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Book Review: Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
Loaded on Nov. 7, 2016
published in Prison Legal News
November, 2016, page 32
Filed under:
Guard Misconduct,
Government Misconduct,
Commentary/Reviews,
Prison Rebellion,
Conditions of Confinement,
Guard Brutality/Beatings.
Location:
New York.
Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy, by Dr. Heather Ann Thompson
(Pantheon Books, 2016). 752 pages, $24.00 (hardcover)
Book review by Alan Mills
Anyone who wants to understand mass incarceration needs to understand Attica. And anyone who wants to understand Attica must read …
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More from this issue:
- When Prison is Not Enough: The Rise (and Perhaps the Fall) of the Supermax Prison
- Local Jails Increasingly Refuse to Comply with ICE Detainers, by Joe Watson
- Maryland DOC Suspends Volunteer, Drops Literature Program
- Oregon “Incorrigible Masturbator’s” Life Sentence Unconstitutionally Disproportionate, by Mark Wilson
- Ohio Federal Court Dismisses Suit Against Doctor Over Prisoner’s Suicide
- Maryland Prisoner’s Death Occurs Under Unusual Circumstances
- Rare Corporate Prosecution: West Virginia’s “King of Coal” Sentenced for Conspiracy in Mine Deaths
- Alabama Prisoner Exonerated after Serving 30 Years on Death Row
- Former Pennsylvania Prison Doctor Sentenced for Fraud; Accomplices Convicted
- Mold-infested Prisons Sicken Guards and Prisoners
- Nevada Attorney General Investigates Shooting of Two Handcuffed Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Company Offers Educational Tablets to Prisoners, with Mixed Results, by Matthew Clarke
- United Kingdom: Prison Book Ban Overturned, by Derek Gilna
- Full Senate Report on CIA Torture Remains Classified, Largely Unread, by Matthew Clarke
- Corrections Corporation of America, Rocked by Setbacks, Changes its Name, by Derek Gilna
- CDCR Drug-sniffing Dog Trainer Resigns Over Switch to “Passive” Dogs, by Joe Watson
- Colorado’s “Make My Day” Law No Longer Applies to Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Canadian Solitary Confinement Deaths Result in Rare Lawsuits, Eventual Reforms, by Mark Wilson
- Pennsylvania: Former Cop Indefinitely Jailed for Failure to Supply Passwords
- Justice Policy Institute Report Challenges Reformers to Focus on Violent Crimes, by Derek Gilna
- Arkansas Secretary of State Issues Faulty Felon Data, Thousands Purged from Electoral Rolls
- Federal Judge Sanctions Idaho DOC for Misleading Special Master in Balla Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Illinois Jail Detainee’s Inadequate Food and Contaminated Water Claims Survive Initial Dismissal
- Preliminary Injunction Granted in Class-action Suit Challenging Private Probation Services in Tennessee, by David Reutter
- Eleventh Circuit Reverses Finding that Seizure of Prisoner’s Legal Mail Stated Claim
- Wisconsin: Prison Hunger Strike Reaches Crisis Point
- Settlement Comprehensively Overhauls Solitary Confinement in New York Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- Inquisitorial Telephonic Hearing to Screen Civil Rights Case Deemed Unlawful
- The Rape Victims Silenced by Their Prison Cells
- Arkansas Court of Appeals Upholds Civil Forfeiture Ruling
- Southern Health Partners to Face Liability in Kentucky Pre-trial Detainee’s MRSA Death
- Challenge to Ohio Private Prison Confinement Not Cognizable in Habeas Corpus, by Mark Wilson
- Fifth Circuit Holds Four Decades in Solitary Confinement Implicates Liberty Interest; Last Angola 3 Member Finally Released, by Matthew Clarke
- Book Review: Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
- Federal Prisoner Tells President “No Thanks” to Offer of Clemency with RDAP Condition, by Derek Gilna
- Tenth Circuit: No Summary Judgment on Official Capacity Claims, by Mark Wilson
- Allocation of Fault Required in Verdict Regarding Alaska Detainee’s Suicide; Case Settles for $900,000
- Federal Court Upholds New York Prison System’s Denial of Motorized Wheelchairs; Second Circuit Reverses, by Matthew Clarke
- Oregon Parole Board Incorrectly Prohibited Legal Assistant from Speaking at Parole Hearing, by Mark Wilson
- ACLU Sues California as Incompetent Defendants Wait in Jail for Mental Health Treatment, by Joe Watson
- Collecting Unpaid Booking Fees in Colorado may be Illegal, Experts Say, by Joe Watson
- Alaska Prisons and Jails Filled with Mentally Ill Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Death Penalty Moratorium, by David Reutter
- Indiana Federal Court Certifies Habeas Corpus Class of Prisoners Disciplined for Refusing to Admit Guilt in Sex Offender Program, by Matthew Clarke
- Hunger Strikes by Immigrant Detainees Expose Abuses by ICE, Private Detention Centers, by Joe Watson
- Federal Judge Orders Texas Department of Criminal Justice to Provide Safe Water to Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Oregon Prison Parenting Program Dramatically Reduces Recidivism, by Mark Wilson
- Class-action Certified in Challenge to Treatment of Mentally Ill Mississippi Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Supervised Release Term Does Not Limit Prison Sentence Upon Violation
- Wayward Prosecutors Go Unpunished as Prison Time for Victims Piles Up
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- News in Brief
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- Suit Filed Over Fatal Beating of New York Prisoner That Sparked Massive Guard Strike, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Male Reproductive, Malpractice, Escapes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
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- Former Maine Prison Guard Arrested and Detained by ICE Agents, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Guards/Staff, Immigration Law/Offenses.
- $6.75 Million Settlement Reached in Suit Accusing Massachusetts Guards of Retaliatory Assaults on Prisoners, Aug. 1, 2025. Racial Discrimination, Retaliation, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- Multiple Prisoner Suits Accuse Guards of Violence at Virginia BOP Lockup, Aug. 1, 2025. Racial Discrimination, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Discrimination (Transgender).
- SCOTUS Clamps Down on Bivens Extension to Prisoner Beaten by BOP Guards at Virginia Lockup, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Bivens Actions.
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