:10,642 --> 00:29:12,362
and the administration
essentially dismissed

578
00:29:12,401 --> 00:29:16,521
their concerns and said,
"Everybody back to work.

579
00:29:16,562 --> 00:29:18,441
However, we think
maybe it's a good idea

580
00:29:18,482 --> 00:29:20,201
if you left your personal
belongings at home,

581
00:29:20,242 --> 00:29:22,442
like wedding rings,
wallets, et cetera."

582
00:29:22,482 --> 00:29:25,922
So my father absolutely knew
that something was going on.

583
00:29:25,961 --> 00:29:28,802
I was having breakfast with him
and he was talking to me.

584
00:29:28,841 --> 00:29:30,641
And I knew he was nervous.

585
00:29:30,682 --> 00:29:32,098
But he said,
"Something's gonna happen."

586
00:29:32,121 --> 00:29:34,481
He said, "I just don't know
what or when.

587
00:29:34,522 --> 00:29:36,241
But I think I'll be okay."

588
00:29:40,361 --> 00:29:44,802
There was a fight
in A yard on September 8th.

589
00:29:44,842 --> 00:29:45,939
And the guards promised
nothing would happen

590
00:29:45,962 --> 00:29:47,282
as a result of this,

591
00:29:47,322 --> 00:29:50,682
because they could feel
the tension building up.

592
00:29:50,722 --> 00:29:52,841
Then that night,
they broke that promise.

593
00:29:52,882 --> 00:29:55,922
They came and pulled them
out of the cells, and...

594
00:29:55,962 --> 00:29:59,242
About three or four of them,
and then...

595
00:30:01,282 --> 00:30:02,721
Then we started
throwing bottles

596
00:30:02,762 --> 00:30:04,322
or whatever glass
they may have had,

597
00:30:04,361 --> 00:30:06,042
or cans, or whatever
they may have had,

598
00:30:06,082 --> 00:30:08,002
and it was a disturbance,
that there.

599
00:30:08,042 --> 00:30:10,722
So the inmates decided
at that moment,

600
00:30:10,762 --> 00:30:13,122
- "- Man, this is it, man.
- We tired.

601
00:30:13,161 --> 00:30:14,521
I mean, they killed
George Jackson.

602
00:30:14,562 --> 00:30:15,699
They did this
throughout the years.

603
00:30:15,722 --> 00:30:16,922
We tired."

604
00:30:16,962 --> 00:30:18,562
You know? And they went off.

605
00:30:28,562 --> 00:30:31,042
I was in school that day,

606
00:30:31,082 --> 00:30:34,642
and the whistle from the prison
just kept going,

607
00:30:34,681 --> 00:30:36,522
and we could hear it.

608
00:30:36,562 --> 00:30:38,801
We got calls
from somebody from the prison

609
00:30:38,842 --> 00:30:40,202
saying that
"Your dad, you know,

610
00:30:40,242 --> 00:30:41,722
is definitely being held."

611
00:30:41,762 --> 00:30:44,001
- You know, I was scared.
- I was worried for my dad.

612
00:30:44,042 --> 00:30:45,722
I loved my dad.

613
00:30:45,762 --> 00:30:49,562
But we didn't really know
what was going on.

614
00:30:49,602 --> 00:30:51,001
It seems to be

615
00:30:51,042 --> 00:30:53,682
a little misunderstanding
about why

616
00:30:53,721 --> 00:30:55,801
this incident developed
here at Attica,

617
00:30:55,842 --> 00:30:58,561
and this declaration here
will explain the reasons.

618
00:30:58,602 --> 00:31:03,081
The entire incident
that has erupted here at Attica

619
00:31:03,122 --> 00:31:05,801
is not a result
of the dastardly bushwhacking

620
00:31:05,842 --> 00:31:10,122
of the two prisoners
September 8th of 1971,

621
00:31:10,162 --> 00:31:12,322
but of the unmitigated
oppression

622
00:31:12,362 --> 00:31:14,402
wrought by the racist
administrative network

623
00:31:14,441 --> 00:31:16,842
of this prison
throughout the years.

624
00:31:16,882 --> 00:31:18,602
We want the governor
to guarantee

625
00:31:18,642 --> 00:31:20,802
that there will be
no reprisals,

626
00:31:20,842 --> 00:31:23,322
and we want all facets
of the media

627
00:31:23,361 --> 00:31:25,642
to articulate this.

628
00:31:25,681 --> 00:31:28,202
We needed the media in there
because we needed

629
00:31:28,242 --> 00:31:30,761
to let the world know
what was happening.

630
00:31:32,401 --> 00:31:35,082
This is one
of the turning points

631
00:31:35,122 --> 00:31:36,362
in the whole thing.

632
00:31:39,162 --> 00:31:41,402
We would like the press
to come in,

633
00:31:41,442 --> 00:31:44,722
including
the television cameras.

634
00:31:46,281 --> 00:31:49,322
That transformed everything...

635
00:31:51,282 --> 00:31:55,082
...because now the prisoners
had a worldwide audience.

636
00:31:57,241 --> 00:31:59,682
Whatever happens here
at Attica State Prison...

637
00:31:59,721 --> 00:32:01,442
I'm not sure how they heard

638
00:32:01,481 --> 00:32:04,761
that there was
a Black journalist outside,

639
00:32:04,801 --> 00:32:07,562
that they wanted me

640
00:32:07,602 --> 00:32:11,562
to be on the group
that went in with Oswald.

641
00:32:11,602 --> 00:32:14,521
Suddenly, I'm on...
In this group,

642
00:32:14,562 --> 00:32:16,642
going into the prison,

643
00:32:16,682 --> 00:32:20,482
with this head
of the prison system.

644
00:32:20,522 --> 00:32:24,202
I was surprised that
they had asked for me.

645
00:32:24,241 --> 00:32:26,762
But I guess because of the fact

646
00:32:26,802 --> 00:32:29,721
that they had watched the news,

647
00:32:29,761 --> 00:32:32,601
my reports were factual,

648
00:32:32,641 --> 00:32:36,201
and I was not
taking anybody's side

649
00:32:36,242 --> 00:32:37,482
in the whole thing.

650
00:32:40,041 --> 00:32:41,882
We went in,

651
00:32:41,922 --> 00:32:46,321
and it was completely surreal.

652
00:32:46,362 --> 00:32:49,042
Like, you're walking
down a tunnel,

653
00:32:49,081 --> 00:32:53,041
and suddenly,
you walk into this huge yard

654
00:32:53,082 --> 00:32:55,202
where there are men
everywhere...

655
00:32:55,241 --> 00:32:58,401
Like, thousands of men.

656
00:32:58,442 --> 00:33:01,362
And I remember

657
00:33:01,401 --> 00:33:04,441
some people yelling,
"Hey, JJ."

658
00:33:04,482 --> 00:33:07,201
I said hello to people
that I knew

659
00:33:07,242 --> 00:33:11,721
from Bed-Stuy and Harlem,
and they were in Attica.

660
00:33:15,602 --> 00:33:17,481
Once inside,
we were brought along

661
00:33:17,522 --> 00:33:20,042
through the yard with a member
of the inmate security force

662
00:33:20,081 --> 00:33:22,281
constantly at our side.

663
00:33:22,322 --> 00:33:25,001
We were allowed to go
where they told us to go.

664
00:33:25,042 --> 00:33:26,562
We were allowed to film

665
00:33:26,602 --> 00:33:29,001
only when the prisoners
told us we could.

666
00:33:29,042 --> 00:33:30,442
Inmates' faces were covered

667
00:33:30,481 --> 00:33:32,841
so as to keep
their identities secret.

668
00:33:32,882 --> 00:33:34,881
Our first concern on entering

669
00:33:34,922 --> 00:33:37,122
was to learn
how the hostages were.

670
00:33:37,162 --> 00:33:38,259
We want to see your hostages.

671
00:33:38,282 --> 00:33:39,561
Show the hostages first.

672
00:33:39,602 --> 00:33:44,162
I was able to ask one question

673
00:33:44,201 --> 00:33:48,082
before I was moved
to the negotiation table.

674
00:33:48,122 --> 00:33:49,561
Been treated all right?

675
00:33:49,602 --> 00:33:51,139
Yes, I have so far
been treated very good.

676
00:33:51,162 --> 00:33:52,362
- No complaints?
- No.

677
00:33:52,402 --> 00:33:54,201
But no problems so far?

678
00:33:54,241 --> 00:33:56,802
So far, been treated very good.

679
00:33:56,841 --> 00:33:59,961
Shortly thereafter,
one of the inmates,

680
00:34:00,001 --> 00:34:04,081
a young man
by the name of L.D. Barkley,

681
00:34:04,122 --> 00:34:06,961
started to read the demands.

682
00:34:07,002 --> 00:34:08,922
The entire prison populace...

683
00:34:08,962 --> 00:34:11,122
That means each and every
one of us here...

684
00:34:11,162 --> 00:34:14,121
Have set forth
to change forever

685
00:34:14,162 --> 00:34:16,002
the ruthless brutalization

686
00:34:16,041 --> 00:34:18,562
and disregard for the lives
of the prisoners here

687
00:34:18,602 --> 00:34:20,442
and throughout
the United States.

688
00:34:20,482 --> 00:34:23,362
He was saying what we all
wanted to scream.

689
00:34:23,402 --> 00:34:25,242
But he was explaining it

690
00:34:25,282 --> 00:34:27,202
so that everybody
could understand,

691
00:34:27,242 --> 00:34:29,601
so that when you were sitting
in your living room,

692
00:34:29,642 --> 00:34:31,882
you could say,
"Well, the guy's a criminal.

693
00:34:31,921 --> 00:34:33,762
Yeah, but he is saying
something that's...

694
00:34:36,842 --> 00:34:39,282
- ...- that I understand.
- How could we do that?"

695
00:34:39,321 --> 00:34:42,162
- You know?
- He was waking up America.

696
00:34:42,201 --> 00:34:43,562
And he was the best one
to do it.

697
00:34:44,362 --> 00:34:46,321
We are men!

698
00:34:46,362 --> 00:34:48,482
We are not beasts,
and we do not intend

699
00:34:48,521 --> 00:34:50,562
to be beaten or driven as such.

700
00:34:50,601 --> 00:34:52,962
LD was only gonna be here
for 90 days.

701
00:34:53,002 --> 00:34:54,402
He'll be getting out.

702
00:34:54,441 --> 00:34:56,682
But he wanted the outside world
to know that...

703
00:34:58,722 --> 00:35:00,601
...the prisons were inhumane.

704
00:35:00,642 --> 00:35:03,481
What has happened here
is but the sound

705
00:35:03,522 --> 00:35:06,522
before the fury of those
who are oppressed.

706
00:35:06,562 --> 00:35:09,241
We will not compromise
on any terms

707
00:35:09,282 --> 00:35:12,842
except those terms
that are agreeable to us.

708
00:35:12,882 --> 00:35:14,482
We call upon all...

709
00:35:18,681 --> 00:35:20,481
You felt it.

710
00:35:23,081 --> 00:35:27,642
And at that moment,
I heard it, and I seen it.

711
00:35:27,682 --> 00:35:31,201
And that reaffirmed
why we was there.

712
00:35:31,242 --> 00:35:32,841
Why I was there.

713
00:35:36,602 --> 00:35:39,281
There was a feeling
that this was big.

714
00:35:39,322 --> 00:35:40,921
This was huge.

715
00:35:45,002 --> 00:35:47,361
Corrections Commissioner Oswald

716
00:35:47,402 --> 00:35:52,082
maintained that he had done

717
00:35:52,122 --> 00:35:54,602
quite a bit of the things

718
00:35:54,641 --> 00:35:57,641
that the inmates had requested.

719
00:35:57,682 --> 00:36:01,802
I've, uh, complied

720
00:36:01,842 --> 00:36:05,682
with the several things
I said I would do as my part.

721
00:36:05,721 --> 00:36:07,602
I've brought the press

722
00:36:07,641 --> 00:36:10,961
and other media in here

723
00:36:11,002 --> 00:36:12,682
to listen as we talk.

724
00:36:12,721 --> 00:36:15,162
And now, my question is...

725
00:36:15,201 --> 00:36:18,002
I asked earlier,

726
00:36:18,042 --> 00:36:19,762
when will you release
the hostages?

727
00:36:21,921 --> 00:36:24,482
But now, the table was turned,

728
00:36:24,521 --> 00:36:27,681
and we had the power.

729
00:36:27,722 --> 00:36:29,242
So when we asked him
for something,

730
00:36:29,282 --> 00:36:30,922
he had to give it to us

731
00:36:30,961 --> 00:36:32,402
'cause he didn't have
no choice.

732
00:36:32,442 --> 00:36:34,521
We wanted some assurance

733
00:36:34,561 --> 00:36:38,241
that we weren't gonna be
retaliated against.

734
00:36:38,282 --> 00:36:40,522
So we asked Herman Schwartz

735
00:36:40,561 --> 00:36:44,242
to go to District Court
in New York

736
00:36:44,281 --> 00:36:48,602
and get an injunction
that would assure us

737
00:36:48,642 --> 00:36:50,881
that we wouldn't be
retaliated against.

738
00:36:50,922 --> 00:36:54,961
I sat down and wrote
an injunction

739
00:36:55,002 --> 00:36:58,602
which barred
any kind of retaliation.

740
00:36:59,682 --> 00:37:01,602
It had been agreed
that there would be

741
00:37:01,642 --> 00:37:03,562
another meeting
the next morning.

742
00:37:05,642 --> 00:37:07,721
The time is now
ten minutes of eight.

743
00:37:07,762 --> 00:37:10,922
We've been shooting this tape
for approximately two hours.

744
00:37:10,962 --> 00:37:12,681
We started about 6:00 p.m.

745
00:37:14,682 --> 00:37:16,801
The light is almost gone now.

746
00:37:16,842 --> 00:37:20,601
We can see lights
in cell block D.

747
00:37:20,641 --> 00:37:23,481
Singers vocalizing

748
00:37:28,922 --> 00:37:31,482
The guy next to me
was named Raymond White.

749
00:37:33,722 --> 00:37:36,521
He was walking around,
looking up in the air.

750
00:37:36,562 --> 00:37:38,922
- It's dark.
- I said, "Yo, Raymond White.

751
00:37:38,962 --> 00:37:41,922
Yo, Ray, you all right?"

752
00:37:41,962 --> 00:37:45,962
He said, "Man, I ain't been out
after dark in 22 years."

753
00:37:48,402 --> 00:37:49,561
And we was talking,

754
00:37:49,602 --> 00:37:52,642
singing songs...
It was a festive night.

755
00:37:52,682 --> 00:37:53,642
I loved it. I loved it.

756
00:37:53,681 --> 00:37:55,842
Man, I was out
in the nighttime,

757
00:37:55,881 --> 00:37:57,361
looking at the stars.

758
00:37:57,402 --> 00:37:58,842
I was drunk. I was happy.

759
00:37:58,881 --> 00:38:00,377
You know, I was... I liked it,
you know.

760
00:38:00,401 --> 00:38:01,761
I was having a good time.

761
00:38:01,802 --> 00:38:04,562
And it was good. I felt free.

762
00:38:04,602 --> 00:38:06,161
You know, I mean,
prison was there,

763
00:38:06,202 --> 00:38:08,282
but, you know, I felt free.

764
00:38:08,322 --> 00:38:11,002
I didn't have to hear

765
00:38:11,042 --> 00:38:13,362
the doors locking.

766
00:38:13,401 --> 00:38:15,201
And if... it was a good feeling

767
00:38:15,242 --> 00:38:18,602
at that first night.

768
00:38:18,641 --> 00:38:21,121
When it got dark,
and everybody was talking

769
00:38:21,162 --> 00:38:22,722
about finding somewhere
to sleep...

770
00:38:22,761 --> 00:38:24,482
But, you know,
don't sleep alone,

771
00:38:24,521 --> 00:38:26,161
and, you know,
that type of thing.

772
00:38:26,202 --> 00:38:28,921
There's a lot of psychopaths
and sociopaths

773
00:38:28,962 --> 00:38:30,882
in those facilities,
so, you know,

774
00:38:30,922 --> 00:38:34,722
you had to protect yourself
from your peers, even.

775
00:38:41,922 --> 00:38:43,721
I knew this wasn't
gonna last forever.

776
00:38:45,521 --> 00:38:49,481
I knew there would...
There would be an end to this.

777
00:38:49,522 --> 00:38:50,922
But just because
we was incarcerated

778
00:38:50,962 --> 00:38:53,642
didn't mean that we were
less than human.

779
00:38:55,882 --> 00:38:57,802
Somebody had to take a stand.

780
00:39:07,402 --> 00:39:09,602
At dawn, as smoke
from yesterday's fires

781
00:39:09,641 --> 00:39:11,202
lingered over prison walls,

782
00:39:11,242 --> 00:39:13,201
a federal injunction
was obtained

783
00:39:13,242 --> 00:39:15,082
prohibiting physical reprisal

784
00:39:15,121 --> 00:39:16,562
against those involved
in the riot.

785
00:39:18,402 --> 00:39:21,402
When I brought in
the injunction,

786
00:39:21,441 --> 00:39:25,281
we talked to the prisoners
at opposite ends

787
00:39:25,322 --> 00:39:29,042
of a rather long tunnel.

788
00:39:29,082 --> 00:39:31,601
They said,
"Where are the administrators?"

789
00:39:31,642 --> 00:39:33,121
I said, "I don't know.

790
00:39:33,162 --> 00:39:35,122
I'm here, but I don't know
where they are."

791
00:39:35,161 --> 00:39:39,121
Finally, at ten o'clock,
Oswald and the others show up.

792
00:39:41,201 --> 00:39:43,241
The prisoners were furious.

793
00:39:43,282 --> 00:39:48,041
They had been,
as they would put it, dissed.

794
00:39:48,082 --> 00:39:50,121
They were supposed to meet
at seven or eight o'clock,

795
00:39:50,162 --> 00:39:53,482
and it was very clear...

796
00:39:53,521 --> 00:39:55,321
The air was very tense.

797
00:39:57,202 --> 00:40:00,681
You had the tables spread out.

798
00:40:00,722 --> 00:40:03,401
We were on one side.

799
00:40:03,442 --> 00:40:07,401
The inmates were on the other.

800
00:40:07,442 --> 00:40:10,401
And I gave them the document
that the judge had signed.

801
00:40:10,442 --> 00:40:13,961
This is nothing.

802
00:40:14,002 --> 00:40:17,241
I'm sorry,
I spent seven hours of...

803
00:40:17,281 --> 00:40:19,922
And got no sleep,
and traveled...

804
00:40:19,962 --> 00:40:22,562
He claimed that the federal
judge signed off

805
00:40:22,601 --> 00:40:26,202
on an injunction saying that
there would be no reprisals.

806
00:40:26,242 --> 00:40:30,841
And he came back in,
waving that at us,

807
00:40:30,882 --> 00:40:33,041
and Jerry the Jew said,
"Where's the seal?"

808
00:40:33,082 --> 00:40:35,921
There is no judicial seal
on this.

809
00:40:35,962 --> 00:40:39,682
I have received injunctions
from the Southern District

810
00:40:39,722 --> 00:40:41,401
which had judicial seals.

811
00:40:41,442 --> 00:40:43,721
This paper is an empty gesture.

812
00:40:43,762 --> 00:40:46,201
- Jerry the Jew.
- That was his nickname.

813
00:40:46,242 --> 00:40:48,842
Jerry Rosenberg
was a hell of a guy.

814
00:40:48,882 --> 00:40:50,441
And he was well-respected.

815
00:40:50,482 --> 00:40:52,842
He had a law degree.

816
00:40:52,882 --> 00:40:55,401
- And he knew law.
- He would help all the inmates.

817
00:40:55,442 --> 00:40:57,522
He was a jailhouse lawyer.

818
00:40:58,082 --> 00:41:01,401
You can take this piece
of paper and throw it away,

819
00:41:01,441 --> 00:41:02,762
because this is no protection.

820
00:41:02,801 --> 00:41:05,322
Jerry Rosenberg, God bless him,

821
00:41:05,362 --> 00:41:09,002
say, uh,
"Judge ain't signed this.

822
00:41:09,042 --> 00:41:12,842
There's no
Western District Court stamp

823
00:41:12,882 --> 00:41:15,922
on this document saying that,
you know what,

824
00:41:15,961 --> 00:41:20,522
nothing will happen to us,"
and tore it up.

825
00:41:20,562 --> 00:41:22,642
Herman, we know you mean well,

826
00:41:22,681 --> 00:41:25,362
but, uh, don't come
with the bullshit, Herm.

827
00:41:25,401 --> 00:41:27,321
We want a judicial seal

828
00:41:27,361 --> 00:41:29,322
and a continuing
restraining order

829
00:41:29,362 --> 00:41:31,721
until the litigation
is finally ended,

830
00:41:31,762 --> 00:41:34,041
without any reprisals
or brutality

831
00:41:34,081 --> 00:41:36,442
against any inmates
of this institution.

832
00:41:46,322 --> 00:41:49,322
Well, lawyers know that seals

833
00:41:49,362 --> 00:41:51,682
don't mean anything,

834
00:41:51,722 --> 00:41:54,682
uh, so long as the signature
is there.

835
00:41:55,441 --> 00:41:57,801
I could have
kicked Jerry's ass.

836
00:41:57,842 --> 00:41:59,882
And I should have.

837
00:41:59,922 --> 00:42:04,002
Really, 'cause he just
started to grandstand.

838
00:42:04,042 --> 00:42:06,322
You know, he was caught up
in the moment.

839
00:42:08,881 --> 00:42:11,602
Smart as he is,
and as shrewd as he is,

840
00:42:11,641 --> 00:42:14,202
he overreacted,

841
00:42:14,241 --> 00:42:16,721
and we lost
an opportunity there.

842
00:42:16,762 --> 00:42:20,281
And then somebody said,
"Let's hold them.

843
00:42:20,322 --> 00:42:22,722
Let's add
to the hostage count."

844
00:42:25,201 --> 00:42:28,602
I hope I'm speaking
for every brother here.

845
00:42:28,641 --> 00:42:30,961
I want to address this
to you, Oswald.

846
00:42:31,002 --> 00:42:33,522
You come in here
popping that game.

847
00:42:33,561 --> 00:42:34,842
I know you don't give a fuck

848
00:42:34,882 --> 00:42:36,201
about none of them hacks
out there.

849
00:42:36,242 --> 00:42:37,441
Let me tell you something.

850
00:42:37,482 --> 00:42:39,481
- I don't give a fuck about you.
- Nothing.

851
00:42:39,522 --> 00:42:41,362
I know them people don't mean
nothing to you.

852
00:42:41,401 --> 00:42:43,082
Nothing.

853
00:42:43,122 --> 00:42:45,402
And I'ma tell you before
you leave here... if you leave.

854
00:42:45,442 --> 00:42:48,961
Mr. Oswald, it seems to me
that you weren't honest.

855
00:42:49,002 --> 00:42:53,002
It seems to me that you weren't
honest at prevarications.

856
00:42:53,041 --> 00:42:56,361
I bear witness
to your evil deeds, Mr. Oswald.

857
00:42:56,402 --> 00:42:59,682
Now, I repeat,
as I told you yesterday,

858
00:42:59,722 --> 00:43:02,042
we're being lenient with you.

859
00:43:02,082 --> 00:43:04,922
- We're negotiating.
- We are talking.

860
00:43:04,962 --> 00:43:07,962
- We shouldn't be.
- We should be demanding.

861
00:43:08,001 --> 00:43:09,241
Why?

862
00:43:09,282 --> 00:43:12,842
Because we have 35 lives,
not hostages.

863
00:43:12,882 --> 00:43:15,001
And I repeat, Mr. Oswald,

864
00:43:15,042 --> 00:43:18,402
a moment's hesitation
will cause you their lives.

865
00:43:18,441 --> 00:43:21,441
The meeting
in the yard got very tense

866
00:43:21,482 --> 00:43:24,002
because Oswald
would talk to you

867
00:43:24,041 --> 00:43:25,922
from one side of his mouth,

868
00:43:25,961 --> 00:43:28,202
and then when he left the yard
and go outside,

869
00:43:28,242 --> 00:43:29,961
he talks from the other side
of the mouth.

870
00:43:30,002 --> 00:43:31,122
Have the inmates made

871
00:43:31,161 --> 00:43:32,722
any demands that you know of?

872
00:43:32,762 --> 00:43:34,219
There are all kinds
of demands, you know,

873
00:43:34,242 --> 00:43:36,961
for the change in...
Change in the whole world.

874
00:43:37,002 --> 00:43:41,601
But what he forgot was that
he was being seen on TV.

875
00:43:41,642 --> 00:43:45,762
- Come on. How could he do that?
- We're watching you.

876
00:43:45,802 --> 00:43:48,362
And you stated it
yesterday on the news media,

877
00:43:48,402 --> 00:43:50,042
in a huff, in a panic.

878
00:43:50,082 --> 00:43:51,962
You said, "Well, I don't know
what they want.

879
00:43:52,002 --> 00:43:53,961
They want the world."
And you left it like that.

880
00:43:54,002 --> 00:43:55,219
You walked away
from the reporters.

881
00:43:55,242 --> 00:43:56,841
Would you reply to that,
Mr. Oswald?

882
00:43:56,882 --> 00:43:58,442
Yes, I did say that.

883
00:43:58,481 --> 00:43:59,538
No, we didn't ask
you that, because we didn't...

884
00:43:59,561 --> 00:44:00,681
Let him finish, please.

885
00:44:00,722 --> 00:44:02,122
I did say that.

886
00:44:02,161 --> 00:44:03,961
Can't bullshit a bullshitter.

887
00:44:04,002 --> 00:44:05,802
You can't do that.

888
00:44:05,842 --> 00:44:08,162
The first time he came in,
"I'ma do this,

889
00:44:08,201 --> 00:44:11,682
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,"
and people was happy.

890
00:44:11,722 --> 00:44:13,378
"All right, go on about
your business, get it done."

891
00:44:13,401 --> 00:44:16,642
Came back in and started
talking, you know...

892
00:44:16,682 --> 00:44:18,201
You know, he was going
roundabout there

893
00:44:18,241 --> 00:44:19,842
and roundabout there,
and they said,

894
00:44:19,881 --> 00:44:22,201
"No, don't let the hostages go.

895
00:44:22,242 --> 00:44:23,961
All right, how about
you be a hostage?"

896
00:44:24,001 --> 00:44:28,682
We have been asking for over
29 hours for food and water.

897
00:44:28,722 --> 00:44:31,002
- We haven't got none.
- We're gonna keep Mr. Russell...

898
00:44:31,042 --> 00:44:32,562
Russell G. Oswald here

899
00:44:32,601 --> 00:44:34,042
until we get
some food and water.

900
00:44:36,082 --> 00:44:37,418
"No, we're not
letting him out of here.

901
00:44:37,441 --> 00:44:39,242
We're keeping him hostage."

902
00:44:39,282 --> 00:44:41,362
We all... we shut that down.

903
00:44:41,401 --> 00:44:44,161
- We're not gonna be like them.
- We're not gonna break our word.

904
00:44:44,202 --> 00:44:45,801
And he says,
"Well, inmates would be

905
00:44:45,842 --> 00:44:46,842
more honorable than them?"

906
00:44:46,881 --> 00:44:48,921
Yes, we were.

907
00:44:48,961 --> 00:44:51,242
'Cause we gave them our word
nothing would happen to them.

908
00:44:59,241 --> 00:45:00,842
And everybody
started screaming,

909
00:45:00,881 --> 00:45:03,481
"Let him go! Let him go!"

910
00:45:03,522 --> 00:45:04,802
Security, please.

911
00:45:06,682 --> 00:45:08,281
Security, please.

912
00:45:09,322 --> 00:45:11,882
And he got out of Dodge,
and he never came back.

913
00:45:17,122 --> 00:45:19,202
In New York state,
some 500 inmates

914
00:45:19,241 --> 00:45:22,322
of the Attica Maximum Security
Prison are still in revolt.

915
00:45:22,362 --> 00:45:24,441
Authorities tried
unsuccessfully to reach

916
00:45:24,481 --> 00:45:27,361
a settlement with the prisoners
over demands for reforms

917
00:45:27,402 --> 00:45:29,801
and to obtain release
of more than 30 hostages.

918
00:45:29,842 --> 00:45:31,842
We have a report on what's
been happening at Attica

919
00:45:31,881 --> 00:45:33,801
from ABC's John Johnson.

920
00:45:33,842 --> 00:45:34,881
Fires were still burning

921
00:45:34,922 --> 00:45:36,722
at Attica State Prison.

922
00:45:36,762 --> 00:45:39,722
Despite a small army of police
and state troopers,

923
00:45:39,762 --> 00:45:43,042
the prisoners continue
to call the shots at Attica.

924
00:45:43,082 --> 00:45:46,202
Commissioner Oswald announced
that prison officials

925
00:45:46,242 --> 00:45:48,201
were attempting
to bring to the prison

926
00:45:48,242 --> 00:45:51,962
those people requested
by the prisoners.

927
00:45:52,002 --> 00:45:56,161
The group was basically people

928
00:45:56,202 --> 00:45:57,842
whom they knew.

929
00:45:57,882 --> 00:45:59,922
People like Tom Wicker,

930
00:45:59,961 --> 00:46:03,001
who had written a column
about prisoners.

931
00:46:03,042 --> 00:46:05,002
Senator John Dunne

932
00:46:05,041 --> 00:46:07,162
was chairman
of the Prisons Committee

933
00:46:07,202 --> 00:46:08,601
and sympathetic.

934
00:46:08,641 --> 00:46:10,681
He was asked to come.

935
00:46:10,722 --> 00:46:14,882
Bill Kunstler, a lawyer
for the Chicago Seven.

936
00:46:14,921 --> 00:46:16,762
Asked him to come in.

937
00:46:16,802 --> 00:46:19,041
And Clarence Jones,

938
00:46:19,082 --> 00:46:21,641
publisher
of the Amsterdam News.

939
00:46:26,122 --> 00:46:27,378
I have a driver
who's driving me up

940
00:46:27,401 --> 00:46:28,882
to the Amsterdam News.

941
00:46:28,921 --> 00:46:30,482
And the driver says, "Boss!

942
00:46:30,522 --> 00:46:31,699
They're calling your name
on the radio."

943
00:46:31,722 --> 00:46:33,682
I said, "What you mean?"

944
00:46:33,721 --> 00:46:36,402
Called Rockefeller,
and lo and behold,

945
00:46:36,441 --> 00:46:38,082
the governor
picked up the phone.

946
00:46:38,121 --> 00:46:41,961
He said, "Thank you so much,
Mr. Jones.

947
00:46:42,002 --> 00:46:43,682
We have a major situation.

948
00:46:45,322 --> 00:46:48,521
A number of the inmates
have called your name.

949
00:46:50,482 --> 00:46:52,482
We'll have a car pick you up

950
00:46:52,521 --> 00:46:54,762
and take you
to a private airport...

951
00:46:56,601 --> 00:46:59,042
...where a state private plane
is waiting for you."

952
00:47:01,202 --> 00:47:04,841
And there, I'm off to Attica,

953
00:47:04,882 --> 00:47:08,322
to be part
of the observers committee.

954
00:47:10,522 --> 00:47:13,881
My wife and I were off
on a vacation at the time,

955
00:47:13,921 --> 00:47:15,979
and we got a call that they
had asked me to come there,

956
00:47:16,002 --> 00:47:18,082
and I felt that,
with my prior experience

957
00:47:18,122 --> 00:47:19,562
and my responsibilities

958
00:47:19,602 --> 00:47:21,018
as the chairman
of the Prison Committee,

959
00:47:21,041 --> 00:47:22,281
I ought to be there.

960
00:47:24,321 --> 00:47:25,922
I was optimistic.

961
00:47:25,961 --> 00:47:29,202
I thought, "Give it a shot."

962
00:47:29,241 --> 00:47:30,882
For the rebel
prisoners of Attica,

963
00:47:30,921 --> 00:47:33,282
the encouraging appearance of
people they consider friends,

964
00:47:33,322 --> 00:47:35,001
a 30-man mediation committee,

965
00:47:35,041 --> 00:47:37,081
including a congressman,
four newsmen,

966
00:47:37,122 --> 00:47:39,801
and most importantly,
lawyer William Kunstler.

967
00:47:39,841 --> 00:47:40,962
Have you heard anything

968
00:47:41,002 --> 00:47:42,482
from Governor Rockefeller's
office?

969
00:47:42,522 --> 00:47:45,882
I mean, has he put any time
limit on these negotiations?

970
00:47:45,922 --> 00:47:49,362
No, but I understand
that there is no present plan

971
00:47:49,401 --> 00:47:52,202
to use force in this prison,
and I hope that continues.

972
00:47:52,242 --> 00:47:54,241
I just hope that they realize
that this is

973
00:47:54,282 --> 00:47:57,801
a unique situation,
and that it may take time,

974
00:47:57,842 --> 00:47:59,882
and that if everyone's
in good faith,

975
00:47:59,922 --> 00:48:01,361
something will work out.

976
00:48:03,561 --> 00:48:06,082
- It was scary.
- The tension was tremendous.

977
00:48:06,122 --> 00:48:08,282
You could have cut the air
with a knife.

978
00:48:08,322 --> 00:48:10,281
It was terrifying.

979
00:48:10,322 --> 00:48:13,001
I remember going into the yard
and saying to Mel Rivers,

980
00:48:13,042 --> 00:48:14,602
"Do you have a cigarette?"

981
00:48:14,641 --> 00:48:16,459
And he said, "You have one
in your... one in your hand,

982
00:48:16,482 --> 00:48:18,921
one in your mouth,
and one in your ear."

983
00:48:18,962 --> 00:48:21,482
I was scared.

984
00:48:21,521 --> 00:48:23,561
When you see a tower
with people with rifles...

985
00:48:25,002 --> 00:48:28,042
I kept thinking, um,
we should stay close

986
00:48:28,081 --> 00:48:29,642
to Tom Wicker
and Herman Badillo,

987
00:48:29,682 --> 00:48:32,081
because they would be
the least likely to be shot.

988
00:48:34,482 --> 00:48:36,842
Frank "Big Black" Smith

989
00:48:36,881 --> 00:48:40,522
was the overall
security leader.

990
00:48:40,561 --> 00:48:42,921
He took that job on himself
already.

991
00:48:42,962 --> 00:48:45,322
He was the guy.

992
00:48:45,361 --> 00:48:46,962
He was the big man.

993
00:48:47,001 --> 00:48:49,522
I mean, this fella was big.

994
00:48:49,562 --> 00:48:51,841
They was responsible
to making sure that

995
00:48:51,882 --> 00:48:55,482
the observers that came in...

996
00:48:55,521 --> 00:48:57,482
The same way they came in

997
00:48:57,522 --> 00:48:59,322
is the same way they left.

998
00:48:59,361 --> 00:49:02,082
You know, no harm come to them.

999
00:49:02,121 --> 00:49:05,842
He said, "Well, we gotta have
a inmate security force."

1000
00:49:05,882 --> 00:49:08,442
- Said, "All right.
- We're looking for volunteers.

1001
00:49:08,482 --> 00:49:12,082
You, you, you, you, you,
y'all on the inmate force.

1002
00:49:12,121 --> 00:49:14,122
And it can't be all Black guys.

1003
00:49:14,161 --> 00:49:16,842
We need Black guys, white guys,
and Puerto Ricans."

1004
00:49:20,081 --> 00:49:23,081
We would line up
and create a corridor,

1005
00:49:23,122 --> 00:49:25,482
and they would walk down
the middle of the corridor,

1006
00:49:25,522 --> 00:49:29,241
with us being a barrier
between general population

1007
00:49:29,281 --> 00:49:30,761
and the negotiators.

1008
00:49:30,802 --> 00:49:33,482
So we would just stand
shoulder to shoulder

1009
00:49:33,521 --> 00:49:36,842
and give them that safe space
to walk through.

1010
00:49:41,002 --> 00:49:42,122
We began to talk to with them

1011
00:49:42,161 --> 00:49:44,282
about what they wanted.

1012
00:49:44,322 --> 00:49:48,522
And they had their list
of things

1013
00:49:48,562 --> 00:49:51,002
that they wanted
already written.

1014
00:49:51,042 --> 00:49:53,801
You know,
everybody wanted a voice...

1015
00:49:53,842 --> 00:49:56,082
Good, bad, and the whacked out.

1016
00:49:56,121 --> 00:49:59,281
So nothing went easy,
but it went.

1017
00:49:59,322 --> 00:50:01,361
We got to a point where we had

1018
00:50:01,402 --> 00:50:04,842
what we thought
might be possible.

1019
00:50:04,882 --> 00:50:07,482
Their demands were, you know,

1020
00:50:07,521 --> 00:50:10,722
reasonable demands
about living conditions.

1021
00:50:10,762 --> 00:50:13,722
They wanted medical care,

1022
00:50:13,762 --> 00:50:16,841
uh, decent food,

1023
00:50:16,882 --> 00:50:20,882
uh, fair disciplinary hearings.

1024
00:50:23,841 --> 00:50:26,721
Basically, they wanted
to be treated

1025
00:50:26,762 --> 00:50:29,802
like human beings.

1026
00:50:29,842 --> 00:50:31,042
Prisoners late last night

1027
00:50:31,082 --> 00:50:33,321
met with a 30-member
civilian committee

1028
00:50:33,362 --> 00:50:35,241
in an attempt
to clarify demands

1029
00:50:35,282 --> 00:50:37,441
ranging from better
prison life conditions

1030
00:50:37,482 --> 00:50:39,481
to more religious
and political freedom.

1031
00:50:39,522 --> 00:50:42,682
I injected into the demands

1032
00:50:42,722 --> 00:50:46,282
for some people to go
to a non-imperialistic country,

1033
00:50:46,321 --> 00:50:48,801
you know, to be flied out.

1034
00:50:48,842 --> 00:50:51,482
We thought Cuba
was gonna come and get us.

1035
00:50:51,522 --> 00:50:55,521
You ship troops to Vietnam,
to Santo Domingo,

1036
00:50:55,562 --> 00:50:58,362
to all these foreign countries,
to oppress the brothers.

1037
00:50:58,401 --> 00:51:00,402
You can bring one of these
helicopters in here

1038
00:51:00,441 --> 00:51:02,401
and ship us
on out of this country.

1039
00:51:04,482 --> 00:51:07,161
We done seen people snatch
airplanes and all like that

1040
00:51:07,201 --> 00:51:09,762
and go to Cuba and Algiers
and all other places.

1041
00:51:09,801 --> 00:51:11,561
Why not get out of jail?

1042
00:51:11,602 --> 00:51:14,441
An Air France jet was hijacked
by Palestinian guerillas.

1043
00:51:14,482 --> 00:51:18,482
A 17-year-old girl
hijacked a TWA jetliner on a...

1044
00:51:18,522 --> 00:51:20,761
I had four years in
on a 25-to-life sentence.

1045
00:51:20,802 --> 00:51:22,882
Why not get out of jail?

1046
00:51:22,922 --> 00:51:24,321
Why not?

1047
00:51:24,362 --> 00:51:27,881
Well, we all knew that
that wasn't gonna happen.

1048
00:51:27,922 --> 00:51:32,322
We weren't gonna go to Algeria
in their plane, I knew that.

1049
00:51:32,362 --> 00:51:35,322
Everybody, the back
of their minds, knew that.

1050
00:51:35,362 --> 00:51:36,681
But we needed amnesty.

1051
00:51:39,082 --> 00:51:40,602
We want the federal judiciary

1052
00:51:40,641 --> 00:51:42,602
to guarantee complete amnesty

1053
00:51:42,642 --> 00:51:45,161
to each and every one of us
that has taken part

1054
00:51:45,202 --> 00:51:48,922
in the struggle here at Attica,
to ensure that this amnesty

1055
00:51:48,962 --> 00:51:51,282
will not be
just a groping in the wind,

1056
00:51:51,321 --> 00:51:55,082
but a reality for each
and every one of us.

1057
00:51:55,122 --> 00:51:57,042
They were not looking
to be relieved

1058
00:51:57,081 --> 00:51:59,802
of the prison sentences
to which they had been sent

1059
00:51:59,841 --> 00:52:02,082
by the courts
after being convicted.

1060
00:52:02,122 --> 00:52:06,042
They were looking to be freed
from any prosecution

1061
00:52:06,082 --> 00:52:09,601
or any penalties
for their engaging in the riot.

1062
00:52:12,522 --> 00:52:15,522
Besides the normal beatings
and everything else

1063
00:52:15,562 --> 00:52:20,322
that they're gonna do to us,
which is, you know, automatic,

1064
00:52:20,362 --> 00:52:23,242
we knew that they could also
take us and bring us to courts

1065
00:52:23,281 --> 00:52:27,401
and, you know, and turn us
into the monster inmates

1066
00:52:27,442 --> 00:52:30,082
who took over the prison.

1067
00:52:30,122 --> 00:52:33,321
We are not
advocating violence.

1068
00:52:33,362 --> 00:52:35,562
We all want to live.

1069
00:52:37,681 --> 00:52:40,321
All of us.

1070
00:52:40,362 --> 00:52:42,322
If any of you gentlemen
own dogs...

1071
00:52:44,281 --> 00:52:47,281
You're treating them better
than we have been treated

1072
00:52:47,322 --> 00:52:49,402
the last year.

1073
00:52:51,922 --> 00:52:53,802
They were fiercely trying

1074
00:52:53,842 --> 00:52:56,402
to convince prison authorities

1075
00:52:56,442 --> 00:52:59,442
that they didn't cease
being a human being

1076
00:52:59,481 --> 00:53:03,361
merely by the fact
that they were incarcerated

1077
00:53:03,402 --> 00:53:07,041
because they had broken
a law of society.

1078
00:53:07,082 --> 00:53:09,121
Now, that's a profound thing.

1079
00:53:09,162 --> 00:53:12,001
"I am somebody.

1080
00:53:12,042 --> 00:53:14,282
I'm not a thing.

1081
00:53:14,321 --> 00:53:17,682
You can't treat me like a dog.

1082
00:53:17,721 --> 00:53:21,161
I may be a prisoner,
but I have dignity."

1083
00:53:21,202 --> 00:53:24,282
And that's what they insisted

1084
00:53:24,321 --> 00:53:27,162
on getting the...

1085
00:53:27,201 --> 00:53:31,362
power structure of Attica
to recognize...

1086
00:53:31,402 --> 00:53:35,242
That they continued
to be somebody.

1087
00:53:37,842 --> 00:53:41,201
The observers,
they all were listening to us.

1088
00:53:41,242 --> 00:53:45,161
I feel that they
were supporting us.

1089
00:53:45,202 --> 00:53:48,201
You see,
and that meant a lot to us.

1090
00:53:50,202 --> 00:53:52,482
- "- This is our situation.
- Please listen to us."

1091
00:53:52,522 --> 00:53:54,761
- And that's what they were doing.
- They were listening.

1092
00:53:54,802 --> 00:53:56,882
It felt like there was somebody
that believed in us.

1093
00:53:56,922 --> 00:53:58,601
It felt that way.

1094
00:53:58,642 --> 00:53:59,922
That somebody believed that,

1095
00:53:59,961 --> 00:54:01,722
you know,
you did have some rights,

1096
00:54:01,761 --> 00:54:03,679
even though you were
a convicted felon of whatever.

1097
00:54:05,802 --> 00:54:09,002
We'd be able to get better
mailing privileges,

1098
00:54:09,041 --> 00:54:10,722
better medical privileges.

1099
00:54:10,762 --> 00:54:14,482
We tried to nail it down
to that which was realistic

1100
00:54:14,521 --> 00:54:18,081
and possible,
distinguished from a plane

1101
00:54:18,122 --> 00:54:21,002
waiting for us
outside the cell block,

1102
00:54:21,042 --> 00:54:23,242
flying us to Cuba.

1103
00:54:23,281 --> 00:54:25,002
That's what it was.

1104
00:54:25,042 --> 00:54:28,241
It was realism from fantasy.

1105
00:54:29,922 --> 00:54:32,242
We want to be treated
as human beings.

1106
00:54:33,561 --> 00:54:37,482
We will be treated
as human beings.

1107
00:54:37,522 --> 00:54:39,242
We have come
to the conclusion...

1108
00:54:40,962 --> 00:54:44,001
...after close study,

1109
00:54:44,042 --> 00:54:47,122
after much suffering,

1110
00:54:47,161 --> 00:54:50,321
after much consideration,

1111
00:54:50,362 --> 00:54:55,202
that if we cannot
live as people,

1112
00:54:55,241 --> 00:54:58,961
then we will at least
try to die like men.

1113
00:55:02,882 --> 00:55:06,761
That statement resounded
everywhere.

1114
00:55:12,282 --> 00:55:14,362
In that yard,
when he said that,

1115
00:55:14,402 --> 00:55:17,642
a roar went up like no other.

1116
00:55:17,682 --> 00:55:19,362
This was their stand.

1117
00:55:19,401 --> 00:55:22,202
I saw that I really...

1118
00:55:22,242 --> 00:55:24,402
None of us
were gonna be observers.

1119
00:55:24,441 --> 00:55:26,361
We were gonna be mediators.

1120
00:55:26,401 --> 00:55:29,042
Whether we wanted
to be mediators or not,

1121
00:55:29,082 --> 00:55:32,802
whether we were called up
to be mediators,

1122
00:55:32,841 --> 00:55:36,882
this prison uprising
had to be mediated.

1123
00:55:36,921 --> 00:55:39,722
Otherwise, it was gonna end
in disaster.

1124
00:55:41,362 --> 00:55:45,041
If you people
do not understand,

1125
00:55:45,082 --> 00:55:48,522
if you people
do not stick with us,

1126
00:55:48,562 --> 00:55:50,482
if you people cannot make
the commitment

1127
00:55:50,521 --> 00:55:51,881
that we have made here...

1128
00:55:54,122 --> 00:55:56,322
...we are dead.

1129
00:55:56,362 --> 00:56:00,082
I appeal, beseech you all

1130
00:56:00,121 --> 00:56:02,002
to stand with us,

1131
00:56:02,041 --> 00:56:04,442
walk with us,

1132
00:56:04,482 --> 00:56:06,561
die with us, if necessary!

1133
00:56:06,602 --> 00:56:09,321
- I hear you!
- You and all the people!

1134
00:56:09,362 --> 00:56:12,162
Power to you
and all the people!

1135
00:56:34,961 --> 00:56:38,442
Things were growing
on the outside.

1136
00:56:38,482 --> 00:56:40,082
Don't tape this.

1137
00:56:42,641 --> 00:56:44,602
There were more journalists.

1138
00:56:44,642 --> 00:56:47,522
There were more police.

1139
00:56:47,561 --> 00:56:49,761
And it was just getting bigger

1140
00:56:49,802 --> 00:56:53,842
and bigger and bigger.

1141
00:56:53,881 --> 00:56:56,682
People are coming
night and day,

1142
00:56:56,722 --> 00:57:01,082
vans with reporters and police,
and things are building up.

1143
00:57:04,441 --> 00:57:05,681
Among those keeping a vigil

1144
00:57:05,722 --> 00:57:07,362
outside the prison walls,

1145
00:57:07,402 --> 00:57:10,002
the families of some
of the 38 men held hostage.

1146
00:57:10,041 --> 00:57:12,762
I was just home,
watching the TV.

1147
00:57:12,801 --> 00:57:16,602
I just kept looking
for my husband.

1148
00:57:16,641 --> 00:57:19,762
Maybe he'd be killed
or brutalized in some way,

1149
00:57:19,801 --> 00:57:21,561
because the inmates
at that time

1150
00:57:21,601 --> 00:57:23,481
had the power there, you know.

1151
00:57:23,521 --> 00:57:26,962
And if they didn't like
somebody, or who knew what,

1152
00:57:27,002 --> 00:57:29,281
you were just scared
to death that, you know,

1153
00:57:29,322 --> 00:57:31,201
they'd just kill them all
or something

1154
00:57:31,242 --> 00:57:32,681
if they didn't get their way.

1155
00:57:34,562 --> 00:57:36,241
Families of the 31 hostages

1156
00:57:36,282 --> 00:57:38,002
wait for word as part
of the prison

1157
00:57:38,041 --> 00:57:40,002
remains in control
of the inmates.

1158
00:57:46,242 --> 00:57:47,481
They were upset,

1159
00:57:47,521 --> 00:57:49,482
they were angry,
and they were scared,

1160
00:57:49,522 --> 00:57:52,041
standing out there

1161
00:57:52,082 --> 00:57:55,201
while their loved ones
are being held hostage,

1162
00:57:55,242 --> 00:57:56,841
and they are waiting

1163
00:57:56,882 --> 00:58:00,202
for any scrap of information,

1164
00:58:00,241 --> 00:58:02,282
to hear something.

1165
00:58:03,922 --> 00:58:06,281
And many of those families

1166
00:58:06,322 --> 00:58:08,201
stood vigil
day and night out there.

1167
00:58:11,282 --> 00:58:12,842
A bunch of people crying,

1168
00:58:12,881 --> 00:58:16,041
the wives and brothers
and fathers,

1169
00:58:16,082 --> 00:58:17,762
freaking out.

1170
00:58:17,801 --> 00:58:19,721
Just panic.

1171
00:58:19,762 --> 00:58:22,081
People were afraid to talk
in the parking lot

1172
00:58:22,122 --> 00:58:24,362
because they thought that...

1173
00:58:24,401 --> 00:58:26,802
To any reporters or anybody,
even.

1174
00:58:26,841 --> 00:58:28,722
They did it all in privacy

1175
00:58:28,761 --> 00:58:30,841
because they didn't want
their relatives targeted,

1176
00:58:30,882 --> 00:58:32,641
singled out by the inmates.

1177
00:58:43,762 --> 00:58:45,602
I had sympathy for them.

1178
00:58:45,641 --> 00:58:48,521
They... where else
were you gonna get a job

1179
00:58:48,562 --> 00:58:52,042
if you lived in that area?

1180
00:58:52,081 --> 00:58:54,762
And you had no training

1181
00:58:54,802 --> 00:58:57,561
and no understanding

1182
00:58:57,601 --> 00:58:59,481
of what it was like

1183
00:58:59,521 --> 00:59:02,602
to grow up in a poor,

1184
00:59:02,641 --> 00:59:06,122
Black, urban area.

1185
00:59:06,162 --> 00:59:09,162
You... these were aliens.

1186
00:59:09,202 --> 00:59:12,121
These were people
from a different world.

1187
00:59:14,321 --> 00:59:17,481
And your family members

1188
00:59:17,522 --> 00:59:22,082
maybe are gonna get killed
because of them?

1189
00:59:22,121 --> 00:59:25,401
Sure, you were infuriated.

1190
00:59:27,522 --> 00:59:30,081
All these dogs up there
with all those rifles

1191
00:59:30,122 --> 00:59:31,922
are trying to kill us.

1192
00:59:31,962 --> 00:59:33,521
Well, we ain't gonna quit.

1193
00:59:33,562 --> 00:59:36,521
The inmates that were
given microphones on TV,

1194
00:59:36,562 --> 00:59:38,642
I mean... very upsetting.

1195
00:59:40,122 --> 00:59:41,682
They should have
resolved it right away.

1196
00:59:41,721 --> 00:59:44,881
- It just went on too far.
- We all just wanted it to end.

1197
00:59:47,202 --> 00:59:51,162
What I would hear
over the radio

1198
00:59:51,201 --> 00:59:52,962
and the TV

1199
00:59:53,001 --> 00:59:55,441
was not satisfying
to me at all,

1200
00:59:55,482 --> 00:59:59,242
because it seemed to me
that what I was hearing,

1201
00:59:59,281 --> 01:00:02,282
I didn't think was...

1202
01:00:02,321 --> 01:00:04,602
They were doing
the right thing.

1203
01:00:04,641 --> 01:00:07,722
It just seemed
sort of limp to me.

1204
01:00:07,762 --> 01:00:09,041
And that was frustrating.

1205
01:00:11,122 --> 01:00:12,682
You'd hear stuff from people.

1206
01:00:12,721 --> 01:00:14,401
That's where it got
a little scary, too,

1207
01:00:14,442 --> 01:00:17,401
'cause you could see how
the inmates were considered,

1208
01:00:17,442 --> 01:00:20,522
like, less than human,
kind of like animals.

1209
01:00:20,561 --> 01:00:22,842
There was people saying,
you know,

1210
01:00:22,881 --> 01:00:24,322
"Don't worry about your dad."

1211
01:00:24,362 --> 01:00:26,962
You know, "they'll get theirs"
type thing.

1212
01:00:27,001 --> 01:00:30,001
And so that kind of made it
even more scary.

1213
01:00:30,042 --> 01:00:32,162
You realize
how emotionally charged

1214
01:00:32,201 --> 01:00:34,242
the community's getting.

1215
01:00:34,281 --> 01:00:36,362
The tensions got worse
and worse and worse.

1216
01:00:36,402 --> 01:00:38,241
Emotions got worse
and worse and worse.

1217
01:00:48,001 --> 01:00:50,362
Saturday,
I think that the hope

1218
01:00:50,402 --> 01:00:54,001
was stronger than the doubt,
because after three days,

1219
01:00:54,042 --> 01:00:57,321
you know, Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday,

1220
01:00:57,362 --> 01:00:58,922
they hadn't came in there.

1221
01:00:58,961 --> 01:01:00,362
We had, like, 30 demands,

1222
01:01:00,402 --> 01:01:05,281
and most of them were possible.

1223
01:01:05,322 --> 01:01:08,281
And we were exuberant
about it.

1224
01:01:08,322 --> 01:01:10,922
I've never seen
anything like this.

1225
01:01:10,962 --> 01:01:13,162
The people in here
are treated like dogs.

1226
01:01:13,201 --> 01:01:15,961
Not only the Black...
The Puerto Rican and the white.

1227
01:01:16,002 --> 01:01:17,481
And we're gonna get
what we demand,

1228
01:01:17,522 --> 01:01:19,241
or we gonna die trying.

1229
01:01:19,282 --> 01:01:21,242
Thank you.

1230
01:01:21,282 --> 01:01:22,961
We thought that,
whatever happened,

1231
01:01:23,002 --> 01:01:25,161
we could maybe
really walk away

1232
01:01:25,202 --> 01:01:26,762
with some improvement
in our lives.

1233
01:01:29,281 --> 01:01:32,522
Point was is that
whatever happened,

1234
01:01:32,561 --> 01:01:35,202
it just had to make
a difference.

1235
01:01:35,242 --> 01:01:38,002
- Change had to happen.
- You had to embrace hope.

1236
01:01:43,681 --> 01:01:46,121
There's a report that prison
officials have yielded

1237
01:01:46,162 --> 01:01:48,481
to most of the demands
by the rebelling inmates

1238
01:01:48,522 --> 01:01:50,562
at the Attica State Prison
in New York,

1239
01:01:50,602 --> 01:01:52,522
where more than 30 persons
have been held hostage

1240
01:01:52,561 --> 01:01:54,962
for three days.

1241
01:01:55,002 --> 01:01:57,641
As you know,
during this ordeal,

1242
01:01:57,682 --> 01:02:00,482
I have personally met
with inmates

1243
01:02:00,521 --> 01:02:04,081
on several occasions
in areas under their control,

1244
01:02:04,122 --> 01:02:07,042
and have demonstrated
my commitment

1245
01:02:07,082 --> 01:02:09,962
to deal with the issues
they have raised

1246
01:02:10,001 --> 01:02:13,482
by accepting 28 of the 30

1247
01:02:13,522 --> 01:02:15,722
major inmate proposals.

1248
01:02:15,761 --> 01:02:18,761
Mr. Kunstler, can you tell me
what's gonna happen now?

1249
01:02:18,802 --> 01:02:22,522
Well, we hope negotiations
will start this afternoon

1250
01:02:22,562 --> 01:02:24,362
and continue
until they reach a solution.

1251
01:02:24,401 --> 01:02:26,362
Is Huey Newton or Bobby Seale,

1252
01:02:26,402 --> 01:02:28,282
- are they coming?
- They were asked for.

1253
01:02:28,322 --> 01:02:29,562
We hope so,
and we understood

1254
01:02:29,601 --> 01:02:31,082
that they were en route.

1255
01:02:31,121 --> 01:02:33,362
We had kind of settled in

1256
01:02:33,402 --> 01:02:35,081
on the demands,

1257
01:02:35,122 --> 01:02:39,361
and we had negotiated
with Oswald for his commitment

1258
01:02:39,402 --> 01:02:41,322
to 28 of them.

1259
01:02:43,601 --> 01:02:46,041
And the whole point
of Bobby Seale's coming there

1260
01:02:46,081 --> 01:02:48,762
would be for him
to bless and support

1261
01:02:48,801 --> 01:02:51,202
and urge the inmates
to accept them.

1262
01:02:56,601 --> 01:02:58,401
Bobby Seale was our hero,

1263
01:02:58,442 --> 01:03:00,962
because he was speaking out
about the brutality

1264
01:03:01,001 --> 01:03:03,361
that was happening
in the prison system.

1265
01:03:03,402 --> 01:03:05,762
He was doing
what we were trying to live.

1266
01:03:05,801 --> 01:03:08,802
He was a Panther,
the second-in-command.

1267
01:03:08,841 --> 01:03:10,922
I really thought
he was gonna help us out.

1268
01:03:10,962 --> 01:03:14,282
Every demand. Every demand.

1269
01:03:16,521 --> 01:03:19,442
- Bobby didn't stay long.
- Bobby didn't stay long.

1270
01:03:19,482 --> 01:03:21,762
Came up to where
the negotiating table was,

1271
01:03:21,802 --> 01:03:23,042
made his little speech.

1272
01:03:23,081 --> 01:03:24,762
He ain't walk around the yard.

1273
01:03:26,162 --> 01:03:27,802
Bobby walked right up
out the jail.

1274
01:03:31,161 --> 01:03:33,081
It was quite a letdown.

1275
01:03:33,121 --> 01:03:35,482
- Let's go.
- Let's go, big man.

1276
01:03:35,522 --> 01:03:37,442
He stayed
all about three minutes.

1277
01:03:40,042 --> 01:03:43,322
At that point,
everybody just sitting around

1278
01:03:43,362 --> 01:03:45,282
waiting
for something to happen.

1279
01:03:49,322 --> 01:03:53,281
But then Billy Quinn died,

1280
01:03:53,322 --> 01:03:55,682
and that transformed
everything.

1281
01:03:55,721 --> 01:03:57,282
The State Prison
in Attica, New York,

1282
01:03:57,322 --> 01:03:59,001
is at the crisis point.

1283
01:03:59,041 --> 01:04:01,442
The death of one of the guards
has hardened the position

1284
01:04:01,481 --> 01:04:03,522
of prison officials,
and there are strong...

1285
01:04:03,561 --> 01:04:05,442
You don't get amnesty
for a murder.

1286
01:04:05,481 --> 01:04:06,961
I immediately knew...

1287
01:04:10,882 --> 01:04:14,641
...that the process
of negotiations

1288
01:04:14,682 --> 01:04:17,882
just became far more difficult.

1289
01:04:17,922 --> 01:04:20,401
I knew that was, uh,

1290
01:04:20,442 --> 01:04:23,522
that was the worst possible
thing that could happen.

1291
01:04:23,561 --> 01:04:27,762
How could they
peacefully negotiate

1292
01:04:27,801 --> 01:04:30,482
with inmates
who they held responsible

1293
01:04:30,522 --> 01:04:32,122
for the death of a guard?

1294
01:04:35,442 --> 01:04:39,081
Prior to his passing on,

1295
01:04:39,122 --> 01:04:42,882
there was a hope
and even an expectation,

1296
01:04:42,921 --> 01:04:45,602
because people were listening,

1297
01:04:45,641 --> 01:04:46,881
people were coming
to understand

1298
01:04:46,922 --> 01:04:49,802
what we had been
living through

1299
01:04:49,842 --> 01:04:52,202
and suffering
as prisoners there.

1300
01:04:53,881 --> 01:04:56,682
We knew that
it was a new ballgame.

1301
01:04:56,722 --> 01:05:01,202
It was depression and fear...

1302
01:05:01,242 --> 01:05:05,082
and, you know, anxiety,
and, yeah,

1303
01:05:05,121 --> 01:05:06,882
everything you could imagine.

1304
01:05:06,921 --> 01:05:09,842
We had to drop a lot of issues

1305
01:05:09,882 --> 01:05:12,882
and focus on amnesty as one,

1306
01:05:12,921 --> 01:05:14,962
as the main issue,

1307
01:05:15,001 --> 01:05:19,641
because we didn't want
to be charged with murder.

1308
01:05:19,681 --> 01:05:22,401
We said, as a group...

1309
01:05:24,922 --> 01:05:28,642
...that we was gonna stand
in solidarity with everyone.

1310
01:05:30,322 --> 01:05:32,722
If they could not give amnesty
to everybody,

1311
01:05:32,762 --> 01:05:35,402
then we was not gonna leave
anyone in the clutch

1312
01:05:35,441 --> 01:05:38,082
or in... to take...
Or throw anybody under the bus,

1313
01:05:38,122 --> 01:05:39,642
so to speak, to take this.

1314
01:05:39,681 --> 01:05:41,562
We acted together.

1315
01:05:41,601 --> 01:05:45,242
We understood that this was us,

1316
01:05:45,282 --> 01:05:47,162
that if we didn't
stand together now,

1317
01:05:47,202 --> 01:05:49,122
we never would, and it would...

1318
01:05:49,161 --> 01:05:52,202
We would live like dogs
for the rest of our lives.

1319
01:05:54,322 --> 01:05:56,602
We understood that.

1320
01:05:56,642 --> 01:05:59,882
Did I wish that we could
somehow back away?

1321
01:05:59,922 --> 01:06:01,162
But not without amnesty.

1322
01:06:01,201 --> 01:06:02,242
How do the inmates feel

1323
01:06:02,282 --> 01:06:03,922
about the current situation?

1324
01:06:03,961 --> 01:06:06,922
A group of us were in
with the inmates.

1325
01:06:06,961 --> 01:06:09,161
We met with them.

1326
01:06:09,202 --> 01:06:12,762
- We had two and a half hours.
- Some of the people are here.

1327
01:06:12,802 --> 01:06:14,375
But we really have
nothing to say about it

1328
01:06:14,401 --> 01:06:17,722
except they are firm in their
demands, and that's it.

1329
01:06:17,762 --> 01:06:19,578
In other words, they're not
gonna let the hostages go

1330
01:06:19,601 --> 01:06:21,241
until they're granted
total amnesty.

1331
01:06:21,282 --> 01:06:23,041
That was their last position.

1332
01:06:28,402 --> 01:06:29,962
The flag at half staff

1333
01:06:30,001 --> 01:06:31,859
for the injured guard
who had died the night before

1334
01:06:31,882 --> 01:06:33,482
set the mood this morning.

1335
01:06:33,522 --> 01:06:34,819
It was clear that the troubles
of this troubled prison

1336
01:06:34,842 --> 01:06:36,601
had grown worse.

1337
01:06:36,642 --> 01:06:39,481
That Sunday, you had
that fog that came over,

1338
01:06:39,522 --> 01:06:41,801
and it was a certain chill
in the air.

1339
01:06:41,842 --> 01:06:44,242
You know, something
didn't feel right.

1340
01:06:44,281 --> 01:06:46,481
It didn't feel right.

1341
01:06:46,522 --> 01:06:48,121
There are
strong indications tonight

1342
01:06:48,162 --> 01:06:49,881
that police will be sent
into the cell block

1343
01:06:49,921 --> 01:06:51,482
in an attempt to rescue

1344
01:06:51,522 --> 01:06:53,802
the rest of the hostages
by force.

1345
01:06:57,762 --> 01:06:59,521
Water was cut off.

1346
01:06:59,562 --> 01:07:01,722
Food was getting scarce.

1347
01:07:01,762 --> 01:07:03,962
Patience was getting short.

1348
01:07:04,002 --> 01:07:06,761
And people were totally
wondering

1349
01:07:06,802 --> 01:07:09,641
what is gonna be
the outcome of the situation.

1350
01:07:17,761 --> 01:07:19,241
There was enormous pressure,

1351
01:07:19,282 --> 01:07:22,001
and I witnessed it
as I took a breather

1352
01:07:22,042 --> 01:07:25,642
and went out
to the public space,

1353
01:07:25,681 --> 01:07:27,402
just outside the prison,

1354
01:07:27,442 --> 01:07:29,642
where a lot of
correction officers,

1355
01:07:29,681 --> 01:07:31,562
their families, troopers,

1356
01:07:31,601 --> 01:07:33,322
and other officials
were gathered together.

1357
01:07:35,602 --> 01:07:38,282
I mean, the news
was completely about that...

1358
01:07:38,321 --> 01:07:39,882
You know,
that the state troopers

1359
01:07:39,922 --> 01:07:43,722
and everybody were poised
on the top, looking in.

1360
01:07:43,762 --> 01:07:46,602
It was all about these rumors

1361
01:07:46,642 --> 01:07:49,441
that the prisoners

1362
01:07:49,482 --> 01:07:52,762
were castrating the hostages,

1363
01:07:52,802 --> 01:07:56,001
that they were torturing them,

1364
01:07:56,042 --> 01:07:58,282
and it's gonna end
in bloodshed.

1365
01:07:58,321 --> 01:08:02,922
And that was the storyline
that was terrifying people.

1366
01:08:02,962 --> 01:08:04,459
Could you turn
around this way, to the camera?

1367
01:08:04,482 --> 01:08:07,442
I think
I did a few interviews,

1368
01:08:07,482 --> 01:08:10,482
and the people were...
Made it very clear

1369
01:08:10,521 --> 01:08:13,042
that these are bad people
in there,

1370
01:08:13,082 --> 01:08:16,321
and they shouldn't
be doing this,

1371
01:08:16,362 --> 01:08:18,361
you know, they should
be taken care of.

1372
01:08:18,402 --> 01:08:19,978
- You know what I mean.
- They should hang them.

1373
01:08:20,001 --> 01:08:22,481
And crazy stuff.

1374
01:08:22,522 --> 01:08:25,162
I mean,
it was just really crazy.

1375
01:08:25,201 --> 01:08:27,642
It was a very hostile
environment.

1376
01:08:27,681 --> 01:08:29,881
I'd like to show them
a little brutality.

1377
01:08:29,922 --> 01:08:32,842
Is this being brutal
to us or not?

1378
01:08:32,881 --> 01:08:35,842
- Don't point that bitch at me.
- I'll stick it up your ass!

1379
01:08:35,882 --> 01:08:37,802
I'm a father of eight children,

1380
01:08:37,841 --> 01:08:39,522
and Michael is the oldest,

1381
01:08:39,562 --> 01:08:42,282
and I wouldn't want to see
any one of them die.

1382
01:08:42,322 --> 01:08:44,362
But if he is gonna die,

1383
01:08:44,401 --> 01:08:47,642
I want that whole damn thing
bombed right the hell off.

1384
01:08:50,122 --> 01:08:51,242
While the talking went on,

1385
01:08:51,281 --> 01:08:53,162
the state police
kept reinforcing.

1386
01:08:53,201 --> 01:08:55,882
At least 500 men
in and out of the walls.

1387
01:08:55,921 --> 01:08:58,202
No indication that any
of this force will be used,

1388
01:08:58,242 --> 01:09:00,441
but the police are ready.

1389
01:09:00,481 --> 01:09:02,482
Well, any time you went

1390
01:09:02,521 --> 01:09:06,241
in and out of the prison,
there was an army,

1391
01:09:06,282 --> 01:09:07,922
and they were armed

1392
01:09:07,962 --> 01:09:11,882
with every conceivable
type of weapon.

1393
01:09:11,922 --> 01:09:16,202
And it really looked like

1394
01:09:16,241 --> 01:09:18,642
they wanted to use
those weapons.

1395
01:09:18,681 --> 01:09:21,642
You had the sense
of their anger,

1396
01:09:21,682 --> 01:09:23,682
and they'd been held back,
and...

1397
01:09:27,242 --> 01:09:28,682
...they wanted to move.

1398
01:09:28,721 --> 01:09:32,522
They wanted to... to attack.

1399
01:09:36,801 --> 01:09:39,042
Yeah, they were
very impatient.

1400
01:09:39,082 --> 01:09:41,082
Very unhappy.

1401
01:09:41,522 --> 01:09:44,162
They were all thrown
into a situation

1402
01:09:44,201 --> 01:09:46,442
which they were
not prepared for,

1403
01:09:46,482 --> 01:09:50,482
and about which they had
basically an animosity.

1404
01:09:54,481 --> 01:09:56,202
I wish you
would take any of the men

1405
01:09:56,242 --> 01:09:57,962
that belongs to us
off the roof,

1406
01:09:58,002 --> 01:10:00,001
and any of the troopers
out of here,

1407
01:10:00,042 --> 01:10:02,482
because if you get
these shaky guys shooting off

1408
01:10:02,522 --> 01:10:04,842
or getting up in a goober
over something,

1409
01:10:04,882 --> 01:10:08,201
somebody's gonna get excited,
and then we're all gonna pay.

1410
01:10:08,242 --> 01:10:10,242
Now, this is not a joke.

1411
01:10:10,281 --> 01:10:12,562
This is not a...

1412
01:10:12,601 --> 01:10:15,402
Some kind of a little tea party
we got here.

1413
01:10:15,442 --> 01:10:17,442
I just hope
that the commissioner

1414
01:10:17,482 --> 01:10:18,962
and the other people
in the committee

1415
01:10:19,002 --> 01:10:21,521
that they've gathered together

1416
01:10:21,562 --> 01:10:24,241
can come up with a solution

1417
01:10:24,282 --> 01:10:28,241
to solve these
people's problems, and ours.

1418
01:10:28,282 --> 01:10:29,962
Thank you very much.

1419
01:10:33,561 --> 01:10:36,682
Late Sunday afternoon,

1420
01:10:36,721 --> 01:10:38,921
Commissioner Oswald
and the officials

1421
01:10:38,962 --> 01:10:42,282
were prepared
and intended to retaking.

1422
01:10:44,242 --> 01:10:48,001
But I pressed Oswald
to agree to give them

1423
01:10:48,042 --> 01:10:50,441
until seven o'clock
on Monday morning.

1424
01:10:50,482 --> 01:10:53,481
By Sunday morning,
everything else had failed.

1425
01:10:53,522 --> 01:10:56,042
And so the...

1426
01:10:56,081 --> 01:10:59,042
The final shot

1427
01:10:59,081 --> 01:11:02,921
was going to be
to try to get to Rockefeller.

1428
01:11:02,962 --> 01:11:07,362
And there was a committee of
people put together to do that.

1429
01:11:07,402 --> 01:11:09,762
Good morning, Governor.

1430
01:11:09,801 --> 01:11:12,602
We wanted four friends
of the governor

1431
01:11:12,642 --> 01:11:15,202
to call him and,
"Please, as your friend,

1432
01:11:15,242 --> 01:11:17,842
let me ask you
to come to Attica.

1433
01:11:17,881 --> 01:11:19,442
Not to meet with the prisoners,

1434
01:11:19,482 --> 01:11:23,802
but to come and lay your hand
on approving these measures."

1435
01:11:23,842 --> 01:11:27,601
Sergeant Cunningham, now,
would you give us a message

1436
01:11:27,642 --> 01:11:30,722
for Governor
Nelson Rockefeller?

1437
01:11:30,761 --> 01:11:32,082
I certainly would.

1438
01:11:32,121 --> 01:11:33,562
One of the recommendations is,

1439
01:11:33,602 --> 01:11:36,042
"And if he says no, I'm dead."

1440
01:11:36,082 --> 01:11:38,041
I and some of my fellow members

1441
01:11:38,082 --> 01:11:40,842
of the observers committee
felt very strongly

1442
01:11:40,882 --> 01:11:43,562
that if Governor Rockefeller
were to come to

1443
01:11:43,602 --> 01:11:46,442
and identify
with finding a solution,

1444
01:11:46,482 --> 01:11:49,441
it might have broken
the logjam.

1445
01:11:49,482 --> 01:11:51,522
So I placed a call
to Governor Rockefeller

1446
01:11:51,562 --> 01:11:53,162
somewhere around
three o'clock.

1447
01:11:53,202 --> 01:11:56,762
Governor, what about your
personal feelings right now?

1448
01:11:56,802 --> 01:11:59,202
On one level,
it was a Hail Mary.

1449
01:11:59,242 --> 01:12:02,002
On the other level,
it was more than a Hail Mary.

1450
01:12:02,041 --> 01:12:06,001
These were prominent people.

1451
01:12:06,042 --> 01:12:08,162
People that you would think.

1452
01:12:08,201 --> 01:12:11,002
Rockefeller respected,

1453
01:12:11,042 --> 01:12:13,561
making a sincere pitch.

1454
01:12:13,602 --> 01:12:16,122
- Come up here.
- You don't have to go in.

1455
01:12:16,161 --> 01:12:17,922
You don't have to agree
to anything.

1456
01:12:17,961 --> 01:12:20,642
Your presence
will have meaning."

1457
01:12:20,681 --> 01:12:23,762
Maybe if he came,
that would be an opening

1458
01:12:23,802 --> 01:12:26,962
that would have allowed us
to negotiate.

1459
01:12:27,001 --> 01:12:31,202
Maybe some other negotiators

1460
01:12:31,241 --> 01:12:34,281
could be brought in
who would help the negotiation.

1461
01:12:34,322 --> 01:12:37,482
Maybe, maybe, maybe,
maybe, maybe.

1462
01:12:37,522 --> 01:12:40,242
But "no, no, no, no"

1463
01:12:40,281 --> 01:12:43,041
meant
"death, death, death, death."

1464
01:12:43,082 --> 01:12:44,681
Prisoners had been demanding

1465
01:12:44,722 --> 01:12:46,761
from the very beginning
that I come into the yard,

1466
01:12:46,802 --> 01:12:51,202
and I frankly felt that
the idea of governors...

1467
01:12:51,242 --> 01:12:53,082
Any time there was an uprising

1468
01:12:53,122 --> 01:12:55,482
or any time
there was a prisoner taken...

1469
01:12:55,521 --> 01:12:57,482
Not a prisoner,
but a hostage taken...

1470
01:12:57,522 --> 01:12:59,521
Being involved
in the negotiation...

1471
01:12:59,562 --> 01:13:00,819
The next thing would be,
"We don't want the governor.

1472
01:13:00,842 --> 01:13:02,361
We want the president."

1473
01:13:02,401 --> 01:13:03,922
Then we get to a situation

1474
01:13:03,962 --> 01:13:05,498
which is an impossible one
for this country.

1475
01:13:05,521 --> 01:13:07,122
By the time they spoke to him,

1476
01:13:07,161 --> 01:13:09,442
he had made up his mind.

1477
01:13:09,482 --> 01:13:13,081
He listened carefully,
he listened politely,

1478
01:13:13,122 --> 01:13:15,242
but by then,
he had made up his mind.

1479
01:13:17,282 --> 01:13:19,362
We didn't understand
the background

1480
01:13:19,401 --> 01:13:22,642
of his having consulted,
on an ongoing basis,

1481
01:13:22,681 --> 01:13:25,642
during those days,
with the White House.

1482
01:13:25,681 --> 01:13:28,762
The administration
in Washington encouraged Rocky

1483
01:13:28,802 --> 01:13:31,562
to take a strong,
hardline position,

1484
01:13:31,601 --> 01:13:34,122
which was unfortunate.

1485
01:13:34,162 --> 01:13:35,882
It was all a part
of President Nixon's

1486
01:13:35,922 --> 01:13:37,322
law and order agenda.

1487
01:13:48,402 --> 01:13:51,282
Rockefeller wasn't
calling the shots,

1488
01:13:51,321 --> 01:13:54,682
because he was on the phone

1489
01:13:54,722 --> 01:13:56,442
with Richard Nixon.

1490
01:13:58,642 --> 01:14:01,122
Rockefeller wanted
to be president...

1491
01:14:02,482 --> 01:14:06,242
...but the word on him was
that he was too soft on crime.

1492
01:14:16,922 --> 01:14:20,841
And if he wanted
the support of Nixon

1493
01:14:20,882 --> 01:14:22,802
and the Republican Party,

1494
01:14:22,842 --> 01:14:26,802
then he needed to go along.

1495
01:14:26,841 --> 01:14:28,801
And so he wouldn't come.

1496
01:14:34,482 --> 01:14:35,682
You know,
now that Rockefeller

1497
01:14:35,722 --> 01:14:37,281
wasn't coming in...

1498
01:14:39,642 --> 01:14:42,282
...it's like slamming
the door on you.

1499
01:14:42,322 --> 01:14:43,881
You know,
they slammed the door,

1500
01:14:43,922 --> 01:14:46,442
and we was locked in this room
and we didn't know what to do.

1501
01:14:48,001 --> 01:14:50,601
We were
to a great degree despondent

1502
01:14:50,642 --> 01:14:53,321
that we had
no solution to this.

1503
01:14:53,362 --> 01:14:55,801
We didn't know what to do.

1504
01:14:55,842 --> 01:14:57,282
We made one last chance

1505
01:14:57,321 --> 01:15:00,201
to convince the inmates
to surrender.

1506
01:15:05,882 --> 01:15:08,522
That last night
in cell block D...

1507
01:15:10,362 --> 01:15:13,842
...as we were trying
to negotiate

1508
01:15:13,881 --> 01:15:18,402
demands that we thought
were realistic...

1509
01:15:21,682 --> 01:15:25,961
...was a come-to-Jesus moment.

1510
01:15:27,522 --> 01:15:30,802
"This is what you wanted...
The demands.

1511
01:15:30,842 --> 01:15:32,841
This is what we were
able to achieve.

1512
01:15:32,882 --> 01:15:35,762
This is where we stand now.

1513
01:15:37,921 --> 01:15:40,282
I'm not gonna mislead you

1514
01:15:40,322 --> 01:15:43,362
and believe that you can
get anything better.

1515
01:15:43,401 --> 01:15:46,082
I do not believe
you can get anything better.

1516
01:15:48,562 --> 01:15:52,202
I think we have to make
a peaceful accommodation...

1517
01:15:54,042 --> 01:15:55,962
...rather than be
shot down like dogs."

1518
01:15:58,242 --> 01:16:00,882
I said,
"This is what we achieved.

1519
01:16:00,921 --> 01:16:03,001
Okay?

1520
01:16:03,042 --> 01:16:05,201
And turn around and look.

1521
01:16:05,242 --> 01:16:07,241
Cell block...
You see all those guns?

1522
01:16:07,282 --> 01:16:09,362
They're just waiting
to kill us.

1523
01:16:09,402 --> 01:16:11,921
- They want to kill us.
- Do you understand that?

1524
01:16:11,962 --> 01:16:15,081
They want to show
that they have the power

1525
01:16:15,122 --> 01:16:16,321
from the barrel of a gun.

1526
01:16:16,362 --> 01:16:17,474
That's what they want to do."

1527
01:16:20,722 --> 01:16:23,402
We were warned
by the observers

1528
01:16:23,441 --> 01:16:27,442
that if we didn't settle
even without the amnesty,

1529
01:16:27,482 --> 01:16:31,082
they were gonna come in,
and it could get very bad.

1530
01:16:32,722 --> 01:16:35,641
And, of course, we talked
amongst ourselves,

1531
01:16:35,682 --> 01:16:39,402
and we just couldn't go
without the amnesty,

1532
01:16:39,442 --> 01:16:41,482
'cause it would have been
literally

1533
01:16:41,521 --> 01:16:44,482
sending all our leaders...

1534
01:16:44,522 --> 01:16:47,802
to the dogs, to be tortured,

1535
01:16:47,841 --> 01:16:51,602
murdered, uh,
convicted of crimes,

1536
01:16:51,642 --> 01:16:53,802
and who knows what else?

1537
01:16:53,842 --> 01:16:57,122
We had observed
the organization

1538
01:16:57,161 --> 01:16:59,562
and preparation
of the troopers to enter,

1539
01:16:59,602 --> 01:17:02,361
hundreds of them,
with their shotguns,

1540
01:17:02,401 --> 01:17:06,241
just outside
the immediate area of D yard.

1541
01:17:06,282 --> 01:17:09,482
We witnessed the stationing
of sharpshooters

1542
01:17:09,521 --> 01:17:14,282
on one of the ledges
looking down into D yard.

1543
01:17:14,321 --> 01:17:18,441
Fear overtook
the observers committee.

1544
01:17:21,282 --> 01:17:22,561
It seemed like they felt

1545
01:17:22,602 --> 01:17:24,282
something was gonna happen.

1546
01:17:24,321 --> 01:17:26,682
They were more...

1547
01:17:26,722 --> 01:17:28,321
hesitant to leave.

1548
01:17:28,362 --> 01:17:29,642
They leave with a solemn mood.

1549
01:17:29,681 --> 01:17:31,161
They left us
with a solemn mood.

1550
01:17:31,201 --> 01:17:34,722
It was like, "Brothers,

1551
01:17:34,761 --> 01:17:36,842
just be careful,
just take care."

1552
01:17:39,121 --> 01:17:41,802
I remember
seeing them leaving, you know,

1553
01:17:41,842 --> 01:17:45,202
and it was a scary moment
to see them leaving,

1554
01:17:45,242 --> 01:17:47,602
you know, knowing that
they wasn't coming back.

1555
01:17:51,081 --> 01:17:53,162
I remember Big Black saying,

1556
01:17:53,202 --> 01:17:56,042
"I want to thank you
for what you guys tried to do.

1557
01:17:56,082 --> 01:17:57,602
We really appreciate it."

1558
01:17:57,641 --> 01:18:00,202
So there was a lot of that.

1559
01:18:00,241 --> 01:18:02,721
When we went out of that yard
that night...

1560
01:18:04,562 --> 01:18:06,441
...there were tears.

1561
01:18:06,482 --> 01:18:07,681
There were tears.

1562
01:18:09,922 --> 01:18:12,682
And I think all of us
were hoping

1563
01:18:12,721 --> 01:18:16,882
that something happened
at the last minute to stop it.

1564
01:18:18,882 --> 01:18:22,362
I felt complete failure.

1565
01:18:22,402 --> 01:18:26,601
A failure
that I had let them down.

1566
01:18:26,642 --> 01:18:29,802
One of the most painful things

1567
01:18:29,842 --> 01:18:32,522
is when inmates began to...

1568
01:18:32,562 --> 01:18:34,922
hand me written notes,

1569
01:18:34,961 --> 01:18:38,042
the telephone number of their...

1570
01:18:38,082 --> 01:18:42,322
Of their next of kin,

1571
01:18:42,361 --> 01:18:44,322
in case they didn't make it.

1572
01:18:44,362 --> 01:18:45,322
Okay?

1573
01:18:45,361 --> 01:18:48,162
They wanted me... I mean,

1574
01:18:48,202 --> 01:18:51,042
a couple of them looked me
in the eye with tears.

1575
01:18:51,082 --> 01:18:53,442
"Brother Jones,
if I don't make it,

1576
01:18:53,481 --> 01:18:54,602
you're gonna call, right?"

1577
01:18:54,642 --> 01:18:57,242
I said, "You have my word.

1578
01:18:57,282 --> 01:18:59,602
I will call."

1579
01:18:59,641 --> 01:19:02,082
Are you any way optimistic

1580
01:19:02,121 --> 01:19:04,202
that this thing can be settled
by sometime tomorrow?

1581
01:19:04,242 --> 01:19:05,602
I think I'm much too tired

1582
01:19:05,642 --> 01:19:07,161
to be either optimistic
or pessimistic.

1583
01:19:07,201 --> 01:19:10,122
At the moment,
I'm kind of just freaked out.

1584
01:19:20,842 --> 01:19:22,722
It rained all night.

1585
01:19:22,762 --> 01:19:25,001
It didn't stop raining
till about

1586
01:19:25,042 --> 01:19:27,242
six in the morning.

1587
01:19:27,282 --> 01:19:30,761
Cold, mountain rain.

1588
01:19:30,802 --> 01:19:33,322
And we were not
prepared for it.

1589
01:19:33,361 --> 01:19:36,241
Those little hooches
that we had,

1590
01:19:36,282 --> 01:19:40,042
them tents that people had dug
the yard up and everything,

1591
01:19:40,081 --> 01:19:42,082
all them started collapsing.

1592
01:19:42,122 --> 01:19:46,082
And you had to get
on solid ground,

1593
01:19:46,121 --> 01:19:49,482
concrete, and huddle together,

1594
01:19:49,522 --> 01:19:52,642
'cause everybody was shivering
and everything else.

1595
01:19:52,682 --> 01:19:54,162
It was a miserable night.

1596
01:19:54,201 --> 01:19:58,122
One of the miserable-est nights
I ever spent in my life.

1597
01:20:00,521 --> 01:20:02,202
I could feel
the tension in the air.

1598
01:20:02,242 --> 01:20:03,922
The tension was so strong

1599
01:20:03,961 --> 01:20:07,602
that I could just basically
grab it and hold on to it.

1600
01:20:07,641 --> 01:20:10,762
- "- Am I gonna make it?
- Am I gonna live through this?"

1601
01:20:10,801 --> 01:20:14,082
And that tension was so strong,
I could touch it,

1602
01:20:14,121 --> 01:20:16,202
I could cut
and hold it in my hand.

1603
01:20:18,802 --> 01:20:20,681
Death was written in the air.

1604
01:20:25,522 --> 01:20:27,561
We've been
out there for about four days.

1605
01:20:27,602 --> 01:20:29,321
We wake up that morning,

1606
01:20:29,362 --> 01:20:32,282
and it's wet and dreary
out there.

1607
01:20:32,322 --> 01:20:34,561
And you could always smell

1608
01:20:34,602 --> 01:20:37,441
the fumes of guys' body

1609
01:20:37,482 --> 01:20:39,522
in that trench
that we dug in the yard

1610
01:20:39,562 --> 01:20:42,882
to use the bathroom,
right there in front of us,

1611
01:20:42,921 --> 01:20:45,282
so you breathing this shit in
all day, so you want out.

1612
01:20:49,081 --> 01:20:50,881
The weather was really bad.

1613
01:20:50,922 --> 01:20:53,881
People's moods was that way,
and, uh...

1614
01:20:53,922 --> 01:20:55,482
it was cloudy.

1615
01:20:55,521 --> 01:20:57,362
It started to rain
a little bit.

1616
01:20:57,402 --> 01:20:59,761
- You know, it was dark.
- The sky was dark gray.

1617
01:21:04,202 --> 01:21:05,442
We heard that we would be part

1618
01:21:05,482 --> 01:21:08,202
of a medical evacuation.

1619
01:21:08,242 --> 01:21:10,722
And early on Monday morning,

1620
01:21:10,761 --> 01:21:13,002
we loaded into trucks
and headed for Attica prison.

1621
01:21:16,081 --> 01:21:18,019
In the three years that I was
in the National Guard,

1622
01:21:18,042 --> 01:21:20,322
I had not seen
any kind of action

1623
01:21:20,361 --> 01:21:22,762
in which violence was involved.

1624
01:21:22,801 --> 01:21:25,001
But we had a sense of dread,

1625
01:21:25,042 --> 01:21:28,482
and we had a wish
that we could kind of not go.

1626
01:21:28,522 --> 01:21:31,041
And there was the hope,
even at the last minute,

1627
01:21:31,082 --> 01:21:34,162
that by some miracle,

1628
01:21:34,201 --> 01:21:36,322
maybe Rockefeller
would intervene.

1629
01:21:39,121 --> 01:21:41,802
His refusal
to come here is a monstrosity,

1630
01:21:41,842 --> 01:21:43,241
because what he is saying is,

1631
01:21:43,282 --> 01:21:46,281
- "- Kill these men.
- I have no concern.

1632
01:21:46,322 --> 01:21:49,522
All I want to do
is restore law and order."

1633
01:21:49,561 --> 01:21:52,041
And I think that's
a rotten exchange for lives.

1634
01:21:53,642 --> 01:21:55,682
When we got to the prison

1635
01:21:55,721 --> 01:21:58,522
and saw the lines
of state troopers

1636
01:21:58,562 --> 01:22:01,282
and deputies
with their raincoats on

1637
01:22:01,322 --> 01:22:05,442
and their weapons in hand,
they looked exhausted.

1638
01:22:05,481 --> 01:22:06,802
They had been there,
many of them,

1639
01:22:06,841 --> 01:22:09,441
for a couple of days,
at least,

1640
01:22:09,482 --> 01:22:11,521
and they really didn't
look up to the task

1641
01:22:11,562 --> 01:22:12,922
that was given to them.

1642
01:22:19,802 --> 01:22:20,642
I knew they was coming in.

1643
01:22:20,681 --> 01:22:22,242
You could tell.

1644
01:22:22,282 --> 01:22:23,859
You could see them starting
to get more people.

1645
01:22:23,882 --> 01:22:25,081
I was in A block corridor.

1646
01:22:26,802 --> 01:22:28,241
All I saw was blue.

1647
01:22:31,962 --> 01:22:34,521
We got another mattress
to put up on that table

1648
01:22:34,561 --> 01:22:36,762
'cause we thought they was
gonna shoot rubber bullets.

1649
01:22:36,802 --> 01:22:40,482
And that's... that's
what the word was.

1650
01:22:43,282 --> 01:22:44,681
I thought there were gonna be

1651
01:22:44,722 --> 01:22:46,002
a real, old-fashioned
gang fight,

1652
01:22:46,041 --> 01:22:47,059
if that's what
you want to call it.

1653
01:22:47,082 --> 01:22:48,642
You know, them versus us.

1654
01:22:48,681 --> 01:22:50,818
They got those clubs, we got
a few bats and stuff in here,

1655
01:22:50,841 --> 01:22:54,281
so we're gonna... best guy win.

1656
01:22:57,002 --> 01:22:59,682
We started making preparations

1657
01:22:59,722 --> 01:23:02,322
and putting Vaseline
on every part of our bodies

1658
01:23:02,361 --> 01:23:03,881
that could be exposed to gas

1659
01:23:03,922 --> 01:23:06,442
and get burnt and stuff
like that,

1660
01:23:06,481 --> 01:23:08,722
padding ourselves with clothes.

1661
01:23:12,602 --> 01:23:14,099
Some brothers saying,
"If they come in here,

1662
01:23:14,122 --> 01:23:15,762
then that's good,
because I know my shit."

1663
01:23:18,362 --> 01:23:20,442
It became apparent to me

1664
01:23:20,481 --> 01:23:23,602
that the situation
was seriously deteriorating,

1665
01:23:23,641 --> 01:23:26,282
and that the inmates,
many of whom are confined

1666
01:23:26,322 --> 01:23:28,721
to this
maximum-security facility

1667
01:23:28,762 --> 01:23:31,962
under life and long sentences,

1668
01:23:32,001 --> 01:23:36,162
were not going to participate
in reasonable negotiation.

1669
01:23:36,202 --> 01:23:40,122
Tensions within the walls
have steadily increased.

1670
01:23:40,162 --> 01:23:42,762
The action now underway

1671
01:23:42,802 --> 01:23:45,882
was initiated
with extreme reluctance,

1672
01:23:45,922 --> 01:23:47,962
only after all attempts

1673
01:23:48,002 --> 01:23:52,041
to achieve
a peaceful solution failed.

1674
01:23:53,922 --> 01:23:56,082
We were told that
our mission was protection

1675
01:23:56,121 --> 01:23:57,641
for the medical battalion.

1676
01:23:57,682 --> 01:24:00,921
During the commander's
briefing, we were told that,

1677
01:24:00,961 --> 01:24:05,041
to our knowledge,
the inmates had no guns.

1678
01:24:05,082 --> 01:24:08,722
They had spears,
they had some knives,

1679
01:24:08,761 --> 01:24:12,242
they had pipes
that they were using as clubs,

1680
01:24:12,282 --> 01:24:14,801
but that was the extent
of the threat.

1681
01:24:14,842 --> 01:24:16,482
So we knew that going in.

1682
01:24:18,602 --> 01:24:20,841
10:05 a.m., September 13.

1683
01:24:20,882 --> 01:24:23,721
We're on the roof of A block,

1684
01:24:23,762 --> 01:24:26,522
waiting for the assault
to begin.

1685
01:24:26,562 --> 01:24:29,881
This is a team
of .270 rifle shooters.

1686
01:24:29,922 --> 01:24:31,882
The center of our picture

1687
01:24:31,921 --> 01:24:36,402
is men distributing baseball
bats to the other prisoners.

1688
01:24:36,441 --> 01:24:39,321
- We had no guns.
- We had no real weapons.

1689
01:24:39,361 --> 01:24:43,721
We had bullshit pieces of stick
or a piece of iron

1690
01:24:43,762 --> 01:24:47,961
or a shank that somebody made,
rubbing it on the sidewalk.

1691
01:24:48,001 --> 01:24:49,802
It was... it was pathetic.

1692
01:24:50,881 --> 01:24:53,162
Just four days
almost to the minute

1693
01:24:53,201 --> 01:24:55,562
after the convict insurrection
started.

1694
01:24:55,602 --> 01:24:57,962
State police, reinforced
by sheriff's deputies,

1695
01:24:58,001 --> 01:24:59,562
National Guardsmen,

1696
01:24:59,602 --> 01:25:02,082
and correction officers
moving in on the prison.

1697
01:25:02,121 --> 01:25:04,362
Time is 1:55 p.m.

1698
01:25:04,402 --> 01:25:06,921
We're on the roof of C block,

1699
01:25:06,962 --> 01:25:10,321
looking at a detail
of .270 marksmen,

1700
01:25:10,362 --> 01:25:15,001
with instructions to clear
the catwalks upon command.

1701
01:25:15,042 --> 01:25:17,122
They took some of the hostages

1702
01:25:17,162 --> 01:25:19,641
on top of the catwalks,

1703
01:25:19,681 --> 01:25:21,682
which is on top
of the hallways,

1704
01:25:21,721 --> 01:25:25,642
and some of the inmates
held knives to their neck,

1705
01:25:25,681 --> 01:25:30,162
as an... in an effort
to try to stop the assault.

1706
01:25:30,201 --> 01:25:32,042
The hostages
are on the catwalks

1707
01:25:32,082 --> 01:25:34,162
with knives at their throats.

1708
01:25:34,201 --> 01:25:37,282
It was all just a show

1709
01:25:37,322 --> 01:25:39,202
to try to get them to say,
"Oh, wait a minute!

1710
01:25:39,242 --> 01:25:40,801
That's my cousin, my brother."

1711
01:25:40,842 --> 01:25:43,162
All these guards...

1712
01:25:43,202 --> 01:25:45,161
we were hopeful
that if they saw this,

1713
01:25:45,202 --> 01:25:48,881
they would back off
and try to renegotiate

1714
01:25:48,922 --> 01:25:50,722
so they could protect
their own people.

1715
01:25:53,082 --> 01:25:56,161
The notion of sending in

1716
01:25:56,202 --> 01:25:58,402
correctional officers,

1717
01:25:58,442 --> 01:26:01,322
who didn't love the prisoners
to begin with,

1718
01:26:01,361 --> 01:26:03,922
and state police,
who were stressed out,

1719
01:26:03,961 --> 01:26:05,642
was a serious miscalculation.

1720
01:26:05,682 --> 01:26:07,921
Somebody should have said,
"Wait a second, wait a second.

1721
01:26:07,962 --> 01:26:10,561
These people are on edge.

1722
01:26:10,602 --> 01:26:12,842
There's hostility.

1723
01:26:15,922 --> 01:26:18,842
It's gonna get out of control."

1724
01:26:18,882 --> 01:26:21,081
We know that now.

1725
01:26:21,121 --> 01:26:23,441
Did we know that in real time?

1726
01:26:25,722 --> 01:26:27,722
I guess not.

1727
01:26:30,281 --> 01:26:34,602
I seen this
as a glorious fight.

1728
01:26:34,642 --> 01:26:37,441
They would come in with batons
and stuff like that,

1729
01:26:37,482 --> 01:26:40,362
and we would be fighting

1730
01:26:40,402 --> 01:26:42,361
the brave battle
with baseball bats

1731
01:26:42,402 --> 01:26:43,802
and stuff like that.

1732
01:26:43,842 --> 01:26:45,322
I...

1733
01:26:56,081 --> 01:26:57,242
I just...

1734
01:27:02,401 --> 01:27:04,202
I just never expected...

1735
01:27:06,322 --> 01:27:08,042
...the carnage
that would actually happen.

1736
01:27:08,082 --> 01:27:09,361
I'm sorry.

1737
01:27:24,122 --> 01:27:25,602
Here come the helicopters.

1738
01:27:25,642 --> 01:27:28,841
They are now heading
for the prison.

1739
01:27:30,682 --> 01:27:32,722
One of the large
army helicopters

1740
01:27:32,762 --> 01:27:34,321
now going overhead
and over the wall,

1741
01:27:34,362 --> 01:27:35,561
into the prison.

1742
01:27:37,361 --> 01:27:40,921
It just gets quiet,
and the sky was getting dark.

1743
01:27:40,962 --> 01:27:42,681
And then we heard
the helicopters.

1744
01:27:42,721 --> 01:27:45,202
- And I said, "Damn, man.
- This is fucking strange."

1745
01:27:49,202 --> 01:27:51,802
The helicopter
comes up over the wall,

1746
01:27:51,842 --> 01:27:53,401
and it's hovering
over the yard.

1747
01:27:57,442 --> 01:28:00,202
I seen this...
I thought it was a monster.

1748
01:28:00,241 --> 01:28:02,682
It was a helicopter,
a green helicopter,

1749
01:28:02,721 --> 01:28:04,202
and it was flying low.

1750
01:28:08,842 --> 01:28:11,322
And you see this...

1751
01:28:11,361 --> 01:28:14,241
It's like a sickly green gas

1752
01:28:14,282 --> 01:28:17,961
with sparkly stuff in it,
coming down.

1753
01:28:18,002 --> 01:28:20,121
It tightens your chest

1754
01:28:20,161 --> 01:28:22,162
where you can hardly breathe.

1755
01:28:22,201 --> 01:28:25,242
That gas knocked me down.

1756
01:28:25,282 --> 01:28:28,081
I don't know what that was.

1757
01:28:28,122 --> 01:28:30,721
And it had me so weak
I could not move.

1758
01:28:30,762 --> 01:28:34,082
Your eyes are just all burning.

1759
01:28:34,121 --> 01:28:36,562
- Your nose is burning.
- Your mouth is burning.

1760
01:28:36,601 --> 01:28:37,681
Place your hands

1761
01:28:37,722 --> 01:28:39,761
on top of your head

1762
01:28:39,802 --> 01:28:42,962
and surrender to an officer.

1763
01:28:43,002 --> 01:28:46,201
I repeat:
You will not be harmed.

1764
01:28:46,242 --> 01:28:49,282
Place your hands
on top of your head.

1765
01:28:49,322 --> 01:28:50,922
And they got
on the microphone.

1766
01:28:50,962 --> 01:28:54,522
"Everybody in D block yard,
put your hands in the air,

1767
01:28:54,561 --> 01:28:56,322
and you will not be harmed."

1768
01:28:56,361 --> 01:28:59,241
"Go to the nearest
state police officer,

1769
01:28:59,282 --> 01:29:01,001
and you will not be harmed."

1770
01:29:01,042 --> 01:29:04,041
- "You will not be harmed."
- "You will not be harmed."

1771
01:29:04,082 --> 01:29:06,722
"You will not be harmed."
But that was bullshit.

1772
01:29:15,281 --> 01:29:17,242
And dudes were standing up
doing this

1773
01:29:17,282 --> 01:29:19,641
and getting blown away.

1774
01:29:19,681 --> 01:29:22,882
They blew a dude's head off,
and I'm looking at it.

1775
01:29:22,922 --> 01:29:24,282
And it's all of a sudden,

1776
01:29:24,321 --> 01:29:28,041
there was all this popping
all around us.

1777
01:29:28,082 --> 01:29:30,122
And all these little pops
all around us

1778
01:29:30,162 --> 01:29:31,842
were actually bullets.

1779
01:29:31,881 --> 01:29:34,761
- Surrender.
- You will not be harmed.

1780
01:29:34,802 --> 01:29:37,722
And you couldn't really see
because the CO2 pepper gas

1781
01:29:37,761 --> 01:29:39,841
had you blind,

1782
01:29:39,882 --> 01:29:43,042
but you can hear the bullets
going by your head.

1783
01:29:43,082 --> 01:29:44,522
You will not be harmed.

1784
01:29:46,922 --> 01:29:49,281
The hostages
can't be seen now.

1785
01:29:49,322 --> 01:29:52,002
Repeat: Surrender peacefully.

1786
01:29:52,041 --> 01:29:53,642
And I'm just trying
to stay on the ground,

1787
01:29:53,681 --> 01:29:55,721
as low as possible.

1788
01:29:55,762 --> 01:29:58,081
It was just like they was
shooting down in a barrel.

1789
01:29:58,122 --> 01:29:59,579
They just started shooting
point blank range,

1790
01:29:59,602 --> 01:30:01,481
blowing guys away.

1791
01:30:01,522 --> 01:30:03,561
I got shot in the arm up there.

1792
01:30:03,602 --> 01:30:05,520
Right through the back
of my fucking arm and stuff.

1793
01:30:08,722 --> 01:30:11,802
I repeat:
You will not be harmed.

1794
01:30:11,842 --> 01:30:15,881
I felt something go through
my head, at my skull,

1795
01:30:15,922 --> 01:30:19,082
and it was burning,
and I knew I was shot.

1796
01:30:19,122 --> 01:30:21,921
I felt something hit my arm,

1797
01:30:21,962 --> 01:30:23,882
and my arm went numb,

1798
01:30:23,922 --> 01:30:26,522
and I realized later
I had got shot in the left arm,

1799
01:30:26,562 --> 01:30:28,162
about two inches from my heart.

1800
01:30:28,202 --> 01:30:31,241
And I saw one kid,
he had a football helmet on.

1801
01:30:31,282 --> 01:30:32,682
Spanish kid.

1802
01:30:32,722 --> 01:30:35,361
Now, the guards
was up on the catwalk,

1803
01:30:35,402 --> 01:30:38,121
and he jumps out with a hammer
and throws it up,

1804
01:30:38,162 --> 01:30:40,321
and it hits the catwalk,

1805
01:30:40,362 --> 01:30:41,922
and you could hear
the sound... clink...

1806
01:30:41,961 --> 01:30:44,561
And all of them turned,
looked at him,

1807
01:30:44,602 --> 01:30:46,522
and all of them
turned their guns on him.

1808
01:30:46,562 --> 01:30:48,921
And they just riddled
that boy's body.

1809
01:30:48,961 --> 01:30:52,002
I'm assuming he got shot
anywhere from 20 to 50 shots,

1810
01:30:52,042 --> 01:30:54,001
'cause his body
was just doing like that.

1811
01:30:54,042 --> 01:30:55,482
Like, I never seen
no shit like that.

1812
01:30:55,521 --> 01:30:57,321
I seen some nasty shit
in the streets.

1813
01:30:57,362 --> 01:30:59,361
I never seen nothing like that.

1814
01:30:59,402 --> 01:31:02,562
I repeat:
You will not be harmed.

1815
01:31:02,602 --> 01:31:05,001
Place your hands
on top of your head.

1816
01:31:05,042 --> 01:31:07,201
This was a holiday
for the police.

1817
01:31:07,242 --> 01:31:10,122
We ain't got no guns
to shoot back.

1818
01:31:10,162 --> 01:31:11,721
You know what it is
to shoot somebody

1819
01:31:11,762 --> 01:31:13,242
and they can't shoot back?

1820
01:31:13,282 --> 01:31:15,442
That's... that's a holiday.

1821
01:31:15,482 --> 01:31:16,921
Lord have mercy.

1822
01:31:16,962 --> 01:31:19,722
And all they was saying was,
"Save me a nigger."

1823
01:31:21,362 --> 01:31:24,002
That's what they was hollering
to each other.

1824
01:31:24,041 --> 01:31:26,921
I was scared.

1825
01:31:26,962 --> 01:31:29,482
I've done bad things,
but I never did shit this bad.

1826
01:31:29,521 --> 01:31:31,922
I said, "Now, these guys

1827
01:31:31,962 --> 01:31:34,761
are real fucking
cold-blooded killers and shit."

1828
01:31:36,882 --> 01:31:40,442
Until that moment came...

1829
01:31:40,482 --> 01:31:42,561
where the killing
really started,

1830
01:31:42,602 --> 01:31:44,802
when I realized that,

1831
01:31:44,842 --> 01:31:47,122
"You're not that fucking
bad guy no more, man.

1832
01:31:47,162 --> 01:31:48,379
These motherfuckers
is worse than you."

1833
01:31:48,402 --> 01:31:51,481
Every bullet that whizzed by me

1834
01:31:51,522 --> 01:31:56,042
or hit the mud close to me,
I winced.

1835
01:31:59,961 --> 01:32:02,441
Then all of a sudden,
it just stopped.

1836
01:32:02,482 --> 01:32:04,402
Surrender to an officer.

1837
01:32:06,202 --> 01:32:09,402
I repeat:
You will not be harmed.

1838
01:32:16,642 --> 01:32:20,401
There are people
throwing off their smoke gear.

1839
01:32:20,442 --> 01:32:24,042
They ran out screaming,
"Niggers, niggers, niggers,"

1840
01:32:24,082 --> 01:32:27,681
and two of them
pointed their guns at me,

1841
01:32:27,722 --> 01:32:30,362
saying, "Niggers, niggers,"
and I said, "Don't shoot.

1842
01:32:30,402 --> 01:32:33,161
Don't shoot. Don't shoot,"
while I'm coughing.

1843
01:32:33,202 --> 01:32:35,562
We've all been gassed.

1844
01:32:35,602 --> 01:32:39,081
- I've been gassed.
- It's an awful scene.

1845
01:32:39,122 --> 01:32:43,201
William Kunstler has said

1846
01:32:43,242 --> 01:32:45,641
that people are dying in there,
and...

1847
01:32:47,482 --> 01:32:48,921
...and I agree with that.

1848
01:32:48,961 --> 01:32:50,619
I think that there are people
dying in there.

1849
01:32:50,642 --> 01:32:53,881
The shooting went on forever.

1850
01:32:53,922 --> 01:32:57,282
And then it was like
the shooting subsided,

1851
01:32:57,321 --> 01:32:59,761
and then I heard some...

1852
01:32:59,802 --> 01:33:02,202
After the big shooting
subsided,

1853
01:33:02,241 --> 01:33:04,522
I heard some single shots.

1854
01:33:04,561 --> 01:33:08,522
Bang! And bang!

1855
01:33:16,361 --> 01:33:18,841
After they took over
the prison,

1856
01:33:18,882 --> 01:33:22,521
all those folks that had been
speaking to the cameras

1857
01:33:22,561 --> 01:33:26,002
were all targeted
and tortured.

1858
01:33:26,042 --> 01:33:28,962
So, yes, yes, yes, yes,
they were targeted.

1859
01:33:31,282 --> 01:33:35,961
L.D. Barkley,
they were calling his name,

1860
01:33:36,001 --> 01:33:38,841
going through that fog,
looking for him,

1861
01:33:38,881 --> 01:33:40,562
and threatening him

1862
01:33:40,602 --> 01:33:43,162
with what they were gonna
do to him

1863
01:33:43,202 --> 01:33:44,761
when they found him.

1864
01:33:44,802 --> 01:33:46,281
And they found him.

1865
01:33:46,322 --> 01:33:50,322
And he was yelling, "No, no,"

1866
01:33:50,361 --> 01:33:52,281
but it's too fucking late;
They had him then.

1867
01:33:52,321 --> 01:33:54,722
I seen them dragging him
towards the A block

1868
01:33:54,761 --> 01:33:57,322
far yard over there.

1869
01:33:57,361 --> 01:33:59,202
He was hollering
and screaming.

1870
01:33:59,242 --> 01:34:00,442
And they killed him.

1871
01:34:11,282 --> 01:34:14,641
You can't see it,
because the gas is so thick.

1872
01:34:14,682 --> 01:34:16,041
But all of a sudden,

1873
01:34:16,082 --> 01:34:18,442
a puff of wind comes

1874
01:34:18,481 --> 01:34:21,121
and disperses the gas,

1875
01:34:21,162 --> 01:34:23,402
and then I could see.

1876
01:34:23,441 --> 01:34:24,961
And what I saw was frightening.

1877
01:34:27,082 --> 01:34:31,042
Hundreds of bodies
just laying there.

1878
01:34:31,082 --> 01:34:33,561
- Some were moaning.
- Some wasn't moving.

1879
01:34:33,601 --> 01:34:35,202
Blood was everywhere.

1880
01:34:40,802 --> 01:34:43,002
We were given stretchers

1881
01:34:43,041 --> 01:34:46,081
and told to go
into the prison.

1882
01:34:46,122 --> 01:34:48,162
It was really
an unthinkable scene.

1883
01:34:48,202 --> 01:34:50,402
It was dead and wounded,

1884
01:34:50,441 --> 01:34:52,202
and simply starting
to carry them out.

1885
01:34:54,161 --> 01:34:57,522
It was far beyond
anything I had imagined

1886
01:34:57,561 --> 01:35:00,441
when they said we would
be doing medical evacuation.

1887
01:35:00,481 --> 01:35:04,882
We were basically civilians
put into a situation

1888
01:35:04,922 --> 01:35:07,122
where state trooper
and correction officers

1889
01:35:07,161 --> 01:35:08,922
had created a war zone.

1890
01:35:10,962 --> 01:35:14,841
There was a pile of bodies,
maybe eight or ten people,

1891
01:35:14,881 --> 01:35:18,001
and the man on top
had had his eyes shot out.

1892
01:35:39,561 --> 01:35:42,042
Right below us,
there was a huge pool

1893
01:35:42,082 --> 01:35:46,082
of rainwater,
and it was blood red.

1894
01:35:46,121 --> 01:35:50,682
And I looked down at it,
and I said,

1895
01:35:50,722 --> 01:35:52,841
"Those are false teeth
down there, aren't there?"

1896
01:35:52,882 --> 01:35:54,442
And somebody said, "Yeah."

1897
01:35:58,362 --> 01:36:00,322
The attitude of the people

1898
01:36:00,362 --> 01:36:03,042
who should have been concerned

1899
01:36:03,082 --> 01:36:04,842
about what had happened

1900
01:36:04,882 --> 01:36:09,441
was simply that they were
pleased with what had happened,

1901
01:36:09,482 --> 01:36:13,001
and had no qualms
or second thoughts

1902
01:36:13,042 --> 01:36:14,602
or anything but satisfaction.

1903
01:36:16,202 --> 01:36:18,722
Walker wants to go back.

1904
01:36:24,322 --> 01:36:26,441
- White power!
- White power!

1905
01:36:26,482 --> 01:36:29,122
- Hey!
- White power!

1906
01:36:34,121 --> 01:36:36,362
They had control,

1907
01:36:36,402 --> 01:36:38,121
and once they had control,

1908
01:36:38,162 --> 01:36:41,482
you would think that things
would have stopped.

1909
01:36:41,521 --> 01:36:42,921
They didn't.

1910
01:36:46,162 --> 01:36:47,561
It was clear that,

1911
01:36:47,602 --> 01:36:49,481
at that point,
it was all about revenge.

1912
01:36:49,522 --> 01:36:51,442
It was all about
reestablishing

1913
01:36:51,482 --> 01:36:52,962
who was in charge

1914
01:36:53,002 --> 01:36:54,882
in the most
violent ways possible.

1915
01:37:03,442 --> 01:37:05,762
Everybody had
to crawl through shit.

1916
01:37:05,801 --> 01:37:07,402
Human waste.

1917
01:37:11,122 --> 01:37:13,322
But what do you do?

1918
01:37:13,361 --> 01:37:16,322
Do you live to tell your story,
like I'm doing today,

1919
01:37:16,361 --> 01:37:18,762
or do you fucking die?

1920
01:37:18,802 --> 01:37:20,361
- I made a choice.
- I wanted to live.

1921
01:37:24,682 --> 01:37:28,721
- "- Crawl, nigger, crawl.
- Crawl. Like a dog."

1922
01:37:32,961 --> 01:37:34,442
"If you look up, nigger,

1923
01:37:34,481 --> 01:37:36,521
I'll blow your
motherfucking brains out."

1924
01:37:38,082 --> 01:37:41,321
What the fuck they care
about calling you a nigger?

1925
01:37:41,362 --> 01:37:44,522
That was your name that day.

1926
01:37:44,562 --> 01:37:47,241
They had us marching around
the yard with our...

1927
01:37:47,282 --> 01:37:50,722
With our hands interlocked
like this, on top of our heads.

1928
01:37:50,762 --> 01:37:52,402
Abject surrender.

1929
01:38:04,761 --> 01:38:07,322
When I saw these naked bodies

1930
01:38:07,362 --> 01:38:10,482
lined up,
snaked around the area,

1931
01:38:10,521 --> 01:38:15,002
it reminded me of portrayals
of African Americans

1932
01:38:15,042 --> 01:38:17,442
being herded onto slave ships.

1933
01:38:17,482 --> 01:38:19,041
It was just horrendous.

1934
01:38:19,082 --> 01:38:21,002
It was just horrible,
horrible.

1935
01:38:30,961 --> 01:38:32,361
And we're naked

1936
01:38:32,402 --> 01:38:34,442
in the middle
of the fucking yard,

1937
01:38:34,482 --> 01:38:37,322
guards going around
with, like, baby bats.

1938
01:38:37,362 --> 01:38:39,242
They was shoving them up
guys' asses.

1939
01:38:39,282 --> 01:38:40,602
I'm laying here,

1940
01:38:40,642 --> 01:38:42,602
and I'm hoping
they don't come my way.

1941
01:38:55,521 --> 01:38:58,521
Frank Smith,
Big Black, was put on a table

1942
01:38:58,561 --> 01:39:00,642
with a football
under his throat.

1943
01:39:04,762 --> 01:39:06,402
People stood up above him

1944
01:39:06,442 --> 01:39:08,802
on the catwalk,
aiming their guns down at him,

1945
01:39:08,841 --> 01:39:12,362
throwing cigars
and cigarette butts on him,

1946
01:39:12,401 --> 01:39:13,722
and they said,

1947
01:39:13,761 --> 01:39:15,401
"If that football falls,
nigger,

1948
01:39:15,442 --> 01:39:16,962
we're gonna shoot you."

1949
01:39:20,122 --> 01:39:22,401
He was told
to get to his feet.

1950
01:39:22,442 --> 01:39:25,161
- He tried. He stumbled.
- He fell.

1951
01:39:25,202 --> 01:39:27,242
He was hit with clubs

1952
01:39:27,282 --> 01:39:30,682
on his back, between his legs.

1953
01:39:30,722 --> 01:39:34,122
And he was crying out,
you know,

1954
01:39:34,162 --> 01:39:36,362
- "- Don't do this.
- Don't do this."

1955
01:39:36,401 --> 01:39:38,441
And then you could hear him
screaming

1956
01:39:38,482 --> 01:39:41,362
as he went up
through the prison.

1957
01:39:46,322 --> 01:39:49,441
It felt good that
I had survived this shit.

1958
01:39:49,482 --> 01:39:52,362
And now, I gotta look out,

1959
01:39:52,402 --> 01:39:54,682
because some more shit
is coming.

1960
01:40:00,642 --> 01:40:03,042
The inmates were entering
these corridors

1961
01:40:03,082 --> 01:40:07,562
off of the yard,
and the guards were,

1962
01:40:07,602 --> 01:40:10,762
like, five or six feet apart,
with their clubs.

1963
01:40:10,801 --> 01:40:13,882
And they would hit them
against the walls.

1964
01:40:13,922 --> 01:40:17,562
And there was just
this dull drum-like sound.

1965
01:40:17,602 --> 01:40:19,242
And then they were
hitting the inmates

1966
01:40:19,282 --> 01:40:21,282
as they ran a gauntlet.

1967
01:40:25,402 --> 01:40:27,922
We could hear the screams
coming out,

1968
01:40:27,961 --> 01:40:31,322
so that we knew that
they were being tortured,

1969
01:40:31,362 --> 01:40:35,641
and that we were somehow part
of this unthinkable scene,

1970
01:40:35,682 --> 01:40:37,482
that there was
no escaping from,

1971
01:40:37,522 --> 01:40:39,242
but was completely wrong.

1972
01:40:42,802 --> 01:40:44,642
They had guards on both sides,

1973
01:40:44,681 --> 01:40:47,082
and they would be hitting you
as you were running through,

1974
01:40:47,122 --> 01:40:49,562
beating you with hoses
and batons

1975
01:40:49,602 --> 01:40:51,281
and whatever they had
in their hands.

1976
01:40:51,322 --> 01:40:53,122
I'm ducking,
trying to get through,

1977
01:40:53,162 --> 01:40:54,642
protecting my head.

1978
01:40:54,681 --> 01:40:56,402
My shoulders got hit,
all on my arms,

1979
01:40:56,442 --> 01:40:58,882
- my elbows, my knees.
- They still hurt.

1980
01:40:58,922 --> 01:41:01,922
Beating you after making you
run through the gauntlet,

1981
01:41:01,961 --> 01:41:03,819
where they took all the glass
out the fucking windows

1982
01:41:03,842 --> 01:41:05,401
and put it
in the middle of the floor,

1983
01:41:05,442 --> 01:41:06,979
so you had to run through glass
with bare feet.

1984
01:41:07,002 --> 01:41:09,361
Nobody came out of that yard

1985
01:41:09,402 --> 01:41:12,042
with... with... picking...

1986
01:41:12,082 --> 01:41:14,601
Without having to pick glass
out of your feet for weeks.

1987
01:41:16,202 --> 01:41:19,562
- Couldn't walk.
- Nobody can walk anymore.

1988
01:41:19,602 --> 01:41:22,001
But we had to run,
because if you didn't run,

1989
01:41:22,042 --> 01:41:24,201
they just kept beating you
with these clubs.

1990
01:41:33,442 --> 01:41:35,082
The families of the hostages,

1991
01:41:35,122 --> 01:41:38,762
a lot of them waited
just outside the prison wall.

1992
01:41:38,802 --> 01:41:42,122
They're gonna get him out.-

1993
01:41:42,161 --> 01:41:44,842
Then news began
to filter out of Attica.

1994
01:41:44,881 --> 01:41:47,962
Names of freed hostages were
called out to the loved ones.

1995
01:41:48,002 --> 01:41:49,322
Bob Curtis! Lieutenant Curtis.

1996
01:41:49,362 --> 01:41:50,722
Curtis!

1997
01:41:50,762 --> 01:41:53,882
Al Robbin. Al Robbin.

1998
01:41:56,362 --> 01:41:58,362
Some didn't see
their men come out.

1999
01:41:58,402 --> 01:42:00,121
All they learned was the name
of the hospital

2000
01:42:00,162 --> 01:42:02,041
where the survivors
were being treated.

2001
01:42:02,082 --> 01:42:05,041
- There was no time to wait.
- They ran off to see their men.

2002
01:42:08,481 --> 01:42:10,922
Some people couldn't seem
to run fast enough.

2003
01:42:15,002 --> 01:42:15,922
My mom came home,

2004
01:42:15,962 --> 01:42:17,401
and she was with her sister,

2005
01:42:17,442 --> 01:42:19,601
and my mom was crying,
obviously upset.

2006
01:42:22,682 --> 01:42:24,642
I was outside,
sitting on the front porch,

2007
01:42:24,681 --> 01:42:27,801
- you know, praying and worrying.
- And "where's Dad?"

2008
01:42:27,841 --> 01:42:29,682
I expected him
to show up, you know.

2009
01:42:29,721 --> 01:42:32,162
And, um, I kept,

2010
01:42:32,201 --> 01:42:34,762
"Mom, Mom, where's Dad?

2011
01:42:34,801 --> 01:42:36,922
- What's... why are you crying?
- What's going on?"

2012
01:42:36,962 --> 01:42:40,682
When my mother came back
in the house, and, you know,

2013
01:42:40,721 --> 01:42:43,122
she said...
Now she had to fight with me...

2014
01:42:43,161 --> 01:42:45,322
Argue, I mean, you know,

2015
01:42:45,361 --> 01:42:46,802
because I didn't want
to believe it.

2016
01:42:46,842 --> 01:42:48,921
And she finally said,

2017
01:42:48,961 --> 01:42:53,242
"I saw him. I saw him!"

2018
01:42:57,002 --> 01:42:58,362
Finally, she blurted it out.

2019
01:42:58,401 --> 01:43:01,042
"Your father's dead."

2020
01:43:01,082 --> 01:43:02,682
So I ran.

2021
01:43:06,042 --> 01:43:08,922
I ran for a while,
and I came back,

2022
01:43:08,961 --> 01:43:10,402
and I was sitting
on the front porch,

2023
01:43:10,442 --> 01:43:13,361
trying to be strong
and not cry,

2024
01:43:13,402 --> 01:43:16,162
and I could hear everybody
in the house crying.

2025
01:43:16,202 --> 01:43:18,922
And I was trying
to be so tough, and...

2026
01:43:26,482 --> 01:43:29,162
- I'm sorry.
- God damn it.

2027
01:43:43,762 --> 01:43:45,082
The National Guardsmen
were told

2028
01:43:45,122 --> 01:43:47,282
to get back in their trucks,

2029
01:43:47,322 --> 01:43:50,482
and we did that and were
taken out to the parking area.

2030
01:43:50,521 --> 01:43:53,121
And a colonel then addressed
the battalion,

2031
01:43:53,162 --> 01:43:55,562
maybe several hundred men.

2032
01:43:55,601 --> 01:43:57,562
And he said, essentially,

2033
01:43:57,602 --> 01:44:02,161
"You saw things that were
excessive and wrong today,

2034
01:44:02,202 --> 01:44:05,802
and I have to ask you
not to speak of this to anyone,

2035
01:44:05,842 --> 01:44:08,042
because the world
will not understand

2036
01:44:08,081 --> 01:44:09,802
what happened here today."

2037
01:44:12,122 --> 01:44:13,642
The most violent rebellion

2038
01:44:13,681 --> 01:44:15,042
in modern American
penal history

2039
01:44:15,081 --> 01:44:16,802
came to an end today

2040
01:44:16,841 --> 01:44:18,962
at the maximum-security prison
in Attica, New York.

2041
01:44:19,002 --> 01:44:20,179
In the final hours
of the revolt,

2042
01:44:20,202 --> 01:44:21,962
led primarily by Blacks,

2043
01:44:22,002 --> 01:44:24,722
the inmates murdered nine
of their white hostages.

2044
01:44:24,762 --> 01:44:26,721
28 convicts were killed
by state troopers

2045
01:44:26,762 --> 01:44:27,961
and sheriff's deputies,

2046
01:44:28,002 --> 01:44:30,082
who regained control
of the prison.

2047
01:44:30,122 --> 01:44:31,925
The storming of the prison
had the full approval

2048
01:44:31,962 --> 01:44:33,561
of New York's
Governor Rockefeller,

2049
01:44:33,601 --> 01:44:35,602
who earlier had rejected
a prisoner demand

2050
01:44:35,641 --> 01:44:37,362
for complete clemency.

2051
01:44:37,401 --> 01:44:40,242
The White House said that,
after the prison was retaken,

2052
01:44:40,281 --> 01:44:42,162
President Nixon
telephoned the governor

2053
01:44:42,201 --> 01:44:44,922
to express his approval
of Rockefeller's action.

2054
01:45:35,561 --> 01:45:37,761
Yesterday,
officials at the prison

2055
01:45:37,802 --> 01:45:41,002
said eight of the hostages
had had their throats cut.

2056
01:45:41,041 --> 01:45:43,442
But today, the Monroe County
medical examiner,

2057
01:45:43,482 --> 01:45:45,321
having looked at the bodies,

2058
01:45:45,362 --> 01:45:47,641
said no throats were cut
at all.

2059
01:45:47,682 --> 01:45:49,602
The Medical Examiner
says the hostages

2060
01:45:49,642 --> 01:45:52,802
were apparently killed
by large-caliber ammunition

2061
01:45:52,841 --> 01:45:55,522
and shotgun blasts,
from a distance,

2062
01:45:55,562 --> 01:45:57,641
which immediately raised
the possibility

2063
01:45:57,682 --> 01:46:00,681
that some of the hostages may,
in fact, have been shot down

2064
01:46:00,722 --> 01:46:03,841
by the lawmen who broke in
to rescue them.

2065
01:46:03,882 --> 01:46:07,082
Some of the hostages
were actually shot

2066
01:46:07,121 --> 01:46:09,321
running towards
the state troopers,

2067
01:46:09,362 --> 01:46:12,041
thinking,
"I'm saved. I'm saved."

2068
01:46:12,721 --> 01:46:16,082
And the hostages were dressed
the same way the inmates were.

2069
01:46:18,002 --> 01:46:20,281
Anything that had
inmate garb on it,

2070
01:46:20,322 --> 01:46:22,522
they just started
shooting at you.

2071
01:46:25,042 --> 01:46:27,522
What Rockefeller had done

2072
01:46:27,561 --> 01:46:32,282
was treat the hostages

2073
01:46:32,322 --> 01:46:37,161
as no more real,
live human beings

2074
01:46:37,202 --> 01:46:41,121
who deserved to be respected
than the prisoners.

2075
01:46:41,162 --> 01:46:45,442
And so you kill them all,
and you restore order,

2076
01:46:45,482 --> 01:46:50,202
and you make me
into a major figure

2077
01:46:50,242 --> 01:46:52,882
who believes in law and order

2078
01:46:52,921 --> 01:46:55,801
at a time
when that concept

2079
01:46:55,842 --> 01:46:59,722
is beginning
to really take hold.

2080
01:47:21,682 --> 01:47:25,001
It should have ended
in a negotiated settlement.

2081
01:47:25,042 --> 01:47:26,442
No, they weren't interested
in that.

2082
01:47:26,482 --> 01:47:28,482
They were interesting
in showing

2083
01:47:28,522 --> 01:47:30,162
the naked fist of power.

2084
01:47:30,201 --> 01:47:33,241
Law and order.

2085
01:47:33,282 --> 01:47:34,458
The national mindset
of the nation

2086
01:47:34,481 --> 01:47:36,921
was law and order.

2087
01:47:36,961 --> 01:47:40,761
And law and order
does not permit

2088
01:47:40,801 --> 01:47:44,002
any challenge

2089
01:47:44,042 --> 01:47:46,442
to its authority whatsoever.

2090
01:47:46,482 --> 01:47:48,481
God willing, a few more months,
in January,

2091
01:47:48,522 --> 01:47:50,921
I'll be 90 years old.

2092
01:47:50,962 --> 01:47:53,801
I will never, ever, ever, ever,

2093
01:47:53,842 --> 01:47:58,522
ever, ever, ever forget Attica.

2094
01:47:58,562 --> 01:48:02,202
Ever.

2095
01:48:02,242 --> 01:48:06,561
It didn't have to be that way.

2096
01:48:47,281 --> 01:48:50,082
All eight cases

2097
01:48:50,122 --> 01:48:54,001
died of gunshot wounds.

2098
01:48:54,042 --> 01:48:56,802
There was no evidence
of slashed throats.

2099
01:49:18,082 --> 01:49:19,962
I've never received an apology.

2100
01:49:21,242 --> 01:49:22,842
I've never received an apology,

2101
01:49:22,882 --> 01:49:24,263
and for me,
that's a pretty big deal.

2102
01:49:26,162 --> 01:49:29,801
So come.

2103
01:49:29,842 --> 01:49:32,482
To me.

2104
01:49:32,522 --> 01:49:35,961
What does money do
when you don't have your dad,

2105
01:49:36,001 --> 01:49:38,282
or your brother,
or your uncle?

2106
01:49:41,321 --> 01:49:44,282
How does that
replace anything?

2107
01:49:44,322 --> 01:49:48,082
And I think it was
the state's way of saying,

2108
01:49:48,122 --> 01:49:49,522
"We're gonna give you
this money,

2109
01:49:49,561 --> 01:49:51,282
and we want you to go away."

2110
01:49:51,321 --> 01:49:56,001
Beyond the blue.

2111
01:49:56,042 --> 01:49:59,602
Then my.

2112
01:49:59,642 --> 01:50:03,522
True love.

2113
01:50:03,561 --> 01:50:08,322
Will come shining through.

2114
01:50:08,361 --> 01:50:09,922
For nearly 30 years,

2115
01:50:09,962 --> 01:50:12,762
former Attica inmates
have waited for justice.

2116
01:50:12,802 --> 01:50:14,442
Today, it finally came

2117
01:50:14,482 --> 01:50:17,562
in the form
of a $12 million settlement.

2118
01:50:17,602 --> 01:50:20,242
- And be.
- And be.

2119
01:50:20,281 --> 01:50:22,761
My love.

2120
01:50:22,802 --> 01:50:25,562
There was never justice.

2121
01:50:25,602 --> 01:50:27,482
All we got was money.

2122
01:50:27,522 --> 01:50:29,922
And money wasn't enough.

2123
01:50:29,962 --> 01:50:31,442
Then you can't justify
all the killings

2124
01:50:31,482 --> 01:50:33,002
that happened in Attica.

2125
01:50:33,041 --> 01:50:34,722
You can't justify it.

2126
01:50:34,762 --> 01:50:37,242
- And so there's no justice.
- There was never justice.

2127
01:50:37,281 --> 01:50:40,202
The sun.

2128
01:50:40,242 --> 01:50:44,042
Will shine.

2129
01:50:44,082 --> 01:50:47,721
Beyond.

2130
01:50:47,762 --> 01:50:51,322
The blue.

2131
01:50:51,362 --> 01:50:54,882
Then my.

2132
01:50:54,922 --> 01:50:58,561
True love.

2133
01:50:58,602 --> 01:51:03,242
Will come shining through.

2134
01:51:05,521 --> 01:51:09,842
- So come.
- So come to me.

2135
01:51:09,882 --> 01:51:12,202
On bended knee.

2136
01:51:12,241 --> 01:51:15,602
- And be.
- And be.

2137
01:51:15,642 --> 01:51:19,241
My love.

2138
01:51:19,282 --> 01:51:23,481
- For as long.
- For just as long, baby.

2139
01:51:23,521 --> 01:51:26,762
As you are mine.

2140
01:51:26,801 --> 01:51:29,082
I know the sun.

2141
01:51:29,121 --> 01:51:32,281
Will shine