Violence

Collective Violence

The American Correctional Association defines a prison riot as an incident in which administrators lose control of a significant number of inmates (15 or more) in a significant area of a penal institution for a significant period of time. Riots often result in property damage and/or personal injuries. They are more likely to occur in maximum-security prisons, in larger prisons, and in older facilities; when there is decreased contact between warden and inmates; when inmates feel that their living conditions are inadequate; and in punitive/administrative segregation units within prisons. In the 20th century, more than 1,300 riots occurred in American prisons.

Historically, the root causes of prison riots have varied; they have included dissatisfaction with living conditions, racial tensions, rage, conflicts between inmates or between inmates and correctional staff, and legal status. As the nature of prison confinement has changed and the type of authority that correctional administrators may exercise over inmates has altered, so too have perceptions of the motives and causes of prison riots changed. During the 1940s and 1950s, prison riots were seen as expressions of inmate frustration and as a collective response to brutal and crowded living conditions. The inmate subculture was unified in opposition to prison authorities.

In the 1960s, race became a major cause of prison riots in the United States, as Black Muslim inmates demanded the ability to practice their religious beliefs while incarcerated. As black citizens in the free community demanded equal citizenship, so did black citizens confined in the nation's prisons. Integration of black and white inmates in prisons, especially in the South, aggravated already heightened racial tensions, and race riots occurred. During the height of the prisoners' rights movement, between 1971 and 1983, a total of 260 prison riots took place in 35 U.S. states. California reported 80 riots, Florida reported 34 riots, and Virginia reported 18 riots during this period. In most of these disturbances no hostages were involved, and no injuries occurred; most lasted less than 12 hours.

The two most violent prison riots in U.S. history took place at Attica State Prison in New York in 1971 and at New Mexico State Penitentiary in 1980. At Attica, 43 individuals were killed, 39 of whom died during state officials' attempt to regain control of the prison. The New Mexico riot resulted in the deaths of 33 inmates at the hands of other prisoners. The riot at Attica was the result of increasing political awareness on the part of prison inmates, who organized and raised concerns regarding their political and civil rights. However, the riot at the New Mexico prison grew out of inmates' rage over the prison administration's use of a system of inmate informants to maintain control of the inmate population. The destruction of parts of that facility and the targeting of inmates [Page 996]believed to be “snitches” for the administration are further evidence of that motive.

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