ATTICA: 34 Years Later...

[Dali Llama]

New York state employees victimized in Attica prison riot reach proposed settlement


ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Gov. George Pataki has reached a $12 million settlement with surviving state workers and relatives of workers who were killed during the 1971 inmate uprising at Attica prison and the violent retaking of the facility, a lawyer for the victims said Thursday night.

An initial $2 million payment would be followed by $10 million over the next five years, said Gary Horton, who represents the Forgotten Victims of Attica group.

The proposal is subject to approval by state lawmakers. A referee would determine how the money is distributed among about 50 eligible families.

The four-day uprising involving nearly 1,300 inmates erupted after several months of complaints about conditions at the prison in western New York. It ended in the deaths of 32 inmates and 11 prison employees, most of whom were killed after Gov. Nelson Rockefeller ordered state troopers and National Guardsmen to storm the prison.

The state employees and their survivors have argued that they deserve compensation because they were victimized by a chain of events started when inmates began the criminal act of rioting.

The survivors of state employees said they were initially misled into accepting workers' compensation benefits. Once they accepted the checks, they legally relinquished their right to sue the state for misconduct.

In 2000, a federal judge directed the distribution of $8 million for 502 inmate victims of the violence or their families. Inmates said they were subjected to excessive use of force during the retaking of the prison and brutality afterward.

[Shorty]

And the lawyers got, how much of that?  

[Nightrain52]

You can just about bet Shorty the lawyers got most of it especialy if it was a class action suit. As for the families of the guards and prison employees they should be entitled to some form of compensation. As for the injured prisoners if they don't like the treatment give up the life of crime and stay out of jail. :eek:  :shock:

[Dali Llama]

As for the families of the guards and prison employees they should be entitled to some form of compensation.

Yes, workers' compensation, not gargantuan tort liability settlement, say Dali Llama. :twisted:  :x  :evil:

[ironglow]

At the time of that riot, I was living about 20 miles from the that place.
I was working construction at the time, and while the "hostages" were being held on the infamous " elevated crosswalk", myself and two others (all varmint hunters) attempted to offer our services.
   At that time, there were no publicly announced swat teams, so a few volunteer snipers seemed useful.
   As it turned out, we could get no closer than 300 yards to the walls and could only offer such to the state policeman that turned us away.
 
   There were some local reporters that witnessed the storming of the prison and their initial reports within the first 3-4 hours after the storming differed greatly from followup reports.
   Initially, one reporter present said that the inmates slashed the throats of some of the hostages...later the same reporter denied he said such!
  A local doctor who was one of the first to encounter some of the wounded and dead concurred.....while the official state med examiner later disagreed completely....and the local doctor clammed up...go figure...

    I presume, as Rush says, " follow the money trail"!

   Some guards were killed and some greviously wounded....compensation and suits were sure to follow....who would have deeper pockets, the state or some inmate?
 
  I knew some of the guards, one in particular whom was considered to be a "wonderful person" even by most of the inmates (and knowing him,  I agree). He was , from what I understand...treated in a most cruel manner ....so the inmates could emphasize that they meant serious business .

   There were rumors shortly after the riot was quelled about tortures and even castrations of some of the guards...I cannot confirm or deny such.

  I do know that many of the guards never went back, including the one who is an especially nice guy.

   I have two nephews that work (guards) in the system; one in an adjunct prison immediately behind the infamous  complex and the other more toward the center of the state.
 
      I was once involved in a weekly ministry at that place. It is a very noisy, uncomfortable place and there are many there who need help...but remember: Attica is the place where the
"baddest of the bad" are also placed...
 I now live about 40 miles from there, in a different county .

     Just food for thought!

[Dali Llama]

  There were rumors shortly after the riot was quelled about tortures and even castrations of some of the guards...

:twisted:  :evil:  :x