Qualla: Attica Prison https://qualla.com/attica-prison en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/8/7/attica-prison-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: Attica Prison https://qualla.com/attica-prison Attica Prison: Introduction https://qualla.com/attica-prison/ Photo credit Pooley1999, CC BY-SA 3.0. On September 9, 1971, inmates at Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York seized control of the prison, taking 42 staff members hostage and occupying D Yard. For four days, the rebellion made national news. Inmates, mostly Black and Latino, demanded basic human rights: better food, more showers, religious freedom, an end to brutal treatment. They negotiated with officials, journalists, and observers. Governor Nelson Rockefeller refused to visit. On September 13, he ordered the retaking of the prison. State troopers stormed Attica with rifles, shotguns, and tear gas. When the shooting stopped, 43 people were dead - 29 inmates and 10 hostages. The state initially claimed inmates had killed the hostages by cutting their throats. Autopsies revealed the truth: nearly all had been shot by troopers. Attica became synonymous with the failures of American incarceration and the violence the state will use to maintain control.

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/8/7/attica-prison-wk/dr87-attica-prison-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Attica Prison: The Prison https://qualla.com/attica-prison/ Photo credit Pooley1999, CC BY-SA 3.0. Attica Correctional Facility, built in the 1930s, held 2,200 inmates in a facility designed for 1,600. The population was 54% Black, 9% Puerto Rican - guarded by an entirely white staff. Conditions were brutal: one shower per week, one roll of toilet paper per month, censored mai...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/8/7/attica-prison-wk/dr87-attica-prison-the-prison.mp3 0:06 2 full Attica Prison: The Occupation https://qualla.com/attica-prison/ Photo credit Pooley1999, CC BY-SA 3.0. Within hours, inmates controlled D Yard, a large open area in the prison's center. They held 42 hostages - guards and civilian employees. Leaders emerged: L.D. Barkley, a 21-year-old who would become the uprising's voice, read a list of demands into television cameras. The inmate...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/8/7/attica-prison-wk/dr87-attica-prison-the-occupation.mp3 0:06 3 full Attica Prison: The Assault https://qualla.com/attica-prison/ Photo credit Pooley1999, CC BY-SA 3.0. Governor Rockefeller refused to come to Attica. He wouldn't negotiate with criminals. On September 13, he authorized the retaking of the prison. At 9:46 AM, state police helicopters dropped CS gas into D Yard. Then 550 state troopers, sheriffs' deputies, and correctional officers...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/8/7/attica-prison-wk/dr87-attica-prison-the-assault.mp3 0:06 4 full Attica Prison: The Aftermath https://qualla.com/attica-prison/ Photo credit Pooley1999, CC BY-SA 3.0. The truth about Attica emerged slowly. All deaths were caused by the assault, almost all by state gunfire. No weapons capable of causing the hostages' wounds were found among inmates. The state's lie had been deliberate. Investigations followed: a special commission, a grand jury...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/8/7/attica-prison-wk/dr87-attica-prison-the-aftermath.mp3 0:06 5 full Attica Prison: Visiting Attica https://qualla.com/attica-prison/ Photo credit Pooley1999, CC BY-SA 3.0. Attica Correctional Facility is located in the town of Attica, New York, about 35 miles east of Buffalo. The prison is not open to visitors except for scheduled visitation of inmates. The imposing gray walls and guard towers are visible from Exchange Street. There is no memorial ...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/r/8/7/attica-prison-wk/dr87-attica-prison-visiting-attica.mp3 0:06 6 full