[Angelahh]

It's been two decades this month since the longest deadly prison riot in U.S. history broke out in southern Ohio and there's trepidation in the air.

1993 Riot
On Easter Sunday, April 11, 1993, 450 Lucasville prisoners, including an unlikely alliance of the Aryan Brotherhood and Gangster Disciples, rioted and took over the facility for 11 days. The main causes apparently were serious overcrowding and mismanagement of the facility and discontent in the general population that the authorities were going to force Muslim prisoners to undergo tuberculosis vaccinations in violation of their religious beliefs. Investigations conducted after the riot found that the gangs were also collaborating to murder inmates accused of being informants. Nine inmates and one corrections officer were killed.

During negotiations, the inmates did not feel they were being taken seriously, and there was discussion of killing a guard in retaliation. Though the group never reached a decision on the killing, one of the prisoners decided it was time to take action. Officer Robert Vallandingham, whom they had taken hostage, was handcuffed and strangled with a dumbbell from the prison weight room.

Testimonies vary as to which prisoner was responsible for his murder. During those eleven days, representatives from the Sunni Muslims, Aryan Brotherhood, and Gangster Disciples met every day in an improvised leadership council.

Five prisoners, Bomani Shakur (Keith Lamar), Siddique Abdullah Hasan (Carlos Sanders), Jason Robb, George Skatzes, and Namir Abdul Mateen (James Were), were sentenced to death as a result.

Fears of Riot to Repeat
In the 20 years since April 11, 1993, Ohio’s prisons have spent millions of dollars, installed thousands of cameras and written hundreds of policies to ensure the Lucasville riots are never repeated.

However, the ratio of inmates to guards inside Ohio's prisons has crept up again after a dip that followed the 11-day siege at Lucasville's Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in 1993.

Double-bunking inmates, a trigger in the uprising that left one corrections officer and nine inmates dead, is back in use at a prison in Toledo. Serious assaults requiring outside medical attention have jumped from an average of three per year to 16 last year, and gang membership, while down slightly, stands at 16 percent.

Paul Goldberg, past executive director of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, which represents unionized corrections officers, said "the red flags are there" that existed in 1993 but were ignored.

Luke Van Sickle, president of the prison guards' union at Lucasville, said the shadow of the riot is always present at the 1,625-acre prison, where 1,365 inmates are housed. That's down about 500 inmates from 1993.

"You'll constantly hear comments of 'Well, we're going to repeat '93.' They'll whisper that as they go down the hallway and pass you," he said. "As far as security, it's business as usual (for the anniversary). But everyone's on edge."

Van Sickle also mentioned reduced staffing — including in Lucasville guard towers — and tougher qualifications for staff retirement as strains on the system. There's also concern over a proposal to privatize Ohio's prison food service and potentially cut back the volume or quality of meals.

1993 Riot Pics Below

[icheerthebull]

Thanks there was a book on this that I was meaning to buy, thanks for the reminder (can't remember the name of it now)

[Johnny Wadd]

It was a long winded affair,no where near as nasty as the New Mexico State Penitentiary riot.

That was fucking gruesome

[Angelahh]

Originally Posted by Johnny Wadd ↗

It was a long winded affair,no where near as nasty as the New Mexico State Penitentiary riot.

That was fucking gruesome

Never heard of it but looked it up wow

The Penitentiary of New Mexico Prison Riot, which took place on February 2 and 3, 1980, in the state's maximum security prison south of Santa Fe, was one of the most violent prison riots in the history of the American correctional system: 33 inmates died and more than 200 inmates were treated for injuries. None of the 12 officers taken hostage were killed, but seven were treated for injuries caused by beatings and rapes. This was the third major riot at the NM State Penitentiary, the first occurring on 19 July 1922 and the second on 15 June 1953.

No cop deaths but rape! And 33 dead inmates in two days! yikes... Hey and this NM Riot was the 3rd there so maybe the Ohio one needs a few more goes before they can top this

[Johnny Wadd]

Originally Posted by Angelahh ↗

Never heard of it but looked it up wow



No cop deaths but rape! And 33 dead inmates in two days! yikes... Hey and this NM Riot was the 3rd there so maybe the Ohio one needs a few more goes before they can top this

Have posted in the Documentary section

[condor5]

Originally Posted by Angelahh ↗

Never heard of it but looked it up wow



No cop deaths but rape! And 33 dead inmates in two days! yikes... Hey and this NM Riot was the 3rd there so maybe the Ohio one needs a few more goes before they can top this

52 dead, there were 19 unaccounted for, many remains were burnt to cinders or smashed into tiny pieces, then burnt.

[depraved1]

Crazy, interesting stuff!