Blood in the Water

“It was past time, they believed, to get tough on anyone who bucked authority, and even tougher on anyone who had broken a law.” 

This is a summary of the view held by Mancusi, and many on the political right, in the early 1970s. They believed 1960s permissiveness had encouraged a lack of respect for traditional authority both within and outside prisons. The solution was to restrict freedoms and increase the severity of punishments for lawbreakers.

“Rockefeller, a Cold Warrior to his core, viewed any prisoner agitation as part of a larger leftist plot, just ‘one more step toward the ultimate destruction of the country.’”

Thompson refers here to Rockefeller’s theory about the true cause of unrest in New York prisons. Influenced by Cold War paranoia, he believed that such agitation was really the product of a broader socialist or communist conspiracy. The purpose of such a conspiracy was to eradicate the American way of life.

“We are trying to do this in a democratic fashion.” 

This is a comment from a letter on behalf of the Attica Liberation Faction to commissioner Oswald. This was a group seeking reforms and improvements to conditions at Attica. The comment stresses that they are pursuing this without resort to strikes or violence. However, there is an implied warning about what will happen if the “democratic” means fail to bring about change.

“We are men: We are not beasts and we do not intend to be beaten or driven as such.”

From a televised speech in D Yard by L.D. Barkley, this statement expresses the deeper sentiment behind the prisoners’ more specific and concrete demands—that is, that they are men, not monsters, and therefore deserve to be treated with dignity.

“I haven’t seen the stars in twenty-two years.” 

This is a comment by one prisoner in D Yard on the night of the revolt. On one level, it is a literal statement revealing the joy in being able to see the night sky after so long. On another, it reflects the newfound sense of possibility and freedom brought about by the uprising.

“Tom Wicker and most of the other observers simply took it for granted that no one wanted ‘the irrationality of bloodshed and death.’” 

This expresses what, in retrospect, seems like a naïve sentiment. Namely, no matter the apparent difficulty in negotiations between prisoners and state, a compromise had to be made because a violent retaking was not in the interests of anyone.

“In his view, ‘Seale’s absorption in an abstract if genuine cause had dulled in him the sense of humanity that had first drawn him to the cause.”’ 

A comment made by journalist and observers committee member Tom Wicker. This was after Seale, a leader in the Black Panther Party, had reluctantly, and half-heartedly, spoken to the prisoners in D Yard. Wicker suggests that Seale had lost touch with the plight of the people he claimed to represent.

“State Senator Dunne had been right when he predicted that Rockefeller would decide it was too politically costly to make the trip.” 

Rockefeller had been asked by the observers committee to attend Attica in person. They hoped his presence, as New York State’s highest official, might convince prisoners that state promises of clemency would be honored. Rockefeller believed, though, that because of the “tough on crime” persona he was trying to cultivate, it was not in his political self-interest to do so.

“He knew that troopers had a lot more experience stopping speeders than storming a prison.” 

Thompson imagines the thoughts of a state trooper on the eve of the Attica retaking. This quote reflects a sense of misgiving about the next day’s action. Despite being relieved to be finally going in, the men involved were not properly prepared or trained for the operation

“No matter where he looked, all he could see was blood and water.”

Prisoner James Lee Asbury described the scene in D Yard a mere 10 minutes after the retaking had begun. The quote reveals, in graphic but poetic terms, the horror of the massacre unfolding at Attica. This quote is also the inspiration for the title of the book.

“I think I have some feeling now of how Truman must have felt when he decided to drop the A-bomb.” 

These were Oswald’s thoughts in the immediate aftermath of the retaking about the decision he had made to authorize the assault. Comparing himself to Truman can be seen as hyperbolic, narcissistic, and self-justifying, yet it also reflects a genuine sense that Oswald was conflicted about his own role in events.

“However, there were reporters who felt guilty about the lies they had perpetuated and sought to grapple in print with reasons why they had proceeded with their stories.” 

Thompson discusses the response of journalists to revelations about state lies. They had accepted claims about prisoner atrocities that had, because of Edland’s autopsies, been proven false. Many sought simply to exonerate themselves. Others tried interrogating the prejudices that had led them to be so uncritical of what the state had said.

“He ‘warned that major prison upheavals would recur in New York State prisons unless a separate institution was opened for inmates he described as hard core revolutionaries.’” 

This is part of a priest’s speech at the funeral of slain hostage Carl Valone. Echoing a common conservative view, he asserts that the uprising and its bloody aftermath were caused by left-wing militants. Thus, they needed to be isolated from other prisoners if further revolts were to be averted.

“Dunne had steadfastly maintained that there was ‘no basis’ for Warden Mancusi’s belief in a conspiracy influenced by Marxists, Maoists, and far-leftists, enhanced by an atmosphere of permissiveness in the outside world.” 

The Pepper Commission was a federal body set up to investigate the causes of the uprising at Attica. The Commission interviewed inmates and guards and looked into conditions at the prison. State Senator John Dunne, on the commission, concluded that there was no evidence for Rockefeller’s and Mancusi’s belief that the revolt had been part of a left-wing plot.

“The decision to retake the prison was not a quixotic effort to rescue the hostages in the midst of 1,200 inmates; it was a decisive reassertion of the state of its sovereignty and power.” 

A comment from another commission set up to investigate events at Attica, the McKay Commission, was more critical of the state than other investigative groups had been and tried to protect prisoner rights. It concluded that the retaking of Attica, and its violent nature, was about re-asserting state authority.

“Politics belonged in the courtroom.” 

ABLD member Elizabeth Fink expresses her opinion on the relationship between politics and the law. This statement was connected to a disagreement among ABLD lawyers about how best to defend the indicted Attica inmates. Liberal lawyers believed in pursuing a traditional legal defense and putting politics to one side. Radical lawyers, meanwhile, held that lawyers needed to present the cases in a broader political and social context.

“Someone needed to pay for William Quinn’s death.” 

Despite the flimsiness of the state’s case against prisoner John Hill, accused of murdering CO William Quinn, the jury found him guilty. This was a huge blow to his lawyer, William Kunstler, and the ABLD. However, Thompson suggests that the verdict had little to do with legal strategy and everything to do with a sense that someone had to be punished for this specific death.

“Everyone was relieved that the indictment ordeal was over.” 

Thompson describes the reaction of Attica prisoners to news of Governor Carey’s amnesty in 1976. On one level they were happy that no more inmates would serve time because of the uprising. However, there was still a sense that justice had not been served.

“He and the state of New York had done their best to bury the bodies.” 

Carey’s offer of amnesty to all those involved in Attica appeared magnanimous. However, a key motivation had been to protect law enforcement and people in positions of power within the state. In this sense, Carey was perpetuating the initial cover-up that Malcom Bell had exposed.

“He did not in fact have the legal power to pardon anyone in advance of a possible conviction.” 

Thompson comments on the true legal standing of Carey’s amnesty. He did not have the authority to prevent future convictions but only to pardon those that had already taken place. As such, it was still legally possible for ex-Attica prisoners to pursue claims of compensation against the state.

“The biggest barrier to settling with the plaintiffs was ‘the idea that it would be tantamount to an apology.”

After the ex-Attica prisoners won the liability trial, the case was supposed to proceed to a damages trial. The state was dragging its feet, and so an out-of-court settlement was suggested. State reluctance over this had little to do with the money itself; rather, it was spurred by concerns that a settlement would be seen as an admission of guilt.

“But the experiences these men shared with Telesca indicated that there was no amount of money that could truly compensate for this level of emotional and physical trauma.” 

At the hearing, presided over by Judge Telesca, to determine how the settlement offered by the state would be divided, ex-prisoners were encouraged to tell their stories. Their accounts of torture and abuse in the retaking and its aftermath could never truly be compensated for. However, the prisoners had finally been listened to and believed.

“There was no admission of responsibility, let alone an apology to any prisoner or hostage who had suffered the retaking.”

Despite compensation being paid both to the FVOA and the prisoners, the state never officially apologized for Attica. Thompson notes how this fact made any true sense of closure for the victims difficult. This is especially the case given that the state is continuing to keep key documents secret.