On Blood in the Water by Heather Ann Thompson published in two thousand sixteen:
What does injustice look like? How does it feel?
Heather Ann Thompson is a historian and university professor who has written three books covering protests against racism in America. Her third book won the Pulitzer Prize for chronicling The Attica Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy.
It’s 1971, just after the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s. People are angry, including those who live and work in America’s prisons. It’s already tense at a New York State prison when stupidity and systemic error allows a little fear to trigger a cascade of violence.
Thompson gives comprehensive context to those traumatic days in 1971. Some seek a peaceful resolution, but 43 people are killed: 4 by inmates, 39 by police. Over 100 of the 1300 inmates are wounded. Inmates of Attica Facility vs. Rockefeller is elevated to the [Second Circuit] Court where the Department of Justice denies “…the inmates’ application for preliminary injunction against alleged violations of constitutional rights…insofar as the complaint sought permanent injunctive relief…”(453 F.2d 12, 1971). The [Second Circuit] Court refused to extend the rights of citizens to criminals.
But, the Department of Justice did grant “…an order permitting the action to be maintained as a class suit on behalf of all inmates…” (453 F.2d 12, 1971). A class action lawsuit is filed in 1975 and settled 25 years later for $12 million. Former prisoners and their families receive $8 million while the remaining $4 million must be paid to cover the cost of the lawyers and employees who worked the case.
Blood in the Water is a tough read that illustrates racism and injustice. The people who committed these crimes and upheld these decisions were convinced to do what they did. But conviction is not the same thing as justice. So, what does justice look and feel like?
Sources:
Attica suit settled for $12 million | Prison Legal News. (n.d.). https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2000/jun/15/attica-suit-settled-for-12-million/
Conway, C., LLM. (n.d.). Inmates of Attica Correctional Facility v. Rockefeller: United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 477 F.2d 375 (1973). quimbee.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024, from https://www.quimbee.com/cases/inmates-of-attica-correctional-facility-v-rockefeller
Thompson, H. A. (2016). Blood in the water: the Attica prison uprising of 1971 and its legacy. First edition. New York, Pantheon Books.
453 F.2d 12. (1971, December 1). Inmates, Attica Correctional Fac v. Rockefeller, 453 F.2d 12, 19 (2d Cir. 1971) https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/453/453.F2d.12.71-1994.71-1931.284.334.html
Deliberating Truth 