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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:48,241 --> 00:00:51,922 Something always was ready to happen at Attica. 2 00:00:54,362 --> 00:00:56,361 The population was tired. 3 00:01:00,441 --> 00:01:03,442 Tired of lies, of promises. 4 00:01:05,961 --> 00:01:07,201 We were tired. 5 00:01:09,521 --> 00:01:12,162 Someone hit the guard. 6 00:01:12,202 --> 00:01:14,441 And after you hit a guard, it's over. 7 00:01:14,482 --> 00:01:16,602 But then all hell broke loose. 8 00:01:23,521 --> 00:01:24,962 I'm in the metal shop. 9 00:01:25,001 --> 00:01:26,842 We start hearing these sirens going off. 10 00:01:26,882 --> 00:01:28,298 I said, "Damn, what the hell is this?" 11 00:01:28,321 --> 00:01:29,562 I was in the shower. 12 00:01:29,602 --> 00:01:32,442 I came out, I'm soaking wet, 13 00:01:32,482 --> 00:01:33,801 and the place is going crazy. 14 00:01:33,842 --> 00:01:36,202 And all of a sudden, 15 00:01:36,241 --> 00:01:38,762 I seen the metal shop door open, 16 00:01:38,802 --> 00:01:40,962 and I seen guys come running in there 17 00:01:41,002 --> 00:01:43,362 with great big pipes and knives. 18 00:01:43,401 --> 00:01:45,002 And before you knew it, 19 00:01:45,041 --> 00:01:46,722 everybody was running all over the place. 20 00:01:46,762 --> 00:01:51,402 Then you started seeing people sticking their faces 21 00:01:51,442 --> 00:01:54,282 through the broken windows and saying, 22 00:01:54,322 --> 00:01:55,818 - "- Grab the guards! - Grab the guards! 23 00:01:55,842 --> 00:01:57,562 - Grab the keys! - Get the keys!" 24 00:01:57,602 --> 00:01:59,322 There's guards that are getting beat up. 25 00:01:59,362 --> 00:02:02,601 Anybody that fell in your hand that was part 26 00:02:02,642 --> 00:02:05,362 of the administration was gonna get a beatdown. 27 00:02:05,402 --> 00:02:08,562 Here's my opportunity to fight those who beat me down now, 28 00:02:08,601 --> 00:02:11,202 'cause I'm with a whole lot of killers now. 29 00:02:11,241 --> 00:02:12,842 It's us versus them. 30 00:02:12,881 --> 00:02:15,201 - I just jumped in there. - I didn't plan anything. 31 00:02:15,242 --> 00:02:16,841 I wasn't that type of thinker. 32 00:02:16,882 --> 00:02:19,522 - I was kicking the police's ass. - I felt good about it. 33 00:02:19,562 --> 00:02:21,002 It would have ended right there, 34 00:02:21,042 --> 00:02:22,601 because they were in a confined area, 35 00:02:22,642 --> 00:02:26,122 locks on the block, locks here, Times Square was locked, 36 00:02:26,161 --> 00:02:28,842 but the prisoners went back towards Times Square 37 00:02:28,882 --> 00:02:31,722 and began to yank on the gates. 38 00:02:31,762 --> 00:02:35,402 All the four blocks met at Times Square. 39 00:02:35,442 --> 00:02:37,961 In the context of the layout of the prison, 40 00:02:38,002 --> 00:02:40,321 Times Square is the hub, 41 00:02:40,362 --> 00:02:42,722 the central hub of the prison. 42 00:02:46,282 --> 00:02:47,561 The morning of the riot, 43 00:02:47,602 --> 00:02:50,002 my father was in Times Square. 44 00:02:50,041 --> 00:02:53,201 He had keys to all of the doorways, 45 00:02:53,242 --> 00:02:57,482 and unfortunately, the inmates that were in A tunnel 46 00:02:57,522 --> 00:03:01,602 continued to push against, uh, 47 00:03:01,642 --> 00:03:02,801 that cell door, 48 00:03:02,842 --> 00:03:05,801 and they began yelling, um, 49 00:03:05,842 --> 00:03:08,722 for my dad to unlock the gate. 50 00:03:08,762 --> 00:03:12,042 As Quinn jumped back, I said, "Oh, shit, this is... ". 51 00:03:12,082 --> 00:03:15,042 And he hit that horn, and the foghorn, like... 52 00:03:17,642 --> 00:03:20,282 And then they started banging on the gate, 53 00:03:20,322 --> 00:03:22,042 banging on the gate, banging on the gate. 54 00:03:22,082 --> 00:03:23,682 And unbeknownst to anybody, 55 00:03:23,722 --> 00:03:27,562 one of the hinges has been welded together, 56 00:03:27,601 --> 00:03:30,282 kind of jury-rigged during the construction in the 1930s. 57 00:03:30,322 --> 00:03:31,642 That weld broke. 58 00:03:31,682 --> 00:03:34,761 The lock just popped. 59 00:03:34,802 --> 00:03:36,681 And they rushed out. Boom. 60 00:03:36,722 --> 00:03:40,361 When the gate came down, they attacked my father, 61 00:03:40,402 --> 00:03:41,962 and they took his keys, 62 00:03:42,001 --> 00:03:43,722 which, of course, gave them access 63 00:03:43,762 --> 00:03:46,602 to all of the doors within Times Square. 64 00:03:46,642 --> 00:03:49,482 Um, and he was beaten very severely. 65 00:03:49,522 --> 00:03:51,282 I double back, 66 00:03:51,321 --> 00:03:54,522 and I put two knuckles on Quinn's neck. 67 00:03:54,562 --> 00:03:57,602 I could feel a pulse, but it was very faint. 68 00:03:57,641 --> 00:04:00,121 It was like a flutter, 69 00:04:00,162 --> 00:04:03,322 and a minute or two later, another flutter. 70 00:04:03,362 --> 00:04:06,922 There were some inmates that knew my dad, 71 00:04:06,961 --> 00:04:10,722 four Muslim inmates who got a mattress out of A block 72 00:04:10,762 --> 00:04:13,001 and put my dad on the mattress, 73 00:04:13,042 --> 00:04:17,482 and they brought him from Times Square 74 00:04:17,521 --> 00:04:20,522 and told them that they have a correction officer 75 00:04:20,561 --> 00:04:21,962 that has been badly injured, 76 00:04:22,002 --> 00:04:24,042 and he needs medical attention. 77 00:04:25,682 --> 00:04:29,002 At some point, an ambulance did arrive. 78 00:04:29,041 --> 00:04:30,721 During that time, my mother was notified 79 00:04:30,762 --> 00:04:32,361 that my father was injured. 80 00:04:35,361 --> 00:04:39,002 After they got Quinn's keys, they opened up all four sides 81 00:04:39,042 --> 00:04:41,281 and said, "We got the joint." 82 00:04:41,322 --> 00:04:43,321 - And they hollered it. - "We got the joint!" 83 00:04:50,242 --> 00:04:51,722 We took every block in the joint. 84 00:04:51,762 --> 00:04:53,402 We took it. 85 00:04:53,442 --> 00:04:54,602 But we couldn't hold it. 86 00:04:56,361 --> 00:04:59,081 So we all retreated back to D block. 87 00:05:03,562 --> 00:05:05,961 The place is blowing up. 88 00:05:06,002 --> 00:05:07,881 Smoke pouring from five buildings, 89 00:05:07,922 --> 00:05:11,961 the prison chapel and laundry gutted by flames. 90 00:05:12,001 --> 00:05:14,242 We only had control of that yard. 91 00:05:14,282 --> 00:05:15,841 They had control of the system. 92 00:05:15,882 --> 00:05:19,322 They had control of the gates and the doors and the walkways. 93 00:05:19,362 --> 00:05:21,482 They was up on the walkways with guns, 94 00:05:21,522 --> 00:05:23,722 where they can watch you. 95 00:05:23,761 --> 00:05:28,041 I'm panning now from B block, 96 00:05:28,082 --> 00:05:30,761 taking in the group on the roof of C block. 97 00:05:33,842 --> 00:05:37,122 Now D yard and D block is coming into view. 98 00:05:37,162 --> 00:05:41,002 Shooting now through the .270 rifle scope. 99 00:05:41,041 --> 00:05:45,041 And there is the ugliest, Blackest Negro gentleman 100 00:05:45,082 --> 00:05:48,122 I've ever seen in my life. 101 00:05:48,162 --> 00:05:52,082 We knew they were out there on the catwalks. 102 00:05:52,122 --> 00:05:55,721 They would position themselves in a way... 103 00:05:55,762 --> 00:05:57,602 Although you knew they were there, 104 00:05:57,641 --> 00:05:59,137 they positioned themselves out of sight. 105 00:06:02,522 --> 00:06:04,162 Most of the prisoners 106 00:06:04,202 --> 00:06:06,841 have concealed their faces by wearing scarves, towels, 107 00:06:06,882 --> 00:06:09,802 and what have you over their faces. 108 00:06:09,841 --> 00:06:14,562 There was a way to guard your identity from being exposed, 109 00:06:14,602 --> 00:06:17,482 and if they came in, you know, you had protection. 110 00:06:17,521 --> 00:06:19,242 Or we thought we did. 111 00:06:26,082 --> 00:06:28,921 In Attica, New York, about 1,000 long-term convicts 112 00:06:28,962 --> 00:06:30,402 today rioted, and they gained control 113 00:06:30,441 --> 00:06:32,002 of the maximum security prison. 114 00:06:32,042 --> 00:06:34,521 They also seized 33 guards as hostages 115 00:06:34,561 --> 00:06:36,162 and injured others in the fighting. 116 00:06:36,201 --> 00:06:38,299 State police have regained control of most of the prison, 117 00:06:38,322 --> 00:06:40,002 but the trouble isn't over yet. 118 00:06:42,921 --> 00:06:45,121 When we got to D yard with the hostages, 119 00:06:45,162 --> 00:06:48,882 we hollered, "We got hostages!" 120 00:06:48,921 --> 00:06:52,921 And you had about 1,000 men shouting that out. 121 00:06:57,522 --> 00:07:00,481 You know, and the hostages keep the police from coming 122 00:07:00,522 --> 00:07:01,722 and bapping on us. 123 00:07:01,762 --> 00:07:03,522 You gotta have hostages. 124 00:07:03,562 --> 00:07:06,201 That's the only... That's your only leverage. 125 00:07:06,241 --> 00:07:09,562 As long as they had the hostages... 126 00:07:09,602 --> 00:07:11,882 They didn't have guns, and they didn't have this, 127 00:07:11,922 --> 00:07:14,441 and they didn't have that, 128 00:07:14,482 --> 00:07:19,202 but they had hostages, and they're your people, 129 00:07:19,241 --> 00:07:22,681 and you're responsible for your people. 130 00:07:22,722 --> 00:07:25,802 You're responsible to protect your people 131 00:07:25,841 --> 00:07:29,001 and do your job. 132 00:07:29,042 --> 00:07:32,762 "Sit down. Negotiate with us." 133 00:07:32,802 --> 00:07:34,081 You're getting into the area 134 00:07:34,122 --> 00:07:37,562 where the 21 hostages are being held. 135 00:07:37,602 --> 00:07:39,642 - They're in that main group. - In the center. 136 00:07:39,681 --> 00:07:41,082 We can't distinguish them 137 00:07:41,122 --> 00:07:43,521 because the prisoners have taken 138 00:07:43,562 --> 00:07:45,922 their clothing away and put prison clothes on. 139 00:07:47,962 --> 00:07:50,401 They were blindfolded in a circle, 140 00:07:50,442 --> 00:07:51,562 in the middle of the yard. 141 00:07:51,601 --> 00:07:54,522 They also had guards, inmate guards, 142 00:07:54,562 --> 00:07:56,841 that were around them, protecting them. 143 00:07:58,522 --> 00:08:00,521 And we seen them as captives. 144 00:08:00,562 --> 00:08:02,922 We seen them as people who were in... 145 00:08:02,962 --> 00:08:06,122 Under our supervision. 146 00:08:07,681 --> 00:08:09,362 So we couldn't do harm to them. 147 00:08:09,402 --> 00:08:13,122 My understanding of Islam was that you don't harm a captive. 148 00:08:13,161 --> 00:08:17,961 Therefore, it was decided 149 00:08:18,002 --> 00:08:21,602 to allow the Muslim brothers 150 00:08:21,641 --> 00:08:23,242 to look out for them. 151 00:08:23,281 --> 00:08:26,122 I was so mad at them for not letting us get to the police, 152 00:08:26,161 --> 00:08:27,882 because I wanted to put my hands... 153 00:08:27,922 --> 00:08:29,282 I wanted to get one or two of them 154 00:08:29,321 --> 00:08:30,841 and really fuck them up. 155 00:08:30,882 --> 00:08:33,522 These are the same police that was talking down to me, 156 00:08:33,561 --> 00:08:34,922 dirty to me, and telling me, 157 00:08:34,961 --> 00:08:36,402 "Get over here, do this, do that." 158 00:08:36,441 --> 00:08:38,218 So I said, "Yeah, now, what do you think about me now? 159 00:08:38,241 --> 00:08:40,441 Yeah, yeah." 160 00:08:40,482 --> 00:08:42,201 And a good thing that them Muslims was there, 161 00:08:42,241 --> 00:08:44,121 because a lot of them police would have been hurt. 162 00:08:44,161 --> 00:08:45,482 Really hurt. 163 00:08:48,121 --> 00:08:49,921 It's hard for somebody 164 00:08:49,962 --> 00:08:53,802 that has never been incarcerated to understand 165 00:08:53,842 --> 00:08:57,561 how surreal everything is at this point in time. 166 00:08:57,601 --> 00:09:00,002 We had nobody threatening us. 167 00:09:00,041 --> 00:09:02,082 We had... you know, it sounds crazy, 168 00:09:02,121 --> 00:09:04,441 but it was... when you had a little bit of... 169 00:09:04,482 --> 00:09:05,979 Even this much control over your own life, 170 00:09:06,002 --> 00:09:08,161 even for a short period, 171 00:09:08,202 --> 00:09:12,082 and you know it's gonna cost you, you know, in spades, 172 00:09:12,121 --> 00:09:15,561 you know, it was a moment of exuberation, 173 00:09:15,602 --> 00:09:19,282 of somehow doing something 174 00:09:19,322 --> 00:09:21,202 to have some control over your own life. 175 00:09:37,921 --> 00:09:38,899 When you first got out there, 176 00:09:38,922 --> 00:09:41,002 it was total chaos. 177 00:09:41,041 --> 00:09:45,161 Guys are coming out with food, clothing, setting up tents. 178 00:09:47,202 --> 00:09:50,121 - It was a festive time. - We were free. 179 00:09:53,202 --> 00:09:56,001 We came together as a community. 180 00:09:56,042 --> 00:09:58,282 That's when there was not such thing 181 00:09:58,321 --> 00:10:01,242 as Black, white, Hispanic, or whatever. 182 00:10:01,282 --> 00:10:04,322 It was about we are inmates, 183 00:10:04,361 --> 00:10:07,842 and we need to be able to survive whatever's going on. 184 00:10:07,882 --> 00:10:09,601 Power! Unity! 185 00:10:13,242 --> 00:10:15,242 Come on, 38. 186 00:10:15,282 --> 00:10:17,442 - Tell 'em we ain't dead. - Tell 'em we ain't dead. 187 00:10:17,482 --> 00:10:18,761 Yeah, get all this here. 188 00:10:20,602 --> 00:10:22,402 Tell 'em we ain't dead. 189 00:10:22,442 --> 00:10:23,561 Ain't nothing dead about us. 190 00:10:23,602 --> 00:10:25,282 We ain't gonna die. 191 00:10:25,322 --> 00:10:27,042 - Nothing. - We will not die in here. 192 00:10:30,001 --> 00:10:32,842 The guys that had been to Vietnam, 193 00:10:32,881 --> 00:10:34,762 they said, "Let's make hooches." 194 00:10:34,801 --> 00:10:37,722 Hooch was a tent. 195 00:10:37,762 --> 00:10:40,362 You took a stick, and you put a sheet over it 196 00:10:40,402 --> 00:10:42,162 and pulled it back, 197 00:10:42,201 --> 00:10:44,042 and that was your sleeping quarters. 198 00:10:47,242 --> 00:10:51,561 By the time guys started, uh, 199 00:10:51,602 --> 00:10:53,802 having to go to the bathrooms, 200 00:10:53,842 --> 00:10:55,962 it was... none were working. 201 00:10:56,002 --> 00:10:57,482 The guys that had been to Vietnam 202 00:10:57,522 --> 00:10:59,162 and been in the army, 203 00:10:59,202 --> 00:11:01,482 they said, "We gotta make a latrine." 204 00:11:01,522 --> 00:11:03,002 They knew what a latrine was. 205 00:11:03,042 --> 00:11:04,362 I didn't know what a latrine was. 206 00:11:12,241 --> 00:11:13,562 Give him a little lap. 207 00:11:13,602 --> 00:11:15,202 All right, all right. 208 00:11:15,242 --> 00:11:17,321 Okay. 209 00:11:17,362 --> 00:11:20,682 There was this brother... 210 00:11:20,722 --> 00:11:21,522 And I say brother. 211 00:11:21,561 --> 00:11:22,961 He was white. 212 00:11:23,002 --> 00:11:25,482 His... they called him Tiny, 213 00:11:25,522 --> 00:11:27,081 and he was, like, a nurse 214 00:11:27,122 --> 00:11:29,001 before the Attica rebellion happened. 215 00:11:31,082 --> 00:11:33,562 They set up the medical section in the yard 216 00:11:33,602 --> 00:11:35,961 for anybody who had any problems to go, 217 00:11:36,001 --> 00:11:38,721 and Tiny would take care of them. 218 00:11:38,762 --> 00:11:42,922 And the medical attention in the yard was much better 219 00:11:42,961 --> 00:11:45,033 than the medical attention we got throughout the years. 220 00:11:47,081 --> 00:11:49,441 Oh, and we had a good time. 221 00:11:49,482 --> 00:11:52,522 We was making wine and cooking food outside. 222 00:11:52,561 --> 00:11:55,201 It was like a big picnic, like a shantytown. 223 00:11:55,242 --> 00:11:57,762 You know, like Deadwood when, uh, 224 00:11:57,801 --> 00:11:59,561 when, uh, Buffalo Bill was out. 225 00:11:59,602 --> 00:12:02,441 You ever... you ever watch Gunsmoke? 226 00:12:02,482 --> 00:12:04,361 The Western? 227 00:12:04,402 --> 00:12:08,322 Well, Matt Dillon was the marshal of Gunsmoke. 228 00:12:08,361 --> 00:12:10,602 He kept order. 229 00:12:10,642 --> 00:12:13,922 In D yard, we didn't have a Matt Dillon. 230 00:12:13,961 --> 00:12:17,961 Every man was a law unto himself. 231 00:12:18,002 --> 00:12:20,681 You did whatever the hell you wanted to do. 232 00:12:20,722 --> 00:12:22,922 And there was no order. 233 00:12:49,921 --> 00:12:51,762 The assignment editor says, 234 00:12:51,801 --> 00:12:54,281 "There's this place called Attica, 235 00:12:54,322 --> 00:12:57,601 and there's some prison riot up there, 236 00:12:57,642 --> 00:13:00,962 and we want you to go up and do it. 237 00:13:01,001 --> 00:13:05,482 We're not sure about any of what the details are, 238 00:13:05,521 --> 00:13:07,082 specifically." 239 00:13:07,122 --> 00:13:10,601 And all five went, uh, 240 00:13:10,642 --> 00:13:12,362 up to Buffalo, 241 00:13:12,401 --> 00:13:14,962 and then on to Attica. 242 00:13:20,722 --> 00:13:24,321 This is John Johnson, ABC News, Attica, New York. 243 00:13:24,362 --> 00:13:28,161 It was just an extremely, 244 00:13:28,202 --> 00:13:30,282 uh, fluid situation, 245 00:13:30,322 --> 00:13:31,802 to say the least. 246 00:13:31,842 --> 00:13:34,242 And it was hard to get information. 247 00:13:34,282 --> 00:13:36,202 I mean, we couldn't get inside, 248 00:13:36,241 --> 00:13:38,441 and all we heard was, 249 00:13:38,482 --> 00:13:42,322 these inmates want to talk, and they have prisoners. 250 00:13:44,682 --> 00:13:48,362 And this was something almost that had never happened 251 00:13:48,402 --> 00:13:51,642 in history, this huge institution, 252 00:13:51,682 --> 00:13:53,681 where the inmates had taken over. 253 00:13:53,722 --> 00:13:54,681 Oh, my goodness. 254 00:13:56,841 --> 00:13:58,081 "Attica, New York? 255 00:13:58,122 --> 00:13:59,339 I never heard of Attica, New York. 256 00:13:59,362 --> 00:14:01,322 What's in Attica?" 257 00:14:01,361 --> 00:14:04,122 Quite frankly, I did not know what to expect 258 00:14:04,162 --> 00:14:07,322 when I got to Attica. 259 00:14:07,362 --> 00:14:09,601 We parked right in front of the prison. 260 00:14:09,642 --> 00:14:12,842 So consequently, we just set up 261 00:14:12,881 --> 00:14:15,162 and started filming 262 00:14:15,201 --> 00:14:17,401 as much as we possibly could 263 00:14:17,442 --> 00:14:21,241 of the activities outside of the prison. 264 00:14:21,282 --> 00:14:23,922 We had no idea what was happening inside. 265 00:14:23,961 --> 00:14:25,842 Your instructions are 266 00:14:25,881 --> 00:14:28,361 that your weapon is not to be taken, 267 00:14:28,402 --> 00:14:30,322 nor are you to be taken. 268 00:14:30,362 --> 00:14:32,761 You're to meet force with force. 269 00:14:32,802 --> 00:14:34,842 There have been some of the prison personnel 270 00:14:34,882 --> 00:14:37,522 severely injured here this morning, 271 00:14:37,561 --> 00:14:40,482 and we certainly don't want to see any of our people hurt. 272 00:14:42,361 --> 00:14:44,722 The state police officers 273 00:14:44,762 --> 00:14:48,961 were being handed out weapons. 274 00:14:49,002 --> 00:14:52,081 They were making sure they had gas masks. 275 00:14:52,122 --> 00:14:55,562 It looked to me like they were ready to go in 276 00:14:55,602 --> 00:14:57,882 and retake the prison. 277 00:14:57,922 --> 00:14:59,481 Sir, are there any circumstances 278 00:14:59,521 --> 00:15:00,842 might you go inside? 279 00:15:00,881 --> 00:15:02,401 Pardon me? 280 00:15:02,442 --> 00:15:04,059 Might you go inside under some circumstances? 281 00:15:04,082 --> 00:15:06,282 - Well, one doesn't know. - I'll have to feel this out. 282 00:15:06,322 --> 00:15:07,721 Have the inmates made any demands? 283 00:15:07,762 --> 00:15:09,139 Do the prisoners want to meet with you, sir? 284 00:15:09,162 --> 00:15:10,699 I don't know, they say that they only want to speak 285 00:15:10,722 --> 00:15:12,602 with the governor or me. 286 00:15:12,642 --> 00:15:15,401 There seemed to be some sense, at the time, 287 00:15:15,442 --> 00:15:19,602 that we're going to have to negotiate something 288 00:15:19,641 --> 00:15:22,642 to save the lives of the hostages. 289 00:15:22,681 --> 00:15:27,081 Because of the hostages that they have, 290 00:15:27,122 --> 00:15:31,762 there's a possibility that negotiations will begin. 291 00:15:35,882 --> 00:15:38,562 We're looking at a man 292 00:15:38,601 --> 00:15:42,122 using a loudspeaker, a bullhorn. 293 00:15:46,642 --> 00:15:49,482 There appears to be a large meeting going on in this area, 294 00:15:49,522 --> 00:15:51,242 although we can't hear anything 295 00:15:51,282 --> 00:15:53,322 from that section. 296 00:15:57,602 --> 00:15:59,482 The inmates decided that, you know, 297 00:15:59,522 --> 00:16:02,161 they're in a situation that, you know, 298 00:16:02,202 --> 00:16:05,082 that required a little bit more focus, 299 00:16:05,122 --> 00:16:06,522 a little bit more discipline. 300 00:16:07,921 --> 00:16:09,161 We asked the population, 301 00:16:09,202 --> 00:16:11,882 "Who do you want to represent you?" 302 00:16:11,921 --> 00:16:13,922 Legal prosecution of any kind! 303 00:16:13,961 --> 00:16:16,882 We had elections block by block. 304 00:16:16,922 --> 00:16:20,281 That's where we got our leaders from. 305 00:16:20,322 --> 00:16:24,121 Now, some guys had some juice in there already. 306 00:16:24,162 --> 00:16:26,282 The guys that had been there a while, 307 00:16:26,321 --> 00:16:30,082 who other inmates respected. 308 00:16:30,122 --> 00:16:31,362 What they were saying made sense 309 00:16:31,401 --> 00:16:34,322 to most everybody that was in that yard. 310 00:16:34,362 --> 00:16:36,201 They had a plan. 311 00:16:36,242 --> 00:16:38,121 And they had a plan about making things different 312 00:16:38,162 --> 00:16:40,802 for the prison system itself. 313 00:16:40,841 --> 00:16:43,282 All we wanted is the basic necessities 314 00:16:43,321 --> 00:16:45,682 of being treated like human beings. 315 00:16:45,722 --> 00:16:46,881 Even though we're in prison, 316 00:16:46,922 --> 00:16:48,418 we're human beings, and stuff like that. 317 00:16:51,722 --> 00:16:55,362 The prisoners in the yard must have had a radio. 318 00:16:55,401 --> 00:16:58,121 They heard I was outside. 319 00:16:58,162 --> 00:17:00,762 So they asked for me to come in. 320 00:17:00,802 --> 00:17:03,081 I said, "Sure." 321 00:17:03,122 --> 00:17:05,442 And they then said, 322 00:17:05,482 --> 00:17:08,322 "We would like Commissioner Oswald to come in." 323 00:17:08,362 --> 00:17:11,841 And some of his assistants said, 324 00:17:11,882 --> 00:17:13,962 "Don't go. Don't go. 325 00:17:14,002 --> 00:17:16,921 They'll... you can't trust them." 326 00:17:16,962 --> 00:17:19,681 And Oswald said, "Well, of course I'm gonna go in." 327 00:17:21,202 --> 00:17:22,642 We are glad to have someone 328 00:17:22,681 --> 00:17:25,482 from the administration, point blank, coming in. 329 00:17:27,481 --> 00:17:28,459 We making some kind of headway. 330 00:17:28,482 --> 00:17:29,602 We getting here. 331 00:17:29,642 --> 00:17:31,482 We got some contact with somebody. 332 00:17:31,522 --> 00:17:33,921 - We got some negotiations. - You're listening to us. 333 00:17:33,962 --> 00:17:36,241 I've never heard of this before, 334 00:17:36,282 --> 00:17:39,042 negotiating with inmates, 335 00:17:39,082 --> 00:17:43,002 and I just assumed 336 00:17:43,042 --> 00:17:47,002 that this was going to be a landmark moment 337 00:17:47,042 --> 00:17:48,762 in American history. 338 00:17:48,802 --> 00:17:53,001 I thought that this was going to be negotiated 339 00:17:53,042 --> 00:17:54,322 to a decent humanitarian end. 340 00:17:57,322 --> 00:18:01,042 It seems to be a little misunderstanding about why 341 00:18:01,081 --> 00:18:03,042 this incident developed here at Attica, 342 00:18:03,082 --> 00:18:06,082 and this declaration here will explain the reasons. 343 00:18:06,122 --> 00:18:08,162 The entire incident 344 00:18:08,201 --> 00:18:11,562 that has erupted here at Attica is not a result... 345 00:18:16,002 --> 00:18:18,002 There are college towns, and there's factory towns... 346 00:18:18,042 --> 00:18:19,881 There's all kinds of towns in this country, 347 00:18:19,922 --> 00:18:21,641 and this is Attica, New York. 348 00:18:21,682 --> 00:18:22,842 It's a prison town. 349 00:18:25,282 --> 00:18:26,522 Most of the people 350 00:18:26,562 --> 00:18:28,282 in the village of Attica make their living 351 00:18:28,322 --> 00:18:30,281 working at the state prison. 352 00:18:31,801 --> 00:18:33,482 For 40 years, most have lived 353 00:18:33,522 --> 00:18:35,802 within sight of the prison walls. 354 00:18:35,842 --> 00:18:37,161 They have never feared it. 355 00:18:41,922 --> 00:18:45,282 The village of Attica was a great place to live. 356 00:18:45,322 --> 00:18:48,121 It was very typical, 357 00:18:48,162 --> 00:18:50,402 I think, small town, 358 00:18:50,441 --> 00:18:53,642 where you knew everyone. 359 00:18:53,682 --> 00:18:56,042 You were related to probably half of the town. 360 00:18:58,482 --> 00:19:00,601 We'd ride our bikes through town, 361 00:19:00,642 --> 00:19:02,162 we'd go to the park, we'd go swimming 362 00:19:02,202 --> 00:19:03,842 at the public pool, 363 00:19:03,881 --> 00:19:06,282 we'd go hiking up in the woods. 364 00:19:09,921 --> 00:19:12,921 Attica is a company town. 365 00:19:12,961 --> 00:19:15,322 Many of the people who work there 366 00:19:15,362 --> 00:19:16,921 and had lived in our town 367 00:19:16,962 --> 00:19:18,841 worked as either civilian employees 368 00:19:18,882 --> 00:19:22,442 or corrections officers at Attica. 369 00:19:22,482 --> 00:19:25,961 My grandfather worked there, 370 00:19:26,002 --> 00:19:28,962 my dad worked there, 371 00:19:29,001 --> 00:19:31,402 and between six or eight of the houses 372 00:19:31,441 --> 00:19:33,002 that were on our street 373 00:19:33,042 --> 00:19:35,721 had correction officers or civilian individuals 374 00:19:35,762 --> 00:19:37,402 working in them with their families. 375 00:19:41,802 --> 00:19:44,641 These were the only jobs in the area. 376 00:19:44,682 --> 00:19:47,882 Dairy farming and the prison. 377 00:19:47,921 --> 00:19:51,282 So there was this culture clash that came together at Attica. 378 00:19:51,321 --> 00:19:55,082 You had all white guards 379 00:19:55,122 --> 00:19:57,762 and a population of prisoners 380 00:19:57,801 --> 00:20:00,202 that was 70 or more percent. 381 00:20:00,241 --> 00:20:02,802 Black and brown. 382 00:20:02,841 --> 00:20:04,402 What could go wrong? 383 00:20:09,122 --> 00:20:11,802 Attica's reputation was called "the last stop." 384 00:20:11,842 --> 00:20:14,121 This was the most strict prison in the state of New York. 385 00:20:14,162 --> 00:20:15,361 It was known. 386 00:20:15,402 --> 00:20:17,401 The word was there that when you got there, 387 00:20:17,442 --> 00:20:18,722 you know what you was in for. 388 00:20:18,761 --> 00:20:21,002 A hard place. The last place. 389 00:20:21,042 --> 00:20:23,721 - The last place. - Attica was the last place. 390 00:20:23,762 --> 00:20:25,481 That was... that was the last... 391 00:20:25,522 --> 00:20:28,162 And you had to really be there to see why. 392 00:20:28,202 --> 00:20:31,362 There was no Black guards in Attica. 393 00:20:31,401 --> 00:20:34,602 - There was no Spanish guards. - They were all white. 394 00:20:34,642 --> 00:20:37,722 People, man, that come from the local neighborhoods, 395 00:20:37,762 --> 00:20:41,602 that don't know nothing about people who come from Brooklyn, 396 00:20:41,642 --> 00:20:45,162 people who come from Manhattan, people who come from The Bronx. 397 00:20:45,202 --> 00:20:47,882 They don't know nothing about this culture. 398 00:20:47,922 --> 00:20:50,522 Most of them don't even want to talk to you. 399 00:20:50,562 --> 00:20:51,482 They're you giving you the straight... 400 00:20:51,522 --> 00:20:53,162 "Don't talk to me." 401 00:20:53,201 --> 00:20:55,241 - And it was like that. - "Don't talk to me." 402 00:20:55,282 --> 00:20:57,802 They would hit that stick... bop. 403 00:20:57,841 --> 00:21:01,482 And this is a metal... A metal-tipped stick, 404 00:21:01,522 --> 00:21:03,522 and it rings out, and it... bop. 405 00:21:03,562 --> 00:21:05,121 And you walk. 406 00:21:05,162 --> 00:21:08,322 And then when they want you to stop, they say bop-bop. 407 00:21:08,362 --> 00:21:10,282 That was their communication. 408 00:21:10,321 --> 00:21:12,882 The only thing was right was being white. 409 00:21:12,921 --> 00:21:15,001 And I mean that in all sincerity. 410 00:21:15,042 --> 00:21:17,002 Everybody was sort of, like, 411 00:21:17,041 --> 00:21:18,602 not so much mixing with other cultures, 412 00:21:18,642 --> 00:21:22,521 but staying together for the purpose of... 413 00:21:22,561 --> 00:21:24,122 survival. 414 00:21:24,162 --> 00:21:27,522 I was white, so I got the best jobs. 415 00:21:27,562 --> 00:21:30,442 I was always given a little bit more leeway 416 00:21:30,481 --> 00:21:31,922 than the Blacks. 417 00:21:33,641 --> 00:21:36,202 I could get an extra meal if I wanted one, 418 00:21:36,241 --> 00:21:38,601 because I was a white guy. 419 00:21:38,642 --> 00:21:39,882 "I'm a white guy. 420 00:21:39,922 --> 00:21:41,442 You know, give me a little extra." 421 00:21:41,481 --> 00:21:43,162 And I got it. 422 00:21:43,202 --> 00:21:47,562 I always was able to manipulate the system inside the prison 423 00:21:47,602 --> 00:21:49,281 because I was a white guy. 424 00:21:49,322 --> 00:21:51,481 I'm almost ashamed to say 425 00:21:51,522 --> 00:21:53,961 that I took advantage of that back then. 426 00:21:54,002 --> 00:21:56,482 But it was the only way to survive. 427 00:21:56,522 --> 00:21:57,682 It really, really was. 428 00:22:08,042 --> 00:22:09,601 A roll of toilet paper 429 00:22:09,642 --> 00:22:12,562 would have to last you a month. 430 00:22:12,601 --> 00:22:15,201 You have to be a magician or tear up papers out of, 431 00:22:15,242 --> 00:22:16,721 you know, the books and stuff like that 432 00:22:16,762 --> 00:22:17,938 to wipe your behind and stuff like that. 433 00:22:17,961 --> 00:22:19,881 Guys were complaining about basic things, 434 00:22:19,922 --> 00:22:23,922 like toothpaste, toilet paper, 435 00:22:23,961 --> 00:22:27,602 a change of sheets more than once a month, 436 00:22:27,642 --> 00:22:30,602 things like that... Clothes being cleaned, 437 00:22:30,642 --> 00:22:32,042 personal hygiene things, 438 00:22:32,081 --> 00:22:33,482 being treated like human beings. 439 00:22:35,682 --> 00:22:39,002 - No school program. - Attica was... 440 00:22:39,042 --> 00:22:41,642 - I can't describe it. - I mean... 441 00:22:41,681 --> 00:22:43,041 it was dead. 442 00:22:43,082 --> 00:22:44,242 It was just dead. 443 00:22:48,042 --> 00:22:49,802 There was no religious freedom, 444 00:22:49,842 --> 00:22:51,362 particularly for 445 00:22:51,401 --> 00:22:53,481 the burgeoning Muslim movement. 446 00:22:53,522 --> 00:22:57,161 They were denied the right to worship. 447 00:22:57,202 --> 00:23:00,601 They were fed pork because the prison also had a farm 448 00:23:00,642 --> 00:23:03,522 where they raised pigs, so that's what you got. 449 00:23:04,482 --> 00:23:06,641 They fed us on 63ยข a day, 450 00:23:06,682 --> 00:23:08,482 so that's 21ยข a meal. 451 00:23:08,522 --> 00:23:11,281 How can you feed somebody on 21ยข? 452 00:23:14,362 --> 00:23:18,522 I swear to God, one time I got my head opened up by a guard, 453 00:23:18,561 --> 00:23:21,721 and I was put into a segregation cell. 454 00:23:21,762 --> 00:23:23,282 And the doctor came, 455 00:23:23,322 --> 00:23:26,801 you know, just out of... I was bleeding all over. 456 00:23:26,842 --> 00:23:28,802 So I said, "I got a... They cracked my head. 457 00:23:28,841 --> 00:23:30,802 It's wide open." 458 00:23:30,842 --> 00:23:32,121 He says, "Put it over here." 459 00:23:32,161 --> 00:23:36,001 They had a feeding hole in the cell. 460 00:23:36,042 --> 00:23:38,441 So I put it there, and he put a flashlight like... 461 00:23:38,482 --> 00:23:40,842 I swear to God, he hit me with the fucking flashlight, 462 00:23:40,882 --> 00:23:42,922 right where the cut was... 463 00:23:45,002 --> 00:23:46,281 ...and walked away. 464 00:23:51,242 --> 00:23:52,841 They wait until everybody's 465 00:23:52,882 --> 00:23:55,082 locked up at night, and then they come for you. 466 00:23:55,122 --> 00:23:57,282 Come for you as a goon squad. 467 00:23:59,281 --> 00:24:02,321 These are the beat-up police. 468 00:24:02,362 --> 00:24:05,522 These the guys, they come nine, ten deep. 469 00:24:05,562 --> 00:24:09,082 Real big guys with real big sticks. 470 00:24:09,122 --> 00:24:11,602 Then they come in, and they beat you up in your cell, 471 00:24:11,641 --> 00:24:13,322 and then they take you to segregation, 472 00:24:13,362 --> 00:24:14,842 and sometimes, you don't come back. 473 00:24:14,882 --> 00:24:16,161 Attica was... 474 00:24:22,362 --> 00:24:24,042 Fear. 475 00:24:24,082 --> 00:24:27,162 They ran the prison with fear. 476 00:24:27,202 --> 00:24:29,442 Being scared of them was their means 477 00:24:29,481 --> 00:24:30,802 of running the prison. 478 00:24:35,322 --> 00:24:36,522 You either shut your mouth, 479 00:24:36,562 --> 00:24:38,282 or you were in big trouble. 480 00:24:39,682 --> 00:24:42,282 Some people died. 481 00:24:42,322 --> 00:24:44,042 Some were crippled. 482 00:24:44,082 --> 00:24:46,601 Some were psychologically damaged for life. 483 00:24:49,641 --> 00:24:53,162 And, uh, it was a bad place to be. 484 00:24:59,322 --> 00:25:02,882 They wanted to institute and instill that fear 485 00:25:02,921 --> 00:25:05,442 and that they were in control, 486 00:25:05,482 --> 00:25:07,881 even though they knew they were losing control. 487 00:25:10,481 --> 00:25:12,162 My generation that came into Attica, 488 00:25:12,202 --> 00:25:14,202 at that time, 489 00:25:14,242 --> 00:25:16,282 we felt that we wasn't broken. 490 00:25:16,322 --> 00:25:18,482 In other words, we wasn't shuffling our feet. 491 00:25:18,522 --> 00:25:20,842 We would walk with our heads up high. 492 00:25:20,881 --> 00:25:22,642 We would talk in our own lingo. 493 00:25:22,681 --> 00:25:24,881 - We was rebellious. - That's all. 494 00:25:24,922 --> 00:25:26,562 We wasn't gonna take nothing from nobody. 495 00:25:27,642 --> 00:25:29,001 We wanted respect. 496 00:25:31,041 --> 00:25:34,162 You had to give it to us, whether you wanted to or not. 497 00:25:34,201 --> 00:25:35,522 I'd read Eldridge Cleaver's. 498 00:25:35,561 --> 00:25:37,682 Soul on Ice, Huey Newton, 499 00:25:37,722 --> 00:25:39,322 and, you know, the Panther Party, 500 00:25:39,362 --> 00:25:41,201 and the George Jackson story. 501 00:25:41,242 --> 00:25:42,721 I read all that stuff. 502 00:25:42,762 --> 00:25:44,481 George Jackson was a revolutionary. 503 00:25:44,522 --> 00:25:47,202 He's the guy that got busted for a ten dollar, uh, 504 00:25:47,241 --> 00:25:49,961 gas station robbery and got life. 505 00:25:50,002 --> 00:25:52,561 He ended up in the system, in the Soledad prison. 506 00:25:52,602 --> 00:25:56,762 He showed us... and I mean "us," 507 00:25:56,802 --> 00:25:59,402 the younger guys that came into Attica... 508 00:25:59,441 --> 00:26:02,402 That it was okay to say no. 509 00:26:02,441 --> 00:26:05,802 It was okay to be rebellious. 510 00:26:05,842 --> 00:26:08,162 Understand, there may be consequences 511 00:26:08,201 --> 00:26:10,642 to saying no, 512 00:26:10,681 --> 00:26:12,562 but it was okay. 513 00:26:12,601 --> 00:26:14,482 And it was uplifting. 514 00:26:14,521 --> 00:26:16,522 It was uplifting. 515 00:26:16,561 --> 00:26:18,921 I think racism is a control device, 516 00:26:18,962 --> 00:26:21,042 control mechanism. 517 00:26:21,081 --> 00:26:24,482 Create an atmosphere whereby they can control you. 518 00:26:24,521 --> 00:26:28,202 Of course, here in prison, we see the repression, 519 00:26:28,241 --> 00:26:30,082 the exploitation, 520 00:26:30,122 --> 00:26:33,122 the victimization of, uh, 521 00:26:33,161 --> 00:26:34,922 lower-class peoples. 522 00:26:36,321 --> 00:26:37,681 A lot of Black Panthers 523 00:26:37,722 --> 00:26:39,522 were coming into the prison. 524 00:26:39,562 --> 00:26:40,962 I started hanging out with them, 525 00:26:41,001 --> 00:26:43,362 and they politicized me. 526 00:26:43,402 --> 00:26:44,818 The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense 527 00:26:44,841 --> 00:26:46,922 calls upon the American people in general 528 00:26:46,962 --> 00:26:48,562 and the Black people in particular 529 00:26:48,602 --> 00:26:51,681 to take careful note of the racist police agencies 530 00:26:51,722 --> 00:26:54,522 throughout the country are intensifying the terror, 531 00:26:54,561 --> 00:26:57,321 brutality, murder, and repression of Black people. 532 00:26:57,362 --> 00:26:59,042 Of course, you had the Black Muslims, 533 00:26:59,081 --> 00:27:01,841 and his message to a Black man 534 00:27:01,882 --> 00:27:05,762 really awoke a lot of guys that were in jail. 535 00:27:05,801 --> 00:27:07,601 We want one thing! 536 00:27:07,642 --> 00:27:11,522 We declare our right on this Earth to be a man, 537 00:27:11,561 --> 00:27:13,322 to be a human being, 538 00:27:13,361 --> 00:27:15,322 to be respected as a human being, 539 00:27:15,362 --> 00:27:17,562 to be given the rights of a human being 540 00:27:17,601 --> 00:27:20,761 in this society, on this Earth, in this day, 541 00:27:20,802 --> 00:27:23,202 which we intend to bring into existence 542 00:27:23,241 --> 00:27:25,961 by any means necessary! 543 00:27:30,361 --> 00:27:31,802 Officials at California's. 544 00:27:31,842 --> 00:27:33,562 San Quentin Prison still are trying 545 00:27:33,602 --> 00:27:35,922 to piece together exactly what happened and how 546 00:27:35,961 --> 00:27:38,041 in that attempted prison break yesterday 547 00:27:38,082 --> 00:27:41,082 in which three convicts and three guards died. 548 00:27:41,122 --> 00:27:43,322 One of the dead convicts was George Jackson 549 00:27:43,362 --> 00:27:45,402 of the self-styled Soledad Brothers. 550 00:27:45,441 --> 00:27:47,402 Jackson was 29. 551 00:27:47,442 --> 00:27:49,322 George Jackson was that final straw to say, 552 00:27:49,362 --> 00:27:50,962 "I don't give a fuck no more. 553 00:27:51,002 --> 00:27:52,962 - They're gonna kill us anyway. - We can't get out. 554 00:27:53,001 --> 00:27:55,242 We're in this fucking cage, so where we going at? 555 00:27:55,282 --> 00:27:57,962 So if we gonna die, let's die as men." 556 00:27:58,002 --> 00:27:59,561 And brothers just got frustrated. 557 00:28:03,202 --> 00:28:07,521 We'd go into the mess hall with a Black band on your arm 558 00:28:07,562 --> 00:28:08,682 and just sit there. 559 00:28:08,722 --> 00:28:10,722 Take a spoon when you come in. 560 00:28:10,762 --> 00:28:12,402 Take no food. 561 00:28:12,441 --> 00:28:16,522 We didn't speak during the whole time, 562 00:28:16,561 --> 00:28:18,761 and we didn't pick up any food. 563 00:28:19,321 --> 00:28:22,242 That, I think, kind of alerted the institution 564 00:28:22,282 --> 00:28:25,522 that we was in solidarity. 565 00:28:25,562 --> 00:28:29,362 They'd probably never seen that type of solidarity before. 566 00:28:36,162 --> 00:28:40,642 There was a lot of talk discussing the situation, 567 00:28:40,682 --> 00:28:44,681 because the inmates were very upset, 568 00:28:44,722 --> 00:28:47,281 and things were happening there, 569 00:28:47,322 --> 00:28:50,922 and there was great concern. 570 00:28:50,962 --> 00:28:52,921 It was a time bomb ready to blow, 571 00:28:52,962 --> 00:28:55,241 and we lived with it every day in my house, 572 00:28:55,282 --> 00:28:57,482 and every day, I said good-bye to my dad, 573 00:28:57,522 --> 00:28:59,722 and I knew it might be the last day I saw him. 574 00:28:59,761 --> 00:29:01,681 It was open conversation. 575 00:29:06,081 --> 00:29:07,682 Things were getting worse. 576 00:29:07,721 --> 00:29:10,601 And so they had a meeting with the administration, 577 00:29:10,642 --> 00:29:12,362 and the administration essentially dismissed 578 00:29:12,401 --> 00:29:16,521 their concerns and said, "Everybody back to work. 579 00:29:16,562 --> 00:29:18,441 However, we think maybe it's a good idea 580 00:29:18,482 --> 00:29:20,201 if you left your personal belongings at home, 581 00:29:20,242 --> 00:29:22,442 like wedding rings, wallets, et cetera." 582 00:29:22,482 --> 00:29:25,922 So my father absolutely knew that something was going on. 583 00:29:25,961 --> 00:29:28,802 I was having breakfast with him and he was talking to me. 584 00:29:28,841 --> 00:29:30,641 And I knew he was nervous. 585 00:29:30,682 --> 00:29:32,098 But he said, "Something's gonna happen." 586 00:29:32,121 --> 00:29:34,481 He said, "I just don't know what or when. 587 00:29:34,522 --> 00:29:36,241 But I think I'll be okay." 588 00:29:40,361 --> 00:29:44,802 There was a fight in A yard on September 8th. 589 00:29:44,842 --> 00:29:45,939 And the guards promised nothing would happen 590 00:29:45,962 --> 00:29:47,282 as a result of this, 591 00:29:47,322 --> 00:29:50,682 because they could feel the tension building up. 592 00:29:50,722 --> 00:29:52,841 Then that night, they broke that promise. 593 00:29:52,882 --> 00:29:55,922 They came and pulled them out of the cells, and... 594 00:29:55,962 --> 00:29:59,242 About three or four of them, and then... 595 00:30:01,282 --> 00:30:02,721 Then we started throwing bottles 596 00:30:02,762 --> 00:30:04,322 or whatever glass they may have had, 597 00:30:04,361 --> 00:30:06,042 or cans, or whatever they may have had, 598 00:30:06,082 --> 00:30:08,002 and it was a disturbance, that there. 599 00:30:08,042 --> 00:30:10,722 So the inmates decided at that moment, 600 00:30:10,762 --> 00:30:13,122 - "- Man, this is it, man. - We tired. 601 00:30:13,161 --> 00:30:14,521 I mean, they killed George Jackson. 602 00:30:14,562 --> 00:30:15,699 They did this throughout the years. 603 00:30:15,722 --> 00:30:16,922 We tired." 604 00:30:16,962 --> 00:30:18,562 You know? And they went off. 605 00:30:28,562 --> 00:30:31,042 I was in school that day, 606 00:30:31,082 --> 00:30:34,642 and the whistle from the prison just kept going, 607 00:30:34,681 --> 00:30:36,522 and we could hear it. 608 00:30:36,562 --> 00:30:38,801 We got calls from somebody from the prison 609 00:30:38,842 --> 00:30:40,202 saying that "Your dad, you know, 610 00:30:40,242 --> 00:30:41,722 is definitely being held." 611 00:30:41,762 --> 00:30:44,001 - You know, I was scared. - I was worried for my dad. 612 00:30:44,042 --> 00:30:45,722 I loved my dad. 613 00:30:45,762 --> 00:30:49,562 But we didn't really know what was going on. 614 00:30:49,602 --> 00:30:51,001 It seems to be 615 00:30:51,042 --> 00:30:53,682 a little misunderstanding about why 616 00:30:53,721 --> 00:30:55,801 this incident developed here at Attica, 617 00:30:55,842 --> 00:30:58,561 and this declaration here will explain the reasons. 618 00:30:58,602 --> 00:31:03,081 The entire incident that has erupted here at Attica 619 00:31:03,122 --> 00:31:05,801 is not a result of the dastardly bushwhacking 620 00:31:05,842 --> 00:31:10,122 of the two prisoners September 8th of 1971, 621 00:31:10,162 --> 00:31:12,322 but of the unmitigated oppression 622 00:31:12,362 --> 00:31:14,402 wrought by the racist administrative network 623 00:31:14,441 --> 00:31:16,842 of this prison throughout the years. 624 00:31:16,882 --> 00:31:18,602 We want the governor to guarantee 625 00:31:18,642 --> 00:31:20,802 that there will be no reprisals, 626 00:31:20,842 --> 00:31:23,322 and we want all facets of the media 627 00:31:23,361 --> 00:31:25,642 to articulate this. 628 00:31:25,681 --> 00:31:28,202 We needed the media in there because we needed 629 00:31:28,242 --> 00:31:30,761 to let the world know what was happening. 630 00:31:32,401 --> 00:31:35,082 This is one of the turning points 631 00:31:35,122 --> 00:31:36,362 in the whole thing. 632 00:31:39,162 --> 00:31:41,402 We would like the press to come in, 633 00:31:41,442 --> 00:31:44,722 including the television cameras. 634 00:31:46,281 --> 00:31:49,322 That transformed everything... 635 00:31:51,282 --> 00:31:55,082 ...because now the prisoners had a worldwide audience. 636 00:31:57,241 --> 00:31:59,682 Whatever happens here at Attica State Prison... 637 00:31:59,721 --> 00:32:01,442 I'm not sure how they heard 638 00:32:01,481 --> 00:32:04,761 that there was a Black journalist outside, 639 00:32:04,801 --> 00:32:07,562 that they wanted me 640 00:32:07,602 --> 00:32:11,562 to be on the group that went in with Oswald. 641 00:32:11,602 --> 00:32:14,521 Suddenly, I'm on... In this group, 642 00:32:14,562 --> 00:32:16,642 going into the prison, 643 00:32:16,682 --> 00:32:20,482 with this head of the prison system. 644 00:32:20,522 --> 00:32:24,202 I was surprised that they had asked for me. 645 00:32:24,241 --> 00:32:26,762 But I guess because of the fact 646 00:32:26,802 --> 00:32:29,721 that they had watched the news, 647 00:32:29,761 --> 00:32:32,601 my reports were factual, 648 00:32:32,641 --> 00:32:36,201 and I was not taking anybody's side 649 00:32:36,242 --> 00:32:37,482 in the whole thing. 650 00:32:40,041 --> 00:32:41,882 We went in, 651 00:32:41,922 --> 00:32:46,321 and it was completely surreal. 652 00:32:46,362 --> 00:32:49,042 Like, you're walking down a tunnel, 653 00:32:49,081 --> 00:32:53,041 and suddenly, you walk into this huge yard 654 00:32:53,082 --> 00:32:55,202 where there are men everywhere... 655 00:32:55,241 --> 00:32:58,401 Like, thousands of men. 656 00:32:58,442 --> 00:33:01,362 And I remember 657 00:33:01,401 --> 00:33:04,441 some people yelling, "Hey, JJ." 658 00:33:04,482 --> 00:33:07,201 I said hello to people that I knew 659 00:33:07,242 --> 00:33:11,721 from Bed-Stuy and Harlem, and they were in Attica. 660 00:33:15,602 --> 00:33:17,481 Once inside, we were brought along 661 00:33:17,522 --> 00:33:20,042 through the yard with a member of the inmate security force 662 00:33:20,081 --> 00:33:22,281 constantly at our side. 663 00:33:22,322 --> 00:33:25,001 We were allowed to go where they told us to go. 664 00:33:25,042 --> 00:33:26,562 We were allowed to film 665 00:33:26,602 --> 00:33:29,001 only when the prisoners told us we could. 666 00:33:29,042 --> 00:33:30,442 Inmates' faces were covered 667 00:33:30,481 --> 00:33:32,841 so as to keep their identities secret. 668 00:33:32,882 --> 00:33:34,881 Our first concern on entering 669 00:33:34,922 --> 00:33:37,122 was to learn how the hostages were. 670 00:33:37,162 --> 00:33:38,259 We want to see your hostages. 671 00:33:38,282 --> 00:33:39,561 Show the hostages first. 672 00:33:39,602 --> 00:33:44,162 I was able to ask one question 673 00:33:44,201 --> 00:33:48,082 before I was moved to the negotiation table. 674 00:33:48,122 --> 00:33:49,561 Been treated all right? 675 00:33:49,602 --> 00:33:51,139 Yes, I have so far been treated very good. 676 00:33:51,162 --> 00:33:52,362 - No complaints? - No. 677 00:33:52,402 --> 00:33:54,201 But no problems so far? 678 00:33:54,241 --> 00:33:56,802 So far, been treated very good. 679 00:33:56,841 --> 00:33:59,961 Shortly thereafter, one of the inmates, 680 00:34:00,001 --> 00:34:04,081 a young man by the name of L.D. Barkley, 681 00:34:04,122 --> 00:34:06,961 started to read the demands. 682 00:34:07,002 --> 00:34:08,922 The entire prison populace... 683 00:34:08,962 --> 00:34:11,122 That means each and every one of us here... 684 00:34:11,162 --> 00:34:14,121 Have set forth to change forever 685 00:34:14,162 --> 00:34:16,002 the ruthless brutalization 686 00:34:16,041 --> 00:34:18,562 and disregard for the lives of the prisoners here 687 00:34:18,602 --> 00:34:20,442 and throughout the United States. 688 00:34:20,482 --> 00:34:23,362 He was saying what we all wanted to scream. 689 00:34:23,402 --> 00:34:25,242 But he was explaining it 690 00:34:25,282 --> 00:34:27,202 so that everybody could understand, 691 00:34:27,242 --> 00:34:29,601 so that when you were sitting in your living room, 692 00:34:29,642 --> 00:34:31,882 you could say, "Well, the guy's a criminal. 693 00:34:31,921 --> 00:34:33,762 Yeah, but he is saying something that's... 694 00:34:36,842 --> 00:34:39,282 - ...- that I understand. - How could we do that?" 695 00:34:39,321 --> 00:34:42,162 - You know? - He was waking up America. 696 00:34:42,201 --> 00:34:43,562 And he was the best one to do it. 697 00:34:44,362 --> 00:34:46,321 We are men! 698 00:34:46,362 --> 00:34:48,482 We are not beasts, and we do not intend 699 00:34:48,521 --> 00:34:50,562 to be beaten or driven as such. 700 00:34:50,601 --> 00:34:52,962 LD was only gonna be here for 90 days. 701 00:34:53,002 --> 00:34:54,402 He'll be getting out. 702 00:34:54,441 --> 00:34:56,682 But he wanted the outside world to know that... 703 00:34:58,722 --> 00:35:00,601 ...the prisons were inhumane. 704 00:35:00,642 --> 00:35:03,481 What has happened here is but the sound 705 00:35:03,522 --> 00:35:06,522 before the fury of those who are oppressed. 706 00:35:06,562 --> 00:35:09,241 We will not compromise on any terms 707 00:35:09,282 --> 00:35:12,842 except those terms that are agreeable to us. 708 00:35:12,882 --> 00:35:14,482 We call upon all... 709 00:35:18,681 --> 00:35:20,481 You felt it. 710 00:35:23,081 --> 00:35:27,642 And at that moment, I heard it, and I seen it. 711 00:35:27,682 --> 00:35:31,201 And that reaffirmed why we was there. 712 00:35:31,242 --> 00:35:32,841 Why I was there. 713 00:35:36,602 --> 00:35:39,281 There was a feeling that this was big. 714 00:35:39,322 --> 00:35:40,921 This was huge. 715 00:35:45,002 --> 00:35:47,361 Corrections Commissioner Oswald 716 00:35:47,402 --> 00:35:52,082 maintained that he had done 717 00:35:52,122 --> 00:35:54,602 quite a bit of the things 718 00:35:54,641 --> 00:35:57,641 that the inmates had requested. 719 00:35:57,682 --> 00:36:01,802 I've, uh, complied 720 00:36:01,842 --> 00:36:05,682 with the several things I said I would do as my part. 721 00:36:05,721 --> 00:36:07,602 I've brought the press 722 00:36:07,641 --> 00:36:10,961 and other media in here 723 00:36:11,002 --> 00:36:12,682 to listen as we talk. 724 00:36:12,721 --> 00:36:15,162 And now, my question is... 725 00:36:15,201 --> 00:36:18,002 I asked earlier, 726 00:36:18,042 --> 00:36:19,762 when will you release the hostages? 727 00:36:21,921 --> 00:36:24,482 But now, the table was turned, 728 00:36:24,521 --> 00:36:27,681 and we had the power. 729 00:36:27,722 --> 00:36:29,242 So when we asked him for something, 730 00:36:29,282 --> 00:36:30,922 he had to give it to us 731 00:36:30,961 --> 00:36:32,402 'cause he didn't have no choice. 732 00:36:32,442 --> 00:36:34,521 We wanted some assurance 733 00:36:34,561 --> 00:36:38,241 that we weren't gonna be retaliated against. 734 00:36:38,282 --> 00:36:40,522 So we asked Herman Schwartz 735 00:36:40,561 --> 00:36:44,242 to go to District Court in New York 736 00:36:44,281 --> 00:36:48,602 and get an injunction that would assure us 737 00:36:48,642 --> 00:36:50,881 that we wouldn't be retaliated against. 738 00:36:50,922 --> 00:36:54,961 I sat down and wrote an injunction 739 00:36:55,002 --> 00:36:58,602 which barred any kind of retaliation. 740 00:36:59,682 --> 00:37:01,602 It had been agreed that there would be 741 00:37:01,642 --> 00:37:03,562 another meeting the next morning. 742 00:37:05,642 --> 00:37:07,721 The time is now ten minutes of eight. 743 00:37:07,762 --> 00:37:10,922 We've been shooting this tape for approximately two hours. 744 00:37:10,962 --> 00:37:12,681 We started about 6:00 p.m. 745 00:37:14,682 --> 00:37:16,801 The light is almost gone now. 746 00:37:16,842 --> 00:37:20,601 We can see lights in cell block D. 747 00:37:20,641 --> 00:37:23,481 Singers vocalizing 748 00:37:28,922 --> 00:37:31,482 The guy next to me was named Raymond White. 749 00:37:33,722 --> 00:37:36,521 He was walking around, looking up in the air. 750 00:37:36,562 --> 00:37:38,922 - It's dark. - I said, "Yo, Raymond White. 751 00:37:38,962 --> 00:37:41,922 Yo, Ray, you all right?" 752 00:37:41,962 --> 00:37:45,962 He said, "Man, I ain't been out after dark in 22 years." 753 00:37:48,402 --> 00:37:49,561 And we was talking, 754 00:37:49,602 --> 00:37:52,642 singing songs... It was a festive night. 755 00:37:52,682 --> 00:37:53,642 I loved it. I loved it. 756 00:37:53,681 --> 00:37:55,842 Man, I was out in the nighttime, 757 00:37:55,881 --> 00:37:57,361 looking at the stars. 758 00:37:57,402 --> 00:37:58,842 I was drunk. I was happy. 759 00:37:58,881 --> 00:38:00,377 You know, I was... I liked it, you know. 760 00:38:00,401 --> 00:38:01,761 I was having a good time. 761 00:38:01,802 --> 00:38:04,562 And it was good. I felt free. 762 00:38:04,602 --> 00:38:06,161 You know, I mean, prison was there, 763 00:38:06,202 --> 00:38:08,282 but, you know, I felt free. 764 00:38:08,322 --> 00:38:11,002 I didn't have to hear 765 00:38:11,042 --> 00:38:13,362 the doors locking. 766 00:38:13,401 --> 00:38:15,201 And if... it was a good feeling 767 00:38:15,242 --> 00:38:18,602 at that first night. 768 00:38:18,641 --> 00:38:21,121 When it got dark, and everybody was talking 769 00:38:21,162 --> 00:38:22,722 about finding somewhere to sleep... 770 00:38:22,761 --> 00:38:24,482 But, you know, don't sleep alone, 771 00:38:24,521 --> 00:38:26,161 and, you know, that type of thing. 772 00:38:26,202 --> 00:38:28,921 There's a lot of psychopaths and sociopaths 773 00:38:28,962 --> 00:38:30,882 in those facilities, so, you know, 774 00:38:30,922 --> 00:38:34,722 you had to protect yourself from your peers, even. 775 00:38:41,922 --> 00:38:43,721 I knew this wasn't gonna last forever. 776 00:38:45,521 --> 00:38:49,481 I knew there would... There would be an end to this. 777 00:38:49,522 --> 00:38:50,922 But just because we was incarcerated 778 00:38:50,962 --> 00:38:53,642 didn't mean that we were less than human. 779 00:38:55,882 --> 00:38:57,802 Somebody had to take a stand. 780 00:39:07,402 --> 00:39:09,602 At dawn, as smoke from yesterday's fires 781 00:39:09,641 --> 00:39:11,202 lingered over prison walls, 782 00:39:11,242 --> 00:39:13,201 a federal injunction was obtained 783 00:39:13,242 --> 00:39:15,082 prohibiting physical reprisal 784 00:39:15,121 --> 00:39:16,562 against those involved in the riot. 785 00:39:18,402 --> 00:39:21,402 When I brought in the injunction, 786 00:39:21,441 --> 00:39:25,281 we talked to the prisoners at opposite ends 787 00:39:25,322 --> 00:39:29,042 of a rather long tunnel. 788 00:39:29,082 --> 00:39:31,601 They said, "Where are the administrators?" 789 00:39:31,642 --> 00:39:33,121 I said, "I don't know. 790 00:39:33,162 --> 00:39:35,122 I'm here, but I don't know where they are." 791 00:39:35,161 --> 00:39:39,121 Finally, at ten o'clock, Oswald and the others show up. 792 00:39:41,201 --> 00:39:43,241 The prisoners were furious. 793 00:39:43,282 --> 00:39:48,041 They had been, as they would put it, dissed. 794 00:39:48,082 --> 00:39:50,121 They were supposed to meet at seven or eight o'clock, 795 00:39:50,162 --> 00:39:53,482 and it was very clear... 796 00:39:53,521 --> 00:39:55,321 The air was very tense. 797 00:39:57,202 --> 00:40:00,681 You had the tables spread out. 798 00:40:00,722 --> 00:40:03,401 We were on one side. 799 00:40:03,442 --> 00:40:07,401 The inmates were on the other. 800 00:40:07,442 --> 00:40:10,401 And I gave them the document that the judge had signed. 801 00:40:10,442 --> 00:40:13,961 This is nothing. 802 00:40:14,002 --> 00:40:17,241 I'm sorry, I spent seven hours of... 803 00:40:17,281 --> 00:40:19,922 And got no sleep, and traveled... 804 00:40:19,962 --> 00:40:22,562 He claimed that the federal judge signed off 805 00:40:22,601 --> 00:40:26,202 on an injunction saying that there would be no reprisals. 806 00:40:26,242 --> 00:40:30,841 And he came back in, waving that at us, 807 00:40:30,882 --> 00:40:33,041 and Jerry the Jew said, "Where's the seal?" 808 00:40:33,082 --> 00:40:35,921 There is no judicial seal on this. 809 00:40:35,962 --> 00:40:39,682 I have received injunctions from the Southern District 810 00:40:39,722 --> 00:40:41,401 which had judicial seals. 811 00:40:41,442 --> 00:40:43,721 This paper is an empty gesture. 812 00:40:43,762 --> 00:40:46,201 - Jerry the Jew. - That was his nickname. 813 00:40:46,242 --> 00:40:48,842 Jerry Rosenberg was a hell of a guy. 814 00:40:48,882 --> 00:40:50,441 And he was well-respected. 815 00:40:50,482 --> 00:40:52,842 He had a law degree. 816 00:40:52,882 --> 00:40:55,401 - And he knew law. - He would help all the inmates. 817 00:40:55,442 --> 00:40:57,522 He was a jailhouse lawyer. 818 00:40:58,082 --> 00:41:01,401 You can take this piece of paper and throw it away, 819 00:41:01,441 --> 00:41:02,762 because this is no protection. 820 00:41:02,801 --> 00:41:05,322 Jerry Rosenberg, God bless him, 821 00:41:05,362 --> 00:41:09,002 say, uh, "Judge ain't signed this. 822 00:41:09,042 --> 00:41:12,842 There's no Western District Court stamp 823 00:41:12,882 --> 00:41:15,922 on this document saying that, you know what, 824 00:41:15,961 --> 00:41:20,522 nothing will happen to us," and tore it up. 825 00:41:20,562 --> 00:41:22,642 Herman, we know you mean well, 826 00:41:22,681 --> 00:41:25,362 but, uh, don't come with the bullshit, Herm. 827 00:41:25,401 --> 00:41:27,321 We want a judicial seal 828 00:41:27,361 --> 00:41:29,322 and a continuing restraining order 829 00:41:29,362 --> 00:41:31,721 until the litigation is finally ended, 830 00:41:31,762 --> 00:41:34,041 without any reprisals or brutality 831 00:41:34,081 --> 00:41:36,442 against any inmates of this institution. 832 00:41:46,322 --> 00:41:49,322 Well, lawyers know that seals 833 00:41:49,362 --> 00:41:51,682 don't mean anything, 834 00:41:51,722 --> 00:41:54,682 uh, so long as the signature is there. 835 00:41:55,441 --> 00:41:57,801 I could have kicked Jerry's ass. 836 00:41:57,842 --> 00:41:59,882 And I should have. 837 00:41:59,922 --> 00:42:04,002 Really, 'cause he just started to grandstand. 838 00:42:04,042 --> 00:42:06,322 You know, he was caught up in the moment. 839 00:42:08,881 --> 00:42:11,602 Smart as he is, and as shrewd as he is, 840 00:42:11,641 --> 00:42:14,202 he overreacted, 841 00:42:14,241 --> 00:42:16,721 and we lost an opportunity there. 842 00:42:16,762 --> 00:42:20,281 And then somebody said, "Let's hold them. 843 00:42:20,322 --> 00:42:22,722 Let's add to the hostage count." 844 00:42:25,201 --> 00:42:28,602 I hope I'm speaking for every brother here. 845 00:42:28,641 --> 00:42:30,961 I want to address this to you, Oswald. 846 00:42:31,002 --> 00:42:33,522 You come in here popping that game. 847 00:42:33,561 --> 00:42:34,842 I know you don't give a fuck 848 00:42:34,882 --> 00:42:36,201 about none of them hacks out there. 849 00:42:36,242 --> 00:42:37,441 Let me tell you something. 850 00:42:37,482 --> 00:42:39,481 - I don't give a fuck about you. - Nothing. 851 00:42:39,522 --> 00:42:41,362 I know them people don't mean nothing to you. 852 00:42:41,401 --> 00:42:43,082 Nothing. 853 00:42:43,122 --> 00:42:45,402 And I'ma tell you before you leave here... if you leave. 854 00:42:45,442 --> 00:42:48,961 Mr. Oswald, it seems to me that you weren't honest. 855 00:42:49,002 --> 00:42:53,002 It seems to me that you weren't honest at prevarications. 856 00:42:53,041 --> 00:42:56,361 I bear witness to your evil deeds, Mr. Oswald. 857 00:42:56,402 --> 00:42:59,682 Now, I repeat, as I told you yesterday, 858 00:42:59,722 --> 00:43:02,042 we're being lenient with you. 859 00:43:02,082 --> 00:43:04,922 - We're negotiating. - We are talking. 860 00:43:04,962 --> 00:43:07,962 - We shouldn't be. - We should be demanding. 861 00:43:08,001 --> 00:43:09,241 Why? 862 00:43:09,282 --> 00:43:12,842 Because we have 35 lives, not hostages. 863 00:43:12,882 --> 00:43:15,001 And I repeat, Mr. Oswald, 864 00:43:15,042 --> 00:43:18,402 a moment's hesitation will cause you their lives. 865 00:43:18,441 --> 00:43:21,441 The meeting in the yard got very tense 866 00:43:21,482 --> 00:43:24,002 because Oswald would talk to you 867 00:43:24,041 --> 00:43:25,922 from one side of his mouth, 868 00:43:25,961 --> 00:43:28,202 and then when he left the yard and go outside, 869 00:43:28,242 --> 00:43:29,961 he talks from the other side of the mouth. 870 00:43:30,002 --> 00:43:31,122 Have the inmates made 871 00:43:31,161 --> 00:43:32,722 any demands that you know of? 872 00:43:32,762 --> 00:43:34,219 There are all kinds of demands, you know, 873 00:43:34,242 --> 00:43:36,961 for the change in... Change in the whole world. 874 00:43:37,002 --> 00:43:41,601 But what he forgot was that he was being seen on TV. 875 00:43:41,642 --> 00:43:45,762 - Come on. How could he do that? - We're watching you. 876 00:43:45,802 --> 00:43:48,362 And you stated it yesterday on the news media, 877 00:43:48,402 --> 00:43:50,042 in a huff, in a panic. 878 00:43:50,082 --> 00:43:51,962 You said, "Well, I don't know what they want. 879 00:43:52,002 --> 00:43:53,961 They want the world." And you left it like that. 880 00:43:54,002 --> 00:43:55,219 You walked away from the reporters. 881 00:43:55,242 --> 00:43:56,841 Would you reply to that, Mr. Oswald? 882 00:43:56,882 --> 00:43:58,442 Yes, I did say that. 883 00:43:58,481 --> 00:43:59,538 No, we didn't ask you that, because we didn't... 884 00:43:59,561 --> 00:44:00,681 Let him finish, please. 885 00:44:00,722 --> 00:44:02,122 I did say that. 886 00:44:02,161 --> 00:44:03,961 Can't bullshit a bullshitter. 887 00:44:04,002 --> 00:44:05,802 You can't do that. 888 00:44:05,842 --> 00:44:08,162 The first time he came in, "I'ma do this, 889 00:44:08,201 --> 00:44:11,682 A, B, C, D, E, F, G," and people was happy. 890 00:44:11,722 --> 00:44:13,378 "All right, go on about your business, get it done." 891 00:44:13,401 --> 00:44:16,642 Came back in and started talking, you know... 892 00:44:16,682 --> 00:44:18,201 You know, he was going roundabout there 893 00:44:18,241 --> 00:44:19,842 and roundabout there, and they said, 894 00:44:19,881 --> 00:44:22,201 "No, don't let the hostages go. 895 00:44:22,242 --> 00:44:23,961 All right, how about you be a hostage?" 896 00:44:24,001 --> 00:44:28,682 We have been asking for over 29 hours for food and water. 897 00:44:28,722 --> 00:44:31,002 - We haven't got none. - We're gonna keep Mr. Russell... 898 00:44:31,042 --> 00:44:32,562 Russell G. Oswald here 899 00:44:32,601 --> 00:44:34,042 until we get some food and water. 900 00:44:36,082 --> 00:44:37,418 "No, we're not letting him out of here. 901 00:44:37,441 --> 00:44:39,242 We're keeping him hostage." 902 00:44:39,282 --> 00:44:41,362 We all... we shut that down. 903 00:44:41,401 --> 00:44:44,161 - We're not gonna be like them. - We're not gonna break our word. 904 00:44:44,202 --> 00:44:45,801 And he says, "Well, inmates would be 905 00:44:45,842 --> 00:44:46,842 more honorable than them?" 906 00:44:46,881 --> 00:44:48,921 Yes, we were. 907 00:44:48,961 --> 00:44:51,242 'Cause we gave them our word nothing would happen to them. 908 00:44:59,241 --> 00:45:00,842 And everybody started screaming, 909 00:45:00,881 --> 00:45:03,481 "Let him go! Let him go!" 910 00:45:03,522 --> 00:45:04,802 Security, please. 911 00:45:06,682 --> 00:45:08,281 Security, please. 912 00:45:09,322 --> 00:45:11,882 And he got out of Dodge, and he never came back. 913 00:45:17,122 --> 00:45:19,202 In New York state, some 500 inmates 914 00:45:19,241 --> 00:45:22,322 of the Attica Maximum Security Prison are still in revolt. 915 00:45:22,362 --> 00:45:24,441 Authorities tried unsuccessfully to reach 916 00:45:24,481 --> 00:45:27,361 a settlement with the prisoners over demands for reforms 917 00:45:27,402 --> 00:45:29,801 and to obtain release of more than 30 hostages. 918 00:45:29,842 --> 00:45:31,842 We have a report on what's been happening at Attica 919 00:45:31,881 --> 00:45:33,801 from ABC's John Johnson. 920 00:45:33,842 --> 00:45:34,881 Fires were still burning 921 00:45:34,922 --> 00:45:36,722 at Attica State Prison. 922 00:45:36,762 --> 00:45:39,722 Despite a small army of police and state troopers, 923 00:45:39,762 --> 00:45:43,042 the prisoners continue to call the shots at Attica. 924 00:45:43,082 --> 00:45:46,202 Commissioner Oswald announced that prison officials 925 00:45:46,242 --> 00:45:48,201 were attempting to bring to the prison 926 00:45:48,242 --> 00:45:51,962 those people requested by the prisoners. 927 00:45:52,002 --> 00:45:56,161 The group was basically people 928 00:45:56,202 --> 00:45:57,842 whom they knew. 929 00:45:57,882 --> 00:45:59,922 People like Tom Wicker, 930 00:45:59,961 --> 00:46:03,001 who had written a column about prisoners. 931 00:46:03,042 --> 00:46:05,002 Senator John Dunne 932 00:46:05,041 --> 00:46:07,162 was chairman of the Prisons Committee 933 00:46:07,202 --> 00:46:08,601 and sympathetic. 934 00:46:08,641 --> 00:46:10,681 He was asked to come. 935 00:46:10,722 --> 00:46:14,882 Bill Kunstler, a lawyer for the Chicago Seven. 936 00:46:14,921 --> 00:46:16,762 Asked him to come in. 937 00:46:16,802 --> 00:46:19,041 And Clarence Jones, 938 00:46:19,082 --> 00:46:21,641 publisher of the Amsterdam News. 939 00:46:26,122 --> 00:46:27,378 I have a driver who's driving me up 940 00:46:27,401 --> 00:46:28,882 to the Amsterdam News. 941 00:46:28,921 --> 00:46:30,482 And the driver says, "Boss! 942 00:46:30,522 --> 00:46:31,699 They're calling your name on the radio." 943 00:46:31,722 --> 00:46:33,682 I said, "What you mean?" 944 00:46:33,721 --> 00:46:36,402 Called Rockefeller, and lo and behold, 945 00:46:36,441 --> 00:46:38,082 the governor picked up the phone. 946 00:46:38,121 --> 00:46:41,961 He said, "Thank you so much, Mr. Jones. 947 00:46:42,002 --> 00:46:43,682 We have a major situation. 948 00:46:45,322 --> 00:46:48,521 A number of the inmates have called your name. 949 00:46:50,482 --> 00:46:52,482 We'll have a car pick you up 950 00:46:52,521 --> 00:46:54,762 and take you to a private airport... 951 00:46:56,601 --> 00:46:59,042 ...where a state private plane is waiting for you." 952 00:47:01,202 --> 00:47:04,841 And there, I'm off to Attica, 953 00:47:04,882 --> 00:47:08,322 to be part of the observers committee. 954 00:47:10,522 --> 00:47:13,881 My wife and I were off on a vacation at the time, 955 00:47:13,921 --> 00:47:15,979 and we got a call that they had asked me to come there, 956 00:47:16,002 --> 00:47:18,082 and I felt that, with my prior experience 957 00:47:18,122 --> 00:47:19,562 and my responsibilities 958 00:47:19,602 --> 00:47:21,018 as the chairman of the Prison Committee, 959 00:47:21,041 --> 00:47:22,281 I ought to be there. 960 00:47:24,321 --> 00:47:25,922 I was optimistic. 961 00:47:25,961 --> 00:47:29,202 I thought, "Give it a shot." 962 00:47:29,241 --> 00:47:30,882 For the rebel prisoners of Attica, 963 00:47:30,921 --> 00:47:33,282 the encouraging appearance of people they consider friends, 964 00:47:33,322 --> 00:47:35,001 a 30-man mediation committee, 965 00:47:35,041 --> 00:47:37,081 including a congressman, four newsmen, 966 00:47:37,122 --> 00:47:39,801 and most importantly, lawyer William Kunstler. 967 00:47:39,841 --> 00:47:40,962 Have you heard anything 968 00:47:41,002 --> 00:47:42,482 from Governor Rockefeller's office? 969 00:47:42,522 --> 00:47:45,882 I mean, has he put any time limit on these negotiations? 970 00:47:45,922 --> 00:47:49,362 No, but I understand that there is no present plan 971 00:47:49,401 --> 00:47:52,202 to use force in this prison, and I hope that continues. 972 00:47:52,242 --> 00:47:54,241 I just hope that they realize that this is 973 00:47:54,282 --> 00:47:57,801 a unique situation, and that it may take time, 974 00:47:57,842 --> 00:47:59,882 and that if everyone's in good faith, 975 00:47:59,922 --> 00:48:01,361 something will work out. 976 00:48:03,561 --> 00:48:06,082 - It was scary. - The tension was tremendous. 977 00:48:06,122 --> 00:48:08,282 You could have cut the air with a knife. 978 00:48:08,322 --> 00:48:10,281 It was terrifying. 979 00:48:10,322 --> 00:48:13,001 I remember going into the yard and saying to Mel Rivers, 980 00:48:13,042 --> 00:48:14,602 "Do you have a cigarette?" 981 00:48:14,641 --> 00:48:16,459 And he said, "You have one in your... one in your hand, 982 00:48:16,482 --> 00:48:18,921 one in your mouth, and one in your ear." 983 00:48:18,962 --> 00:48:21,482 I was scared. 984 00:48:21,521 --> 00:48:23,561 When you see a tower with people with rifles... 985 00:48:25,002 --> 00:48:28,042 I kept thinking, um, we should stay close 986 00:48:28,081 --> 00:48:29,642 to Tom Wicker and Herman Badillo, 987 00:48:29,682 --> 00:48:32,081 because they would be the least likely to be shot. 988 00:48:34,482 --> 00:48:36,842 Frank "Big Black" Smith 989 00:48:36,881 --> 00:48:40,522 was the overall security leader. 990 00:48:40,561 --> 00:48:42,921 He took that job on himself already. 991 00:48:42,962 --> 00:48:45,322 He was the guy. 992 00:48:45,361 --> 00:48:46,962 He was the big man. 993 00:48:47,001 --> 00:48:49,522 I mean, this fella was big. 994 00:48:49,562 --> 00:48:51,841 They was responsible to making sure that 995 00:48:51,882 --> 00:48:55,482 the observers that came in... 996 00:48:55,521 --> 00:48:57,482 The same way they came in 997 00:48:57,522 --> 00:48:59,322 is the same way they left. 998 00:48:59,361 --> 00:49:02,082 You know, no harm come to them. 999 00:49:02,121 --> 00:49:05,842 He said, "Well, we gotta have a inmate security force." 1000 00:49:05,882 --> 00:49:08,442 - Said, "All right. - We're looking for volunteers. 1001 00:49:08,482 --> 00:49:12,082 You, you, you, you, you, y'all on the inmate force. 1002 00:49:12,121 --> 00:49:14,122 And it can't be all Black guys. 1003 00:49:14,161 --> 00:49:16,842 We need Black guys, white guys, and Puerto Ricans." 1004 00:49:20,081 --> 00:49:23,081 We would line up and create a corridor, 1005 00:49:23,122 --> 00:49:25,482 and they would walk down the middle of the corridor, 1006 00:49:25,522 --> 00:49:29,241 with us being a barrier between general population 1007 00:49:29,281 --> 00:49:30,761 and the negotiators. 1008 00:49:30,802 --> 00:49:33,482 So we would just stand shoulder to shoulder 1009 00:49:33,521 --> 00:49:36,842 and give them that safe space to walk through. 1010 00:49:41,002 --> 00:49:42,122 We began to talk to with them 1011 00:49:42,161 --> 00:49:44,282 about what they wanted. 1012 00:49:44,322 --> 00:49:48,522 And they had their list of things 1013 00:49:48,562 --> 00:49:51,002 that they wanted already written. 1014 00:49:51,042 --> 00:49:53,801 You know, everybody wanted a voice... 1015 00:49:53,842 --> 00:49:56,082 Good, bad, and the whacked out. 1016 00:49:56,121 --> 00:49:59,281 So nothing went easy, but it went. 1017 00:49:59,322 --> 00:50:01,361 We got to a point where we had 1018 00:50:01,402 --> 00:50:04,842 what we thought might be possible. 1019 00:50:04,882 --> 00:50:07,482 Their demands were, you know, 1020 00:50:07,521 --> 00:50:10,722 reasonable demands about living conditions. 1021 00:50:10,762 --> 00:50:13,722 They wanted medical care, 1022 00:50:13,762 --> 00:50:16,841 uh, decent food, 1023 00:50:16,882 --> 00:50:20,882 uh, fair disciplinary hearings. 1024 00:50:23,841 --> 00:50:26,721 Basically, they wanted to be treated 1025 00:50:26,762 --> 00:50:29,802 like human beings. 1026 00:50:29,842 --> 00:50:31,042 Prisoners late last night 1027 00:50:31,082 --> 00:50:33,321 met with a 30-member civilian committee 1028 00:50:33,362 --> 00:50:35,241 in an attempt to clarify demands 1029 00:50:35,282 --> 00:50:37,441 ranging from better prison life conditions 1030 00:50:37,482 --> 00:50:39,481 to more religious and political freedom. 1031 00:50:39,522 --> 00:50:42,682 I injected into the demands 1032 00:50:42,722 --> 00:50:46,282 for some people to go to a non-imperialistic country, 1033 00:50:46,321 --> 00:50:48,801 you know, to be flied out. 1034 00:50:48,842 --> 00:50:51,482 We thought Cuba was gonna come and get us. 1035 00:50:51,522 --> 00:50:55,521 You ship troops to Vietnam, to Santo Domingo, 1036 00:50:55,562 --> 00:50:58,362 to all these foreign countries, to oppress the brothers. 1037 00:50:58,401 --> 00:51:00,402 You can bring one of these helicopters in here 1038 00:51:00,441 --> 00:51:02,401 and ship us on out of this country. 1039 00:51:04,482 --> 00:51:07,161 We done seen people snatch airplanes and all like that 1040 00:51:07,201 --> 00:51:09,762 and go to Cuba and Algiers and all other places. 1041 00:51:09,801 --> 00:51:11,561 Why not get out of jail? 1042 00:51:11,602 --> 00:51:14,441 An Air France jet was hijacked by Palestinian guerillas. 1043 00:51:14,482 --> 00:51:18,482 A 17-year-old girl hijacked a TWA jetliner on a... 1044 00:51:18,522 --> 00:51:20,761 I had four years in on a 25-to-life sentence. 1045 00:51:20,802 --> 00:51:22,882 Why not get out of jail? 1046 00:51:22,922 --> 00:51:24,321 Why not? 1047 00:51:24,362 --> 00:51:27,881 Well, we all knew that that wasn't gonna happen. 1048 00:51:27,922 --> 00:51:32,322 We weren't gonna go to Algeria in their plane, I knew that. 1049 00:51:32,362 --> 00:51:35,322 Everybody, the back of their minds, knew that. 1050 00:51:35,362 --> 00:51:36,681 But we needed amnesty. 1051 00:51:39,082 --> 00:51:40,602 We want the federal judiciary 1052 00:51:40,641 --> 00:51:42,602 to guarantee complete amnesty 1053 00:51:42,642 --> 00:51:45,161 to each and every one of us that has taken part 1054 00:51:45,202 --> 00:51:48,922 in the struggle here at Attica, to ensure that this amnesty 1055 00:51:48,962 --> 00:51:51,282 will not be just a groping in the wind, 1056 00:51:51,321 --> 00:51:55,082 but a reality for each and every one of us. 1057 00:51:55,122 --> 00:51:57,042 They were not looking to be relieved 1058 00:51:57,081 --> 00:51:59,802 of the prison sentences to which they had been sent 1059 00:51:59,841 --> 00:52:02,082 by the courts after being convicted. 1060 00:52:02,122 --> 00:52:06,042 They were looking to be freed from any prosecution 1061 00:52:06,082 --> 00:52:09,601 or any penalties for their engaging in the riot. 1062 00:52:12,522 --> 00:52:15,522 Besides the normal beatings and everything else 1063 00:52:15,562 --> 00:52:20,322 that they're gonna do to us, which is, you know, automatic, 1064 00:52:20,362 --> 00:52:23,242 we knew that they could also take us and bring us to courts 1065 00:52:23,281 --> 00:52:27,401 and, you know, and turn us into the monster inmates 1066 00:52:27,442 --> 00:52:30,082 who took over the prison. 1067 00:52:30,122 --> 00:52:33,321 We are not advocating violence. 1068 00:52:33,362 --> 00:52:35,562 We all want to live. 1069 00:52:37,681 --> 00:52:40,321 All of us. 1070 00:52:40,362 --> 00:52:42,322 If any of you gentlemen own dogs... 1071 00:52:44,281 --> 00:52:47,281 You're treating them better than we have been treated 1072 00:52:47,322 --> 00:52:49,402 the last year. 1073 00:52:51,922 --> 00:52:53,802 They were fiercely trying 1074 00:52:53,842 --> 00:52:56,402 to convince prison authorities 1075 00:52:56,442 --> 00:52:59,442 that they didn't cease being a human being 1076 00:52:59,481 --> 00:53:03,361 merely by the fact that they were incarcerated 1077 00:53:03,402 --> 00:53:07,041 because they had broken a law of society. 1078 00:53:07,082 --> 00:53:09,121 Now, that's a profound thing. 1079 00:53:09,162 --> 00:53:12,001 "I am somebody. 1080 00:53:12,042 --> 00:53:14,282 I'm not a thing. 1081 00:53:14,321 --> 00:53:17,682 You can't treat me like a dog. 1082 00:53:17,721 --> 00:53:21,161 I may be a prisoner, but I have dignity." 1083 00:53:21,202 --> 00:53:24,282 And that's what they insisted 1084 00:53:24,321 --> 00:53:27,162 on getting the... 1085 00:53:27,201 --> 00:53:31,362 power structure of Attica to recognize... 1086 00:53:31,402 --> 00:53:35,242 That they continued to be somebody. 1087 00:53:37,842 --> 00:53:41,201 The observers, they all were listening to us. 1088 00:53:41,242 --> 00:53:45,161 I feel that they were supporting us. 1089 00:53:45,202 --> 00:53:48,201 You see, and that meant a lot to us. 1090 00:53:50,202 --> 00:53:52,482 - "- This is our situation. - Please listen to us." 1091 00:53:52,522 --> 00:53:54,761 - And that's what they were doing. - They were listening. 1092 00:53:54,802 --> 00:53:56,882 It felt like there was somebody that believed in us. 1093 00:53:56,922 --> 00:53:58,601 It felt that way. 1094 00:53:58,642 --> 00:53:59,922 That somebody believed that, 1095 00:53:59,961 --> 00:54:01,722 you know, you did have some rights, 1096 00:54:01,761 --> 00:54:03,679 even though you were a convicted felon of whatever. 1097 00:54:05,802 --> 00:54:09,002 We'd be able to get better mailing privileges, 1098 00:54:09,041 --> 00:54:10,722 better medical privileges. 1099 00:54:10,762 --> 00:54:14,482 We tried to nail it down to that which was realistic 1100 00:54:14,521 --> 00:54:18,081 and possible, distinguished from a plane 1101 00:54:18,122 --> 00:54:21,002 waiting for us outside the cell block, 1102 00:54:21,042 --> 00:54:23,242 flying us to Cuba. 1103 00:54:23,281 --> 00:54:25,002 That's what it was. 1104 00:54:25,042 --> 00:54:28,241 It was realism from fantasy. 1105 00:54:29,922 --> 00:54:32,242 We want to be treated as human beings. 1106 00:54:33,561 --> 00:54:37,482 We will be treated as human beings. 1107 00:54:37,522 --> 00:54:39,242 We have come to the conclusion... 1108 00:54:40,962 --> 00:54:44,001 ...after close study, 1109 00:54:44,042 --> 00:54:47,122 after much suffering, 1110 00:54:47,161 --> 00:54:50,321 after much consideration, 1111 00:54:50,362 --> 00:54:55,202 that if we cannot live as people, 1112 00:54:55,241 --> 00:54:58,961 then we will at least try to die like men. 1113 00:55:02,882 --> 00:55:06,761 That statement resounded everywhere. 1114 00:55:12,282 --> 00:55:14,362 In that yard, when he said that, 1115 00:55:14,402 --> 00:55:17,642 a roar went up like no other. 1116 00:55:17,682 --> 00:55:19,362 This was their stand. 1117 00:55:19,401 --> 00:55:22,202 I saw that I really... 1118 00:55:22,242 --> 00:55:24,402 None of us were gonna be observers. 1119 00:55:24,441 --> 00:55:26,361 We were gonna be mediators. 1120 00:55:26,401 --> 00:55:29,042 Whether we wanted to be mediators or not, 1121 00:55:29,082 --> 00:55:32,802 whether we were called up to be mediators, 1122 00:55:32,841 --> 00:55:36,882 this prison uprising had to be mediated. 1123 00:55:36,921 --> 00:55:39,722 Otherwise, it was gonna end in disaster. 1124 00:55:41,362 --> 00:55:45,041 If you people do not understand, 1125 00:55:45,082 --> 00:55:48,522 if you people do not stick with us, 1126 00:55:48,562 --> 00:55:50,482 if you people cannot make the commitment 1127 00:55:50,521 --> 00:55:51,881 that we have made here... 1128 00:55:54,122 --> 00:55:56,322 ...we are dead. 1129 00:55:56,362 --> 00:56:00,082 I appeal, beseech you all 1130 00:56:00,121 --> 00:56:02,002 to stand with us, 1131 00:56:02,041 --> 00:56:04,442 walk with us, 1132 00:56:04,482 --> 00:56:06,561 die with us, if necessary! 1133 00:56:06,602 --> 00:56:09,321 - I hear you! - You and all the people! 1134 00:56:09,362 --> 00:56:12,162 Power to you and all the people! 1135 00:56:34,961 --> 00:56:38,442 Things were growing on the outside. 1136 00:56:38,482 --> 00:56:40,082 Don't tape this. 1137 00:56:42,641 --> 00:56:44,602 There were more journalists. 1138 00:56:44,642 --> 00:56:47,522 There were more police. 1139 00:56:47,561 --> 00:56:49,761 And it was just getting bigger 1140 00:56:49,802 --> 00:56:53,842 and bigger and bigger. 1141 00:56:53,881 --> 00:56:56,682 People are coming night and day, 1142 00:56:56,722 --> 00:57:01,082 vans with reporters and police, and things are building up. 1143 00:57:04,441 --> 00:57:05,681 Among those keeping a vigil 1144 00:57:05,722 --> 00:57:07,362 outside the prison walls, 1145 00:57:07,402 --> 00:57:10,002 the families of some of the 38 men held hostage. 1146 00:57:10,041 --> 00:57:12,762 I was just home, watching the TV. 1147 00:57:12,801 --> 00:57:16,602 I just kept looking for my husband. 1148 00:57:16,641 --> 00:57:19,762 Maybe he'd be killed or brutalized in some way, 1149 00:57:19,801 --> 00:57:21,561 because the inmates at that time 1150 00:57:21,601 --> 00:57:23,481 had the power there, you know. 1151 00:57:23,521 --> 00:57:26,962 And if they didn't like somebody, or who knew what, 1152 00:57:27,002 --> 00:57:29,281 you were just scared to death that, you know, 1153 00:57:29,322 --> 00:57:31,201 they'd just kill them all or something 1154 00:57:31,242 --> 00:57:32,681 if they didn't get their way. 1155 00:57:34,562 --> 00:57:36,241 Families of the 31 hostages 1156 00:57:36,282 --> 00:57:38,002 wait for word as part of the prison 1157 00:57:38,041 --> 00:57:40,002 remains in control of the inmates. 1158 00:57:46,242 --> 00:57:47,481 They were upset, 1159 00:57:47,521 --> 00:57:49,482 they were angry, and they were scared, 1160 00:57:49,522 --> 00:57:52,041 standing out there 1161 00:57:52,082 --> 00:57:55,201 while their loved ones are being held hostage, 1162 00:57:55,242 --> 00:57:56,841 and they are waiting 1163 00:57:56,882 --> 00:58:00,202 for any scrap of information, 1164 00:58:00,241 --> 00:58:02,282 to hear something. 1165 00:58:03,922 --> 00:58:06,281 And many of those families 1166 00:58:06,322 --> 00:58:08,201 stood vigil day and night out there. 1167 00:58:11,282 --> 00:58:12,842 A bunch of people crying, 1168 00:58:12,881 --> 00:58:16,041 the wives and brothers and fathers, 1169 00:58:16,082 --> 00:58:17,762 freaking out. 1170 00:58:17,801 --> 00:58:19,721 Just panic. 1171 00:58:19,762 --> 00:58:22,081 People were afraid to talk in the parking lot 1172 00:58:22,122 --> 00:58:24,362 because they thought that... 1173 00:58:24,401 --> 00:58:26,802 To any reporters or anybody, even. 1174 00:58:26,841 --> 00:58:28,722 They did it all in privacy 1175 00:58:28,761 --> 00:58:30,841 because they didn't want their relatives targeted, 1176 00:58:30,882 --> 00:58:32,641 singled out by the inmates. 1177 00:58:43,762 --> 00:58:45,602 I had sympathy for them. 1178 00:58:45,641 --> 00:58:48,521 They... where else were you gonna get a job 1179 00:58:48,562 --> 00:58:52,042 if you lived in that area? 1180 00:58:52,081 --> 00:58:54,762 And you had no training 1181 00:58:54,802 --> 00:58:57,561 and no understanding 1182 00:58:57,601 --> 00:58:59,481 of what it was like 1183 00:58:59,521 --> 00:59:02,602 to grow up in a poor, 1184 00:59:02,641 --> 00:59:06,122 Black, urban area. 1185 00:59:06,162 --> 00:59:09,162 You... these were aliens. 1186 00:59:09,202 --> 00:59:12,121 These were people from a different world. 1187 00:59:14,321 --> 00:59:17,481 And your family members 1188 00:59:17,522 --> 00:59:22,082 maybe are gonna get killed because of them? 1189 00:59:22,121 --> 00:59:25,401 Sure, you were infuriated. 1190 00:59:27,522 --> 00:59:30,081 All these dogs up there with all those rifles 1191 00:59:30,122 --> 00:59:31,922 are trying to kill us. 1192 00:59:31,962 --> 00:59:33,521 Well, we ain't gonna quit. 1193 00:59:33,562 --> 00:59:36,521 The inmates that were given microphones on TV, 1194 00:59:36,562 --> 00:59:38,642 I mean... very upsetting. 1195 00:59:40,122 --> 00:59:41,682 They should have resolved it right away. 1196 00:59:41,721 --> 00:59:44,881 - It just went on too far. - We all just wanted it to end. 1197 00:59:47,202 --> 00:59:51,162 What I would hear over the radio 1198 00:59:51,201 --> 00:59:52,962 and the TV 1199 00:59:53,001 --> 00:59:55,441 was not satisfying to me at all, 1200 00:59:55,482 --> 00:59:59,242 because it seemed to me that what I was hearing, 1201 00:59:59,281 --> 01:00:02,282 I didn't think was... 1202 01:00:02,321 --> 01:00:04,602 They were doing the right thing. 1203 01:00:04,641 --> 01:00:07,722 It just seemed sort of limp to me. 1204 01:00:07,762 --> 01:00:09,041 And that was frustrating. 1205 01:00:11,122 --> 01:00:12,682 You'd hear stuff from people. 1206 01:00:12,721 --> 01:00:14,401 That's where it got a little scary, too, 1207 01:00:14,442 --> 01:00:17,401 'cause you could see how the inmates were considered, 1208 01:00:17,442 --> 01:00:20,522 like, less than human, kind of like animals. 1209 01:00:20,561 --> 01:00:22,842 There was people saying, you know, 1210 01:00:22,881 --> 01:00:24,322 "Don't worry about your dad." 1211 01:00:24,362 --> 01:00:26,962 You know, "they'll get theirs" type thing. 1212 01:00:27,001 --> 01:00:30,001 And so that kind of made it even more scary. 1213 01:00:30,042 --> 01:00:32,162 You realize how emotionally charged 1214 01:00:32,201 --> 01:00:34,242 the community's getting. 1215 01:00:34,281 --> 01:00:36,362 The tensions got worse and worse and worse. 1216 01:00:36,402 --> 01:00:38,241 Emotions got worse and worse and worse. 1217 01:00:48,001 --> 01:00:50,362 Saturday, I think that the hope 1218 01:00:50,402 --> 01:00:54,001 was stronger than the doubt, because after three days, 1219 01:00:54,042 --> 01:00:57,321 you know, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 1220 01:00:57,362 --> 01:00:58,922 they hadn't came in there. 1221 01:00:58,961 --> 01:01:00,362 We had, like, 30 demands, 1222 01:01:00,402 --> 01:01:05,281 and most of them were possible. 1223 01:01:05,322 --> 01:01:08,281 And we were exuberant about it. 1224 01:01:08,322 --> 01:01:10,922 I've never seen anything like this. 1225 01:01:10,962 --> 01:01:13,162 The people in here are treated like dogs. 1226 01:01:13,201 --> 01:01:15,961 Not only the Black... The Puerto Rican and the white. 1227 01:01:16,002 --> 01:01:17,481 And we're gonna get what we demand, 1228 01:01:17,522 --> 01:01:19,241 or we gonna die trying. 1229 01:01:19,282 --> 01:01:21,242 Thank you. 1230 01:01:21,282 --> 01:01:22,961 We thought that, whatever happened, 1231 01:01:23,002 --> 01:01:25,161 we could maybe really walk away 1232 01:01:25,202 --> 01:01:26,762 with some improvement in our lives. 1233 01:01:29,281 --> 01:01:32,522 Point was is that whatever happened, 1234 01:01:32,561 --> 01:01:35,202 it just had to make a difference. 1235 01:01:35,242 --> 01:01:38,002 - Change had to happen. - You had to embrace hope. 1236 01:01:43,681 --> 01:01:46,121 There's a report that prison officials have yielded 1237 01:01:46,162 --> 01:01:48,481 to most of the demands by the rebelling inmates 1238 01:01:48,522 --> 01:01:50,562 at the Attica State Prison in New York, 1239 01:01:50,602 --> 01:01:52,522 where more than 30 persons have been held hostage 1240 01:01:52,561 --> 01:01:54,962 for three days. 1241 01:01:55,002 --> 01:01:57,641 As you know, during this ordeal, 1242 01:01:57,682 --> 01:02:00,482 I have personally met with inmates 1243 01:02:00,521 --> 01:02:04,081 on several occasions in areas under their control, 1244 01:02:04,122 --> 01:02:07,042 and have demonstrated my commitment 1245 01:02:07,082 --> 01:02:09,962 to deal with the issues they have raised 1246 01:02:10,001 --> 01:02:13,482 by accepting 28 of the 30 1247 01:02:13,522 --> 01:02:15,722 major inmate proposals. 1248 01:02:15,761 --> 01:02:18,761 Mr. Kunstler, can you tell me what's gonna happen now? 1249 01:02:18,802 --> 01:02:22,522 Well, we hope negotiations will start this afternoon 1250 01:02:22,562 --> 01:02:24,362 and continue until they reach a solution. 1251 01:02:24,401 --> 01:02:26,362 Is Huey Newton or Bobby Seale, 1252 01:02:26,402 --> 01:02:28,282 - are they coming? - They were asked for. 1253 01:02:28,322 --> 01:02:29,562 We hope so, and we understood 1254 01:02:29,601 --> 01:02:31,082 that they were en route. 1255 01:02:31,121 --> 01:02:33,362 We had kind of settled in 1256 01:02:33,402 --> 01:02:35,081 on the demands, 1257 01:02:35,122 --> 01:02:39,361 and we had negotiated with Oswald for his commitment 1258 01:02:39,402 --> 01:02:41,322 to 28 of them. 1259 01:02:43,601 --> 01:02:46,041 And the whole point of Bobby Seale's coming there 1260 01:02:46,081 --> 01:02:48,762 would be for him to bless and support 1261 01:02:48,801 --> 01:02:51,202 and urge the inmates to accept them. 1262 01:02:56,601 --> 01:02:58,401 Bobby Seale was our hero, 1263 01:02:58,442 --> 01:03:00,962 because he was speaking out about the brutality 1264 01:03:01,001 --> 01:03:03,361 that was happening in the prison system. 1265 01:03:03,402 --> 01:03:05,762 He was doing what we were trying to live. 1266 01:03:05,801 --> 01:03:08,802 He was a Panther, the second-in-command. 1267 01:03:08,841 --> 01:03:10,922 I really thought he was gonna help us out. 1268 01:03:10,962 --> 01:03:14,282 Every demand. Every demand. 1269 01:03:16,521 --> 01:03:19,442 - Bobby didn't stay long. - Bobby didn't stay long. 1270 01:03:19,482 --> 01:03:21,762 Came up to where the negotiating table was, 1271 01:03:21,802 --> 01:03:23,042 made his little speech. 1272 01:03:23,081 --> 01:03:24,762 He ain't walk around the yard. 1273 01:03:26,162 --> 01:03:27,802 Bobby walked right up out the jail. 1274 01:03:31,161 --> 01:03:33,081 It was quite a letdown. 1275 01:03:33,121 --> 01:03:35,482 - Let's go. - Let's go, big man. 1276 01:03:35,522 --> 01:03:37,442 He stayed all about three minutes. 1277 01:03:40,042 --> 01:03:43,322 At that point, everybody just sitting around 1278 01:03:43,362 --> 01:03:45,282 waiting for something to happen. 1279 01:03:49,322 --> 01:03:53,281 But then Billy Quinn died, 1280 01:03:53,322 --> 01:03:55,682 and that transformed everything. 1281 01:03:55,721 --> 01:03:57,282 The State Prison in Attica, New York, 1282 01:03:57,322 --> 01:03:59,001 is at the crisis point. 1283 01:03:59,041 --> 01:04:01,442 The death of one of the guards has hardened the position 1284 01:04:01,481 --> 01:04:03,522 of prison officials, and there are strong... 1285 01:04:03,561 --> 01:04:05,442 You don't get amnesty for a murder. 1286 01:04:05,481 --> 01:04:06,961 I immediately knew... 1287 01:04:10,882 --> 01:04:14,641 ...that the process of negotiations 1288 01:04:14,682 --> 01:04:17,882 just became far more difficult. 1289 01:04:17,922 --> 01:04:20,401 I knew that was, uh, 1290 01:04:20,442 --> 01:04:23,522 that was the worst possible thing that could happen. 1291 01:04:23,561 --> 01:04:27,762 How could they peacefully negotiate 1292 01:04:27,801 --> 01:04:30,482 with inmates who they held responsible 1293 01:04:30,522 --> 01:04:32,122 for the death of a guard? 1294 01:04:35,442 --> 01:04:39,081 Prior to his passing on, 1295 01:04:39,122 --> 01:04:42,882 there was a hope and even an expectation, 1296 01:04:42,921 --> 01:04:45,602 because people were listening, 1297 01:04:45,641 --> 01:04:46,881 people were coming to understand 1298 01:04:46,922 --> 01:04:49,802 what we had been living through 1299 01:04:49,842 --> 01:04:52,202 and suffering as prisoners there. 1300 01:04:53,881 --> 01:04:56,682 We knew that it was a new ballgame. 1301 01:04:56,722 --> 01:05:01,202 It was depression and fear... 1302 01:05:01,242 --> 01:05:05,082 and, you know, anxiety, and, yeah, 1303 01:05:05,121 --> 01:05:06,882 everything you could imagine. 1304 01:05:06,921 --> 01:05:09,842 We had to drop a lot of issues 1305 01:05:09,882 --> 01:05:12,882 and focus on amnesty as one, 1306 01:05:12,921 --> 01:05:14,962 as the main issue, 1307 01:05:15,001 --> 01:05:19,641 because we didn't want to be charged with murder. 1308 01:05:19,681 --> 01:05:22,401 We said, as a group... 1309 01:05:24,922 --> 01:05:28,642 ...that we was gonna stand in solidarity with everyone. 1310 01:05:30,322 --> 01:05:32,722 If they could not give amnesty to everybody, 1311 01:05:32,762 --> 01:05:35,402 then we was not gonna leave anyone in the clutch 1312 01:05:35,441 --> 01:05:38,082 or in... to take... Or throw anybody under the bus, 1313 01:05:38,122 --> 01:05:39,642 so to speak, to take this. 1314 01:05:39,681 --> 01:05:41,562 We acted together. 1315 01:05:41,601 --> 01:05:45,242 We understood that this was us, 1316 01:05:45,282 --> 01:05:47,162 that if we didn't stand together now, 1317 01:05:47,202 --> 01:05:49,122 we never would, and it would... 1318 01:05:49,161 --> 01:05:52,202 We would live like dogs for the rest of our lives. 1319 01:05:54,322 --> 01:05:56,602 We understood that. 1320 01:05:56,642 --> 01:05:59,882 Did I wish that we could somehow back away? 1321 01:05:59,922 --> 01:06:01,162 But not without amnesty. 1322 01:06:01,201 --> 01:06:02,242 How do the inmates feel 1323 01:06:02,282 --> 01:06:03,922 about the current situation? 1324 01:06:03,961 --> 01:06:06,922 A group of us were in with the inmates. 1325 01:06:06,961 --> 01:06:09,161 We met with them. 1326 01:06:09,202 --> 01:06:12,762 - We had two and a half hours. - Some of the people are here. 1327 01:06:12,802 --> 01:06:14,375 But we really have nothing to say about it 1328 01:06:14,401 --> 01:06:17,722 except they are firm in their demands, and that's it. 1329 01:06:17,762 --> 01:06:19,578 In other words, they're not gonna let the hostages go 1330 01:06:19,601 --> 01:06:21,241 until they're granted total amnesty. 1331 01:06:21,282 --> 01:06:23,041 That was their last position. 1332 01:06:28,402 --> 01:06:29,962 The flag at half staff 1333 01:06:30,001 --> 01:06:31,859 for the injured guard who had died the night before 1334 01:06:31,882 --> 01:06:33,482 set the mood this morning. 1335 01:06:33,522 --> 01:06:34,819 It was clear that the troubles of this troubled prison 1336 01:06:34,842 --> 01:06:36,601 had grown worse. 1337 01:06:36,642 --> 01:06:39,481 That Sunday, you had that fog that came over, 1338 01:06:39,522 --> 01:06:41,801 and it was a certain chill in the air. 1339 01:06:41,842 --> 01:06:44,242 You know, something didn't feel right. 1340 01:06:44,281 --> 01:06:46,481 It didn't feel right. 1341 01:06:46,522 --> 01:06:48,121 There are strong indications tonight 1342 01:06:48,162 --> 01:06:49,881 that police will be sent into the cell block 1343 01:06:49,921 --> 01:06:51,482 in an attempt to rescue 1344 01:06:51,522 --> 01:06:53,802 the rest of the hostages by force. 1345 01:06:57,762 --> 01:06:59,521 Water was cut off. 1346 01:06:59,562 --> 01:07:01,722 Food was getting scarce. 1347 01:07:01,762 --> 01:07:03,962 Patience was getting short. 1348 01:07:04,002 --> 01:07:06,761 And people were totally wondering 1349 01:07:06,802 --> 01:07:09,641 what is gonna be the outcome of the situation. 1350 01:07:17,761 --> 01:07:19,241 There was enormous pressure, 1351 01:07:19,282 --> 01:07:22,001 and I witnessed it as I took a breather 1352 01:07:22,042 --> 01:07:25,642 and went out to the public space, 1353 01:07:25,681 --> 01:07:27,402 just outside the prison, 1354 01:07:27,442 --> 01:07:29,642 where a lot of correction officers, 1355 01:07:29,681 --> 01:07:31,562 their families, troopers, 1356 01:07:31,601 --> 01:07:33,322 and other officials were gathered together. 1357 01:07:35,602 --> 01:07:38,282 I mean, the news was completely about that... 1358 01:07:38,321 --> 01:07:39,882 You know, that the state troopers 1359 01:07:39,922 --> 01:07:43,722 and everybody were poised on the top, looking in. 1360 01:07:43,762 --> 01:07:46,602 It was all about these rumors 1361 01:07:46,642 --> 01:07:49,441 that the prisoners 1362 01:07:49,482 --> 01:07:52,762 were castrating the hostages, 1363 01:07:52,802 --> 01:07:56,001 that they were torturing them, 1364 01:07:56,042 --> 01:07:58,282 and it's gonna end in bloodshed. 1365 01:07:58,321 --> 01:08:02,922 And that was the storyline that was terrifying people. 1366 01:08:02,962 --> 01:08:04,459 Could you turn around this way, to the camera? 1367 01:08:04,482 --> 01:08:07,442 I think I did a few interviews, 1368 01:08:07,482 --> 01:08:10,482 and the people were... Made it very clear 1369 01:08:10,521 --> 01:08:13,042 that these are bad people in there, 1370 01:08:13,082 --> 01:08:16,321 and they shouldn't be doing this, 1371 01:08:16,362 --> 01:08:18,361 you know, they should be taken care of. 1372 01:08:18,402 --> 01:08:19,978 - You know what I mean. - They should hang them. 1373 01:08:20,001 --> 01:08:22,481 And crazy stuff. 1374 01:08:22,522 --> 01:08:25,162 I mean, it was just really crazy. 1375 01:08:25,201 --> 01:08:27,642 It was a very hostile environment. 1376 01:08:27,681 --> 01:08:29,881 I'd like to show them a little brutality. 1377 01:08:29,922 --> 01:08:32,842 Is this being brutal to us or not? 1378 01:08:32,881 --> 01:08:35,842 - Don't point that bitch at me. - I'll stick it up your ass! 1379 01:08:35,882 --> 01:08:37,802 I'm a father of eight children, 1380 01:08:37,841 --> 01:08:39,522 and Michael is the oldest, 1381 01:08:39,562 --> 01:08:42,282 and I wouldn't want to see any one of them die. 1382 01:08:42,322 --> 01:08:44,362 But if he is gonna die, 1383 01:08:44,401 --> 01:08:47,642 I want that whole damn thing bombed right the hell off. 1384 01:08:50,122 --> 01:08:51,242 While the talking went on, 1385 01:08:51,281 --> 01:08:53,162 the state police kept reinforcing. 1386 01:08:53,201 --> 01:08:55,882 At least 500 men in and out of the walls. 1387 01:08:55,921 --> 01:08:58,202 No indication that any of this force will be used, 1388 01:08:58,242 --> 01:09:00,441 but the police are ready. 1389 01:09:00,481 --> 01:09:02,482 Well, any time you went 1390 01:09:02,521 --> 01:09:06,241 in and out of the prison, there was an army, 1391 01:09:06,282 --> 01:09:07,922 and they were armed 1392 01:09:07,962 --> 01:09:11,882 with every conceivable type of weapon. 1393 01:09:11,922 --> 01:09:16,202 And it really looked like 1394 01:09:16,241 --> 01:09:18,642 they wanted to use those weapons. 1395 01:09:18,681 --> 01:09:21,642 You had the sense of their anger, 1396 01:09:21,682 --> 01:09:23,682 and they'd been held back, and... 1397 01:09:27,242 --> 01:09:28,682 ...they wanted to move. 1398 01:09:28,721 --> 01:09:32,522 They wanted to... to attack. 1399 01:09:36,801 --> 01:09:39,042 Yeah, they were very impatient. 1400 01:09:39,082 --> 01:09:41,082 Very unhappy. 1401 01:09:41,522 --> 01:09:44,162 They were all thrown into a situation 1402 01:09:44,201 --> 01:09:46,442 which they were not prepared for, 1403 01:09:46,482 --> 01:09:50,482 and about which they had basically an animosity. 1404 01:09:54,481 --> 01:09:56,202 I wish you would take any of the men 1405 01:09:56,242 --> 01:09:57,962 that belongs to us off the roof, 1406 01:09:58,002 --> 01:10:00,001 and any of the troopers out of here, 1407 01:10:00,042 --> 01:10:02,482 because if you get these shaky guys shooting off 1408 01:10:02,522 --> 01:10:04,842 or getting up in a goober over something, 1409 01:10:04,882 --> 01:10:08,201 somebody's gonna get excited, and then we're all gonna pay. 1410 01:10:08,242 --> 01:10:10,242 Now, this is not a joke. 1411 01:10:10,281 --> 01:10:12,562 This is not a... 1412 01:10:12,601 --> 01:10:15,402 Some kind of a little tea party we got here. 1413 01:10:15,442 --> 01:10:17,442 I just hope that the commissioner 1414 01:10:17,482 --> 01:10:18,962 and the other people in the committee 1415 01:10:19,002 --> 01:10:21,521 that they've gathered together 1416 01:10:21,562 --> 01:10:24,241 can come up with a solution 1417 01:10:24,282 --> 01:10:28,241 to solve these people's problems, and ours. 1418 01:10:28,282 --> 01:10:29,962 Thank you very much. 1419 01:10:33,561 --> 01:10:36,682 Late Sunday afternoon, 1420 01:10:36,721 --> 01:10:38,921 Commissioner Oswald and the officials 1421 01:10:38,962 --> 01:10:42,282 were prepared and intended to retaking. 1422 01:10:44,242 --> 01:10:48,001 But I pressed Oswald to agree to give them 1423 01:10:48,042 --> 01:10:50,441 until seven o'clock on Monday morning. 1424 01:10:50,482 --> 01:10:53,481 By Sunday morning, everything else had failed. 1425 01:10:53,522 --> 01:10:56,042 And so the... 1426 01:10:56,081 --> 01:10:59,042 The final shot 1427 01:10:59,081 --> 01:11:02,921 was going to be to try to get to Rockefeller. 1428 01:11:02,962 --> 01:11:07,362 And there was a committee of people put together to do that. 1429 01:11:07,402 --> 01:11:09,762 Good morning, Governor. 1430 01:11:09,801 --> 01:11:12,602 We wanted four friends of the governor 1431 01:11:12,642 --> 01:11:15,202 to call him and, "Please, as your friend, 1432 01:11:15,242 --> 01:11:17,842 let me ask you to come to Attica. 1433 01:11:17,881 --> 01:11:19,442 Not to meet with the prisoners, 1434 01:11:19,482 --> 01:11:23,802 but to come and lay your hand on approving these measures." 1435 01:11:23,842 --> 01:11:27,601 Sergeant Cunningham, now, would you give us a message 1436 01:11:27,642 --> 01:11:30,722 for Governor Nelson Rockefeller? 1437 01:11:30,761 --> 01:11:32,082 I certainly would. 1438 01:11:32,121 --> 01:11:33,562 One of the recommendations is, 1439 01:11:33,602 --> 01:11:36,042 "And if he says no, I'm dead." 1440 01:11:36,082 --> 01:11:38,041 I and some of my fellow members 1441 01:11:38,082 --> 01:11:40,842 of the observers committee felt very strongly 1442 01:11:40,882 --> 01:11:43,562 that if Governor Rockefeller were to come to 1443 01:11:43,602 --> 01:11:46,442 and identify with finding a solution, 1444 01:11:46,482 --> 01:11:49,441 it might have broken the logjam. 1445 01:11:49,482 --> 01:11:51,522 So I placed a call to Governor Rockefeller 1446 01:11:51,562 --> 01:11:53,162 somewhere around three o'clock. 1447 01:11:53,202 --> 01:11:56,762 Governor, what about your personal feelings right now? 1448 01:11:56,802 --> 01:11:59,202 On one level, it was a Hail Mary. 1449 01:11:59,242 --> 01:12:02,002 On the other level, it was more than a Hail Mary. 1450 01:12:02,041 --> 01:12:06,001 These were prominent people. 1451 01:12:06,042 --> 01:12:08,162 People that you would think. 1452 01:12:08,201 --> 01:12:11,002 Rockefeller respected, 1453 01:12:11,042 --> 01:12:13,561 making a sincere pitch. 1454 01:12:13,602 --> 01:12:16,122 - Come up here. - You don't have to go in. 1455 01:12:16,161 --> 01:12:17,922 You don't have to agree to anything. 1456 01:12:17,961 --> 01:12:20,642 Your presence will have meaning." 1457 01:12:20,681 --> 01:12:23,762 Maybe if he came, that would be an opening 1458 01:12:23,802 --> 01:12:26,962 that would have allowed us to negotiate. 1459 01:12:27,001 --> 01:12:31,202 Maybe some other negotiators 1460 01:12:31,241 --> 01:12:34,281 could be brought in who would help the negotiation. 1461 01:12:34,322 --> 01:12:37,482 Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe. 1462 01:12:37,522 --> 01:12:40,242 But "no, no, no, no" 1463 01:12:40,281 --> 01:12:43,041 meant "death, death, death, death." 1464 01:12:43,082 --> 01:12:44,681 Prisoners had been demanding 1465 01:12:44,722 --> 01:12:46,761 from the very beginning that I come into the yard, 1466 01:12:46,802 --> 01:12:51,202 and I frankly felt that the idea of governors... 1467 01:12:51,242 --> 01:12:53,082 Any time there was an uprising 1468 01:12:53,122 --> 01:12:55,482 or any time there was a prisoner taken... 1469 01:12:55,521 --> 01:12:57,482 Not a prisoner, but a hostage taken... 1470 01:12:57,522 --> 01:12:59,521 Being involved in the negotiation... 1471 01:12:59,562 --> 01:13:00,819 The next thing would be, "We don't want the governor. 1472 01:13:00,842 --> 01:13:02,361 We want the president." 1473 01:13:02,401 --> 01:13:03,922 Then we get to a situation 1474 01:13:03,962 --> 01:13:05,498 which is an impossible one for this country. 1475 01:13:05,521 --> 01:13:07,122 By the time they spoke to him, 1476 01:13:07,161 --> 01:13:09,442 he had made up his mind. 1477 01:13:09,482 --> 01:13:13,081 He listened carefully, he listened politely, 1478 01:13:13,122 --> 01:13:15,242 but by then, he had made up his mind. 1479 01:13:17,282 --> 01:13:19,362 We didn't understand the background 1480 01:13:19,401 --> 01:13:22,642 of his having consulted, on an ongoing basis, 1481 01:13:22,681 --> 01:13:25,642 during those days, with the White House. 1482 01:13:25,681 --> 01:13:28,762 The administration in Washington encouraged Rocky 1483 01:13:28,802 --> 01:13:31,562 to take a strong, hardline position, 1484 01:13:31,601 --> 01:13:34,122 which was unfortunate. 1485 01:13:34,162 --> 01:13:35,882 It was all a part of President Nixon's 1486 01:13:35,922 --> 01:13:37,322 law and order agenda. 1487 01:13:48,402 --> 01:13:51,282 Rockefeller wasn't calling the shots, 1488 01:13:51,321 --> 01:13:54,682 because he was on the phone 1489 01:13:54,722 --> 01:13:56,442 with Richard Nixon. 1490 01:13:58,642 --> 01:14:01,122 Rockefeller wanted to be president... 1491 01:14:02,482 --> 01:14:06,242 ...but the word on him was that he was too soft on crime. 1492 01:14:16,922 --> 01:14:20,841 And if he wanted the support of Nixon 1493 01:14:20,882 --> 01:14:22,802 and the Republican Party, 1494 01:14:22,842 --> 01:14:26,802 then he needed to go along. 1495 01:14:26,841 --> 01:14:28,801 And so he wouldn't come. 1496 01:14:34,482 --> 01:14:35,682 You know, now that Rockefeller 1497 01:14:35,722 --> 01:14:37,281 wasn't coming in... 1498 01:14:39,642 --> 01:14:42,282 ...it's like slamming the door on you. 1499 01:14:42,322 --> 01:14:43,881 You know, they slammed the door, 1500 01:14:43,922 --> 01:14:46,442 and we was locked in this room and we didn't know what to do. 1501 01:14:48,001 --> 01:14:50,601 We were to a great degree despondent 1502 01:14:50,642 --> 01:14:53,321 that we had no solution to this. 1503 01:14:53,362 --> 01:14:55,801 We didn't know what to do. 1504 01:14:55,842 --> 01:14:57,282 We made one last chance 1505 01:14:57,321 --> 01:15:00,201 to convince the inmates to surrender. 1506 01:15:05,882 --> 01:15:08,522 That last night in cell block D... 1507 01:15:10,362 --> 01:15:13,842 ...as we were trying to negotiate 1508 01:15:13,881 --> 01:15:18,402 demands that we thought were realistic... 1509 01:15:21,682 --> 01:15:25,961 ...was a come-to-Jesus moment. 1510 01:15:27,522 --> 01:15:30,802 "This is what you wanted... The demands. 1511 01:15:30,842 --> 01:15:32,841 This is what we were able to achieve. 1512 01:15:32,882 --> 01:15:35,762 This is where we stand now. 1513 01:15:37,921 --> 01:15:40,282 I'm not gonna mislead you 1514 01:15:40,322 --> 01:15:43,362 and believe that you can get anything better. 1515 01:15:43,401 --> 01:15:46,082 I do not believe you can get anything better. 1516 01:15:48,562 --> 01:15:52,202 I think we have to make a peaceful accommodation... 1517 01:15:54,042 --> 01:15:55,962 ...rather than be shot down like dogs." 1518 01:15:58,242 --> 01:16:00,882 I said, "This is what we achieved. 1519 01:16:00,921 --> 01:16:03,001 Okay? 1520 01:16:03,042 --> 01:16:05,201 And turn around and look. 1521 01:16:05,242 --> 01:16:07,241 Cell block... You see all those guns? 1522 01:16:07,282 --> 01:16:09,362 They're just waiting to kill us. 1523 01:16:09,402 --> 01:16:11,921 - They want to kill us. - Do you understand that? 1524 01:16:11,962 --> 01:16:15,081 They want to show that they have the power 1525 01:16:15,122 --> 01:16:16,321 from the barrel of a gun. 1526 01:16:16,362 --> 01:16:17,474 That's what they want to do." 1527 01:16:20,722 --> 01:16:23,402 We were warned by the observers 1528 01:16:23,441 --> 01:16:27,442 that if we didn't settle even without the amnesty, 1529 01:16:27,482 --> 01:16:31,082 they were gonna come in, and it could get very bad. 1530 01:16:32,722 --> 01:16:35,641 And, of course, we talked amongst ourselves, 1531 01:16:35,682 --> 01:16:39,402 and we just couldn't go without the amnesty, 1532 01:16:39,442 --> 01:16:41,482 'cause it would have been literally 1533 01:16:41,521 --> 01:16:44,482 sending all our leaders... 1534 01:16:44,522 --> 01:16:47,802 to the dogs, to be tortured, 1535 01:16:47,841 --> 01:16:51,602 murdered, uh, convicted of crimes, 1536 01:16:51,642 --> 01:16:53,802 and who knows what else? 1537 01:16:53,842 --> 01:16:57,122 We had observed the organization 1538 01:16:57,161 --> 01:16:59,562 and preparation of the troopers to enter, 1539 01:16:59,602 --> 01:17:02,361 hundreds of them, with their shotguns, 1540 01:17:02,401 --> 01:17:06,241 just outside the immediate area of D yard. 1541 01:17:06,282 --> 01:17:09,482 We witnessed the stationing of sharpshooters 1542 01:17:09,521 --> 01:17:14,282 on one of the ledges looking down into D yard. 1543 01:17:14,321 --> 01:17:18,441 Fear overtook the observers committee. 1544 01:17:21,282 --> 01:17:22,561 It seemed like they felt 1545 01:17:22,602 --> 01:17:24,282 something was gonna happen. 1546 01:17:24,321 --> 01:17:26,682 They were more... 1547 01:17:26,722 --> 01:17:28,321 hesitant to leave. 1548 01:17:28,362 --> 01:17:29,642 They leave with a solemn mood. 1549 01:17:29,681 --> 01:17:31,161 They left us with a solemn mood. 1550 01:17:31,201 --> 01:17:34,722 It was like, "Brothers, 1551 01:17:34,761 --> 01:17:36,842 just be careful, just take care." 1552 01:17:39,121 --> 01:17:41,802 I remember seeing them leaving, you know, 1553 01:17:41,842 --> 01:17:45,202 and it was a scary moment to see them leaving, 1554 01:17:45,242 --> 01:17:47,602 you know, knowing that they wasn't coming back. 1555 01:17:51,081 --> 01:17:53,162 I remember Big Black saying, 1556 01:17:53,202 --> 01:17:56,042 "I want to thank you for what you guys tried to do. 1557 01:17:56,082 --> 01:17:57,602 We really appreciate it." 1558 01:17:57,641 --> 01:18:00,202 So there was a lot of that. 1559 01:18:00,241 --> 01:18:02,721 When we went out of that yard that night... 1560 01:18:04,562 --> 01:18:06,441 ...there were tears. 1561 01:18:06,482 --> 01:18:07,681 There were tears. 1562 01:18:09,922 --> 01:18:12,682 And I think all of us were hoping 1563 01:18:12,721 --> 01:18:16,882 that something happened at the last minute to stop it. 1564 01:18:18,882 --> 01:18:22,362 I felt complete failure. 1565 01:18:22,402 --> 01:18:26,601 A failure that I had let them down. 1566 01:18:26,642 --> 01:18:29,802 One of the most painful things 1567 01:18:29,842 --> 01:18:32,522 is when inmates began to... 1568 01:18:32,562 --> 01:18:34,922 hand me written notes, 1569 01:18:34,961 --> 01:18:38,042 the telephone number of their... 1570 01:18:38,082 --> 01:18:42,322 Of their next of kin, 1571 01:18:42,361 --> 01:18:44,322 in case they didn't make it. 1572 01:18:44,362 --> 01:18:45,322 Okay? 1573 01:18:45,361 --> 01:18:48,162 They wanted me... I mean, 1574 01:18:48,202 --> 01:18:51,042 a couple of them looked me in the eye with tears. 1575 01:18:51,082 --> 01:18:53,442 "Brother Jones, if I don't make it, 1576 01:18:53,481 --> 01:18:54,602 you're gonna call, right?" 1577 01:18:54,642 --> 01:18:57,242 I said, "You have my word. 1578 01:18:57,282 --> 01:18:59,602 I will call." 1579 01:18:59,641 --> 01:19:02,082 Are you any way optimistic 1580 01:19:02,121 --> 01:19:04,202 that this thing can be settled by sometime tomorrow? 1581 01:19:04,242 --> 01:19:05,602 I think I'm much too tired 1582 01:19:05,642 --> 01:19:07,161 to be either optimistic or pessimistic. 1583 01:19:07,201 --> 01:19:10,122 At the moment, I'm kind of just freaked out. 1584 01:19:20,842 --> 01:19:22,722 It rained all night. 1585 01:19:22,762 --> 01:19:25,001 It didn't stop raining till about 1586 01:19:25,042 --> 01:19:27,242 six in the morning. 1587 01:19:27,282 --> 01:19:30,761 Cold, mountain rain. 1588 01:19:30,802 --> 01:19:33,322 And we were not prepared for it. 1589 01:19:33,361 --> 01:19:36,241 Those little hooches that we had, 1590 01:19:36,282 --> 01:19:40,042 them tents that people had dug the yard up and everything, 1591 01:19:40,081 --> 01:19:42,082 all them started collapsing. 1592 01:19:42,122 --> 01:19:46,082 And you had to get on solid ground, 1593 01:19:46,121 --> 01:19:49,482 concrete, and huddle together, 1594 01:19:49,522 --> 01:19:52,642 'cause everybody was shivering and everything else. 1595 01:19:52,682 --> 01:19:54,162 It was a miserable night. 1596 01:19:54,201 --> 01:19:58,122 One of the miserable-est nights I ever spent in my life. 1597 01:20:00,521 --> 01:20:02,202 I could feel the tension in the air. 1598 01:20:02,242 --> 01:20:03,922 The tension was so strong 1599 01:20:03,961 --> 01:20:07,602 that I could just basically grab it and hold on to it. 1600 01:20:07,641 --> 01:20:10,762 - "- Am I gonna make it? - Am I gonna live through this?" 1601 01:20:10,801 --> 01:20:14,082 And that tension was so strong, I could touch it, 1602 01:20:14,121 --> 01:20:16,202 I could cut and hold it in my hand. 1603 01:20:18,802 --> 01:20:20,681 Death was written in the air. 1604 01:20:25,522 --> 01:20:27,561 We've been out there for about four days. 1605 01:20:27,602 --> 01:20:29,321 We wake up that morning, 1606 01:20:29,362 --> 01:20:32,282 and it's wet and dreary out there. 1607 01:20:32,322 --> 01:20:34,561 And you could always smell 1608 01:20:34,602 --> 01:20:37,441 the fumes of guys' body 1609 01:20:37,482 --> 01:20:39,522 in that trench that we dug in the yard 1610 01:20:39,562 --> 01:20:42,882 to use the bathroom, right there in front of us, 1611 01:20:42,921 --> 01:20:45,282 so you breathing this shit in all day, so you want out. 1612 01:20:49,081 --> 01:20:50,881 The weather was really bad. 1613 01:20:50,922 --> 01:20:53,881 People's moods was that way, and, uh... 1614 01:20:53,922 --> 01:20:55,482 it was cloudy. 1615 01:20:55,521 --> 01:20:57,362 It started to rain a little bit. 1616 01:20:57,402 --> 01:20:59,761 - You know, it was dark. - The sky was dark gray. 1617 01:21:04,202 --> 01:21:05,442 We heard that we would be part 1618 01:21:05,482 --> 01:21:08,202 of a medical evacuation. 1619 01:21:08,242 --> 01:21:10,722 And early on Monday morning, 1620 01:21:10,761 --> 01:21:13,002 we loaded into trucks and headed for Attica prison. 1621 01:21:16,081 --> 01:21:18,019 In the three years that I was in the National Guard, 1622 01:21:18,042 --> 01:21:20,322 I had not seen any kind of action 1623 01:21:20,361 --> 01:21:22,762 in which violence was involved. 1624 01:21:22,801 --> 01:21:25,001 But we had a sense of dread, 1625 01:21:25,042 --> 01:21:28,482 and we had a wish that we could kind of not go. 1626 01:21:28,522 --> 01:21:31,041 And there was the hope, even at the last minute, 1627 01:21:31,082 --> 01:21:34,162 that by some miracle, 1628 01:21:34,201 --> 01:21:36,322 maybe Rockefeller would intervene. 1629 01:21:39,121 --> 01:21:41,802 His refusal to come here is a monstrosity, 1630 01:21:41,842 --> 01:21:43,241 because what he is saying is, 1631 01:21:43,282 --> 01:21:46,281 - "- Kill these men. - I have no concern. 1632 01:21:46,322 --> 01:21:49,522 All I want to do is restore law and order." 1633 01:21:49,561 --> 01:21:52,041 And I think that's a rotten exchange for lives. 1634 01:21:53,642 --> 01:21:55,682 When we got to the prison 1635 01:21:55,721 --> 01:21:58,522 and saw the lines of state troopers 1636 01:21:58,562 --> 01:22:01,282 and deputies with their raincoats on 1637 01:22:01,322 --> 01:22:05,442 and their weapons in hand, they looked exhausted. 1638 01:22:05,481 --> 01:22:06,802 They had been there, many of them, 1639 01:22:06,841 --> 01:22:09,441 for a couple of days, at least, 1640 01:22:09,482 --> 01:22:11,521 and they really didn't look up to the task 1641 01:22:11,562 --> 01:22:12,922 that was given to them. 1642 01:22:19,802 --> 01:22:20,642 I knew they was coming in. 1643 01:22:20,681 --> 01:22:22,242 You could tell. 1644 01:22:22,282 --> 01:22:23,859 You could see them starting to get more people. 1645 01:22:23,882 --> 01:22:25,081 I was in A block corridor. 1646 01:22:26,802 --> 01:22:28,241 All I saw was blue. 1647 01:22:31,962 --> 01:22:34,521 We got another mattress to put up on that table 1648 01:22:34,561 --> 01:22:36,762 'cause we thought they was gonna shoot rubber bullets. 1649 01:22:36,802 --> 01:22:40,482 And that's... that's what the word was. 1650 01:22:43,282 --> 01:22:44,681 I thought there were gonna be 1651 01:22:44,722 --> 01:22:46,002 a real, old-fashioned gang fight, 1652 01:22:46,041 --> 01:22:47,059 if that's what you want to call it. 1653 01:22:47,082 --> 01:22:48,642 You know, them versus us. 1654 01:22:48,681 --> 01:22:50,818 They got those clubs, we got a few bats and stuff in here, 1655 01:22:50,841 --> 01:22:54,281 so we're gonna... best guy win. 1656 01:22:57,002 --> 01:22:59,682 We started making preparations 1657 01:22:59,722 --> 01:23:02,322 and putting Vaseline on every part of our bodies 1658 01:23:02,361 --> 01:23:03,881 that could be exposed to gas 1659 01:23:03,922 --> 01:23:06,442 and get burnt and stuff like that, 1660 01:23:06,481 --> 01:23:08,722 padding ourselves with clothes. 1661 01:23:12,602 --> 01:23:14,099 Some brothers saying, "If they come in here, 1662 01:23:14,122 --> 01:23:15,762 then that's good, because I know my shit." 1663 01:23:18,362 --> 01:23:20,442 It became apparent to me 1664 01:23:20,481 --> 01:23:23,602 that the situation was seriously deteriorating, 1665 01:23:23,641 --> 01:23:26,282 and that the inmates, many of whom are confined 1666 01:23:26,322 --> 01:23:28,721 to this maximum-security facility 1667 01:23:28,762 --> 01:23:31,962 under life and long sentences, 1668 01:23:32,001 --> 01:23:36,162 were not going to participate in reasonable negotiation. 1669 01:23:36,202 --> 01:23:40,122 Tensions within the walls have steadily increased. 1670 01:23:40,162 --> 01:23:42,762 The action now underway 1671 01:23:42,802 --> 01:23:45,882 was initiated with extreme reluctance, 1672 01:23:45,922 --> 01:23:47,962 only after all attempts 1673 01:23:48,002 --> 01:23:52,041 to achieve a peaceful solution failed. 1674 01:23:53,922 --> 01:23:56,082 We were told that our mission was protection 1675 01:23:56,121 --> 01:23:57,641 for the medical battalion. 1676 01:23:57,682 --> 01:24:00,921 During the commander's briefing, we were told that, 1677 01:24:00,961 --> 01:24:05,041 to our knowledge, the inmates had no guns. 1678 01:24:05,082 --> 01:24:08,722 They had spears, they had some knives, 1679 01:24:08,761 --> 01:24:12,242 they had pipes that they were using as clubs, 1680 01:24:12,282 --> 01:24:14,801 but that was the extent of the threat. 1681 01:24:14,842 --> 01:24:16,482 So we knew that going in. 1682 01:24:18,602 --> 01:24:20,841 10:05 a.m., September 13. 1683 01:24:20,882 --> 01:24:23,721 We're on the roof of A block, 1684 01:24:23,762 --> 01:24:26,522 waiting for the assault to begin. 1685 01:24:26,562 --> 01:24:29,881 This is a team of .270 rifle shooters. 1686 01:24:29,922 --> 01:24:31,882 The center of our picture 1687 01:24:31,921 --> 01:24:36,402 is men distributing baseball bats to the other prisoners. 1688 01:24:36,441 --> 01:24:39,321 - We had no guns. - We had no real weapons. 1689 01:24:39,361 --> 01:24:43,721 We had bullshit pieces of stick or a piece of iron 1690 01:24:43,762 --> 01:24:47,961 or a shank that somebody made, rubbing it on the sidewalk. 1691 01:24:48,001 --> 01:24:49,802 It was... it was pathetic. 1692 01:24:50,881 --> 01:24:53,162 Just four days almost to the minute 1693 01:24:53,201 --> 01:24:55,562 after the convict insurrection started. 1694 01:24:55,602 --> 01:24:57,962 State police, reinforced by sheriff's deputies, 1695 01:24:58,001 --> 01:24:59,562 National Guardsmen, 1696 01:24:59,602 --> 01:25:02,082 and correction officers moving in on the prison. 1697 01:25:02,121 --> 01:25:04,362 Time is 1:55 p.m. 1698 01:25:04,402 --> 01:25:06,921 We're on the roof of C block, 1699 01:25:06,962 --> 01:25:10,321 looking at a detail of .270 marksmen, 1700 01:25:10,362 --> 01:25:15,001 with instructions to clear the catwalks upon command. 1701 01:25:15,042 --> 01:25:17,122 They took some of the hostages 1702 01:25:17,162 --> 01:25:19,641 on top of the catwalks, 1703 01:25:19,681 --> 01:25:21,682 which is on top of the hallways, 1704 01:25:21,721 --> 01:25:25,642 and some of the inmates held knives to their neck, 1705 01:25:25,681 --> 01:25:30,162 as an... in an effort to try to stop the assault. 1706 01:25:30,201 --> 01:25:32,042 The hostages are on the catwalks 1707 01:25:32,082 --> 01:25:34,162 with knives at their throats. 1708 01:25:34,201 --> 01:25:37,282 It was all just a show 1709 01:25:37,322 --> 01:25:39,202 to try to get them to say, "Oh, wait a minute! 1710 01:25:39,242 --> 01:25:40,801 That's my cousin, my brother." 1711 01:25:40,842 --> 01:25:43,162 All these guards... 1712 01:25:43,202 --> 01:25:45,161 we were hopeful that if they saw this, 1713 01:25:45,202 --> 01:25:48,881 they would back off and try to renegotiate 1714 01:25:48,922 --> 01:25:50,722 so they could protect their own people. 1715 01:25:53,082 --> 01:25:56,161 The notion of sending in 1716 01:25:56,202 --> 01:25:58,402 correctional officers, 1717 01:25:58,442 --> 01:26:01,322 who didn't love the prisoners to begin with, 1718 01:26:01,361 --> 01:26:03,922 and state police, who were stressed out, 1719 01:26:03,961 --> 01:26:05,642 was a serious miscalculation. 1720 01:26:05,682 --> 01:26:07,921 Somebody should have said, "Wait a second, wait a second. 1721 01:26:07,962 --> 01:26:10,561 These people are on edge. 1722 01:26:10,602 --> 01:26:12,842 There's hostility. 1723 01:26:15,922 --> 01:26:18,842 It's gonna get out of control." 1724 01:26:18,882 --> 01:26:21,081 We know that now. 1725 01:26:21,121 --> 01:26:23,441 Did we know that in real time? 1726 01:26:25,722 --> 01:26:27,722 I guess not. 1727 01:26:30,281 --> 01:26:34,602 I seen this as a glorious fight. 1728 01:26:34,642 --> 01:26:37,441 They would come in with batons and stuff like that, 1729 01:26:37,482 --> 01:26:40,362 and we would be fighting 1730 01:26:40,402 --> 01:26:42,361 the brave battle with baseball bats 1731 01:26:42,402 --> 01:26:43,802 and stuff like that. 1732 01:26:43,842 --> 01:26:45,322 I... 1733 01:26:56,081 --> 01:26:57,242 I just... 1734 01:27:02,401 --> 01:27:04,202 I just never expected... 1735 01:27:06,322 --> 01:27:08,042 ...the carnage that would actually happen. 1736 01:27:08,082 --> 01:27:09,361 I'm sorry. 1737 01:27:24,122 --> 01:27:25,602 Here come the helicopters. 1738 01:27:25,642 --> 01:27:28,841 They are now heading for the prison. 1739 01:27:30,682 --> 01:27:32,722 One of the large army helicopters 1740 01:27:32,762 --> 01:27:34,321 now going overhead and over the wall, 1741 01:27:34,362 --> 01:27:35,561 into the prison. 1742 01:27:37,361 --> 01:27:40,921 It just gets quiet, and the sky was getting dark. 1743 01:27:40,962 --> 01:27:42,681 And then we heard the helicopters. 1744 01:27:42,721 --> 01:27:45,202 - And I said, "Damn, man. - This is fucking strange." 1745 01:27:49,202 --> 01:27:51,802 The helicopter comes up over the wall, 1746 01:27:51,842 --> 01:27:53,401 and it's hovering over the yard. 1747 01:27:57,442 --> 01:28:00,202 I seen this... I thought it was a monster. 1748 01:28:00,241 --> 01:28:02,682 It was a helicopter, a green helicopter, 1749 01:28:02,721 --> 01:28:04,202 and it was flying low. 1750 01:28:08,842 --> 01:28:11,322 And you see this... 1751 01:28:11,361 --> 01:28:14,241 It's like a sickly green gas 1752 01:28:14,282 --> 01:28:17,961 with sparkly stuff in it, coming down. 1753 01:28:18,002 --> 01:28:20,121 It tightens your chest 1754 01:28:20,161 --> 01:28:22,162 where you can hardly breathe. 1755 01:28:22,201 --> 01:28:25,242 That gas knocked me down. 1756 01:28:25,282 --> 01:28:28,081 I don't know what that was. 1757 01:28:28,122 --> 01:28:30,721 And it had me so weak I could not move. 1758 01:28:30,762 --> 01:28:34,082 Your eyes are just all burning. 1759 01:28:34,121 --> 01:28:36,562 - Your nose is burning. - Your mouth is burning. 1760 01:28:36,601 --> 01:28:37,681 Place your hands 1761 01:28:37,722 --> 01:28:39,761 on top of your head 1762 01:28:39,802 --> 01:28:42,962 and surrender to an officer. 1763 01:28:43,002 --> 01:28:46,201 I repeat: You will not be harmed. 1764 01:28:46,242 --> 01:28:49,282 Place your hands on top of your head. 1765 01:28:49,322 --> 01:28:50,922 And they got on the microphone. 1766 01:28:50,962 --> 01:28:54,522 "Everybody in D block yard, put your hands in the air, 1767 01:28:54,561 --> 01:28:56,322 and you will not be harmed." 1768 01:28:56,361 --> 01:28:59,241 "Go to the nearest state police officer, 1769 01:28:59,282 --> 01:29:01,001 and you will not be harmed." 1770 01:29:01,042 --> 01:29:04,041 - "You will not be harmed." - "You will not be harmed." 1771 01:29:04,082 --> 01:29:06,722 "You will not be harmed." But that was bullshit. 1772 01:29:15,281 --> 01:29:17,242 And dudes were standing up doing this 1773 01:29:17,282 --> 01:29:19,641 and getting blown away. 1774 01:29:19,681 --> 01:29:22,882 They blew a dude's head off, and I'm looking at it. 1775 01:29:22,922 --> 01:29:24,282 And it's all of a sudden, 1776 01:29:24,321 --> 01:29:28,041 there was all this popping all around us. 1777 01:29:28,082 --> 01:29:30,122 And all these little pops all around us 1778 01:29:30,162 --> 01:29:31,842 were actually bullets. 1779 01:29:31,881 --> 01:29:34,761 - Surrender. - You will not be harmed. 1780 01:29:34,802 --> 01:29:37,722 And you couldn't really see because the CO2 pepper gas 1781 01:29:37,761 --> 01:29:39,841 had you blind, 1782 01:29:39,882 --> 01:29:43,042 but you can hear the bullets going by your head. 1783 01:29:43,082 --> 01:29:44,522 You will not be harmed. 1784 01:29:46,922 --> 01:29:49,281 The hostages can't be seen now. 1785 01:29:49,322 --> 01:29:52,002 Repeat: Surrender peacefully. 1786 01:29:52,041 --> 01:29:53,642 And I'm just trying to stay on the ground, 1787 01:29:53,681 --> 01:29:55,721 as low as possible. 1788 01:29:55,762 --> 01:29:58,081 It was just like they was shooting down in a barrel. 1789 01:29:58,122 --> 01:29:59,579 They just started shooting point blank range, 1790 01:29:59,602 --> 01:30:01,481 blowing guys away. 1791 01:30:01,522 --> 01:30:03,561 I got shot in the arm up there. 1792 01:30:03,602 --> 01:30:05,520 Right through the back of my fucking arm and stuff. 1793 01:30:08,722 --> 01:30:11,802 I repeat: You will not be harmed. 1794 01:30:11,842 --> 01:30:15,881 I felt something go through my head, at my skull, 1795 01:30:15,922 --> 01:30:19,082 and it was burning, and I knew I was shot. 1796 01:30:19,122 --> 01:30:21,921 I felt something hit my arm, 1797 01:30:21,962 --> 01:30:23,882 and my arm went numb, 1798 01:30:23,922 --> 01:30:26,522 and I realized later I had got shot in the left arm, 1799 01:30:26,562 --> 01:30:28,162 about two inches from my heart. 1800 01:30:28,202 --> 01:30:31,241 And I saw one kid, he had a football helmet on. 1801 01:30:31,282 --> 01:30:32,682 Spanish kid. 1802 01:30:32,722 --> 01:30:35,361 Now, the guards was up on the catwalk, 1803 01:30:35,402 --> 01:30:38,121 and he jumps out with a hammer and throws it up, 1804 01:30:38,162 --> 01:30:40,321 and it hits the catwalk, 1805 01:30:40,362 --> 01:30:41,922 and you could hear the sound... clink... 1806 01:30:41,961 --> 01:30:44,561 And all of them turned, looked at him, 1807 01:30:44,602 --> 01:30:46,522 and all of them turned their guns on him. 1808 01:30:46,562 --> 01:30:48,921 And they just riddled that boy's body. 1809 01:30:48,961 --> 01:30:52,002 I'm assuming he got shot anywhere from 20 to 50 shots, 1810 01:30:52,042 --> 01:30:54,001 'cause his body was just doing like that. 1811 01:30:54,042 --> 01:30:55,482 Like, I never seen no shit like that. 1812 01:30:55,521 --> 01:30:57,321 I seen some nasty shit in the streets. 1813 01:30:57,362 --> 01:30:59,361 I never seen nothing like that. 1814 01:30:59,402 --> 01:31:02,562 I repeat: You will not be harmed. 1815 01:31:02,602 --> 01:31:05,001 Place your hands on top of your head. 1816 01:31:05,042 --> 01:31:07,201 This was a holiday for the police. 1817 01:31:07,242 --> 01:31:10,122 We ain't got no guns to shoot back. 1818 01:31:10,162 --> 01:31:11,721 You know what it is to shoot somebody 1819 01:31:11,762 --> 01:31:13,242 and they can't shoot back? 1820 01:31:13,282 --> 01:31:15,442 That's... that's a holiday. 1821 01:31:15,482 --> 01:31:16,921 Lord have mercy. 1822 01:31:16,962 --> 01:31:19,722 And all they was saying was, "Save me a nigger." 1823 01:31:21,362 --> 01:31:24,002 That's what they was hollering to each other. 1824 01:31:24,041 --> 01:31:26,921 I was scared. 1825 01:31:26,962 --> 01:31:29,482 I've done bad things, but I never did shit this bad. 1826 01:31:29,521 --> 01:31:31,922 I said, "Now, these guys 1827 01:31:31,962 --> 01:31:34,761 are real fucking cold-blooded killers and shit." 1828 01:31:36,882 --> 01:31:40,442 Until that moment came... 1829 01:31:40,482 --> 01:31:42,561 where the killing really started, 1830 01:31:42,602 --> 01:31:44,802 when I realized that, 1831 01:31:44,842 --> 01:31:47,122 "You're not that fucking bad guy no more, man. 1832 01:31:47,162 --> 01:31:48,379 These motherfuckers is worse than you." 1833 01:31:48,402 --> 01:31:51,481 Every bullet that whizzed by me 1834 01:31:51,522 --> 01:31:56,042 or hit the mud close to me, I winced. 1835 01:31:59,961 --> 01:32:02,441 Then all of a sudden, it just stopped. 1836 01:32:02,482 --> 01:32:04,402 Surrender to an officer. 1837 01:32:06,202 --> 01:32:09,402 I repeat: You will not be harmed. 1838 01:32:16,642 --> 01:32:20,401 There are people throwing off their smoke gear. 1839 01:32:20,442 --> 01:32:24,042 They ran out screaming, "Niggers, niggers, niggers," 1840 01:32:24,082 --> 01:32:27,681 and two of them pointed their guns at me, 1841 01:32:27,722 --> 01:32:30,362 saying, "Niggers, niggers," and I said, "Don't shoot. 1842 01:32:30,402 --> 01:32:33,161 Don't shoot. Don't shoot," while I'm coughing. 1843 01:32:33,202 --> 01:32:35,562 We've all been gassed. 1844 01:32:35,602 --> 01:32:39,081 - I've been gassed. - It's an awful scene. 1845 01:32:39,122 --> 01:32:43,201 William Kunstler has said 1846 01:32:43,242 --> 01:32:45,641 that people are dying in there, and... 1847 01:32:47,482 --> 01:32:48,921 ...and I agree with that. 1848 01:32:48,961 --> 01:32:50,619 I think that there are people dying in there. 1849 01:32:50,642 --> 01:32:53,881 The shooting went on forever. 1850 01:32:53,922 --> 01:32:57,282 And then it was like the shooting subsided, 1851 01:32:57,321 --> 01:32:59,761 and then I heard some... 1852 01:32:59,802 --> 01:33:02,202 After the big shooting subsided, 1853 01:33:02,241 --> 01:33:04,522 I heard some single shots. 1854 01:33:04,561 --> 01:33:08,522 Bang! And bang! 1855 01:33:16,361 --> 01:33:18,841 After they took over the prison, 1856 01:33:18,882 --> 01:33:22,521 all those folks that had been speaking to the cameras 1857 01:33:22,561 --> 01:33:26,002 were all targeted and tortured. 1858 01:33:26,042 --> 01:33:28,962 So, yes, yes, yes, yes, they were targeted. 1859 01:33:31,282 --> 01:33:35,961 L.D. Barkley, they were calling his name, 1860 01:33:36,001 --> 01:33:38,841 going through that fog, looking for him, 1861 01:33:38,881 --> 01:33:40,562 and threatening him 1862 01:33:40,602 --> 01:33:43,162 with what they were gonna do to him 1863 01:33:43,202 --> 01:33:44,761 when they found him. 1864 01:33:44,802 --> 01:33:46,281 And they found him. 1865 01:33:46,322 --> 01:33:50,322 And he was yelling, "No, no," 1866 01:33:50,361 --> 01:33:52,281 but it's too fucking late; They had him then. 1867 01:33:52,321 --> 01:33:54,722 I seen them dragging him towards the A block 1868 01:33:54,761 --> 01:33:57,322 far yard over there. 1869 01:33:57,361 --> 01:33:59,202 He was hollering and screaming. 1870 01:33:59,242 --> 01:34:00,442 And they killed him. 1871 01:34:11,282 --> 01:34:14,641 You can't see it, because the gas is so thick. 1872 01:34:14,682 --> 01:34:16,041 But all of a sudden, 1873 01:34:16,082 --> 01:34:18,442 a puff of wind comes 1874 01:34:18,481 --> 01:34:21,121 and disperses the gas, 1875 01:34:21,162 --> 01:34:23,402 and then I could see. 1876 01:34:23,441 --> 01:34:24,961 And what I saw was frightening. 1877 01:34:27,082 --> 01:34:31,042 Hundreds of bodies just laying there. 1878 01:34:31,082 --> 01:34:33,561 - Some were moaning. - Some wasn't moving. 1879 01:34:33,601 --> 01:34:35,202 Blood was everywhere. 1880 01:34:40,802 --> 01:34:43,002 We were given stretchers 1881 01:34:43,041 --> 01:34:46,081 and told to go into the prison. 1882 01:34:46,122 --> 01:34:48,162 It was really an unthinkable scene. 1883 01:34:48,202 --> 01:34:50,402 It was dead and wounded, 1884 01:34:50,441 --> 01:34:52,202 and simply starting to carry them out. 1885 01:34:54,161 --> 01:34:57,522 It was far beyond anything I had imagined 1886 01:34:57,561 --> 01:35:00,441 when they said we would be doing medical evacuation. 1887 01:35:00,481 --> 01:35:04,882 We were basically civilians put into a situation 1888 01:35:04,922 --> 01:35:07,122 where state trooper and correction officers 1889 01:35:07,161 --> 01:35:08,922 had created a war zone. 1890 01:35:10,962 --> 01:35:14,841 There was a pile of bodies, maybe eight or ten people, 1891 01:35:14,881 --> 01:35:18,001 and the man on top had had his eyes shot out. 1892 01:35:39,561 --> 01:35:42,042 Right below us, there was a huge pool 1893 01:35:42,082 --> 01:35:46,082 of rainwater, and it was blood red. 1894 01:35:46,121 --> 01:35:50,682 And I looked down at it, and I said, 1895 01:35:50,722 --> 01:35:52,841 "Those are false teeth down there, aren't there?" 1896 01:35:52,882 --> 01:35:54,442 And somebody said, "Yeah." 1897 01:35:58,362 --> 01:36:00,322 The attitude of the people 1898 01:36:00,362 --> 01:36:03,042 who should have been concerned 1899 01:36:03,082 --> 01:36:04,842 about what had happened 1900 01:36:04,882 --> 01:36:09,441 was simply that they were pleased with what had happened, 1901 01:36:09,482 --> 01:36:13,001 and had no qualms or second thoughts 1902 01:36:13,042 --> 01:36:14,602 or anything but satisfaction. 1903 01:36:16,202 --> 01:36:18,722 Walker wants to go back. 1904 01:36:24,322 --> 01:36:26,441 - White power! - White power! 1905 01:36:26,482 --> 01:36:29,122 - Hey! - White power! 1906 01:36:34,121 --> 01:36:36,362 They had control, 1907 01:36:36,402 --> 01:36:38,121 and once they had control, 1908 01:36:38,162 --> 01:36:41,482 you would think that things would have stopped. 1909 01:36:41,521 --> 01:36:42,921 They didn't. 1910 01:36:46,162 --> 01:36:47,561 It was clear that, 1911 01:36:47,602 --> 01:36:49,481 at that point, it was all about revenge. 1912 01:36:49,522 --> 01:36:51,442 It was all about reestablishing 1913 01:36:51,482 --> 01:36:52,962 who was in charge 1914 01:36:53,002 --> 01:36:54,882 in the most violent ways possible. 1915 01:37:03,442 --> 01:37:05,762 Everybody had to crawl through shit. 1916 01:37:05,801 --> 01:37:07,402 Human waste. 1917 01:37:11,122 --> 01:37:13,322 But what do you do? 1918 01:37:13,361 --> 01:37:16,322 Do you live to tell your story, like I'm doing today, 1919 01:37:16,361 --> 01:37:18,762 or do you fucking die? 1920 01:37:18,802 --> 01:37:20,361 - I made a choice. - I wanted to live. 1921 01:37:24,682 --> 01:37:28,721 - "- Crawl, nigger, crawl. - Crawl. Like a dog." 1922 01:37:32,961 --> 01:37:34,442 "If you look up, nigger, 1923 01:37:34,481 --> 01:37:36,521 I'll blow your motherfucking brains out." 1924 01:37:38,082 --> 01:37:41,321 What the fuck they care about calling you a nigger? 1925 01:37:41,362 --> 01:37:44,522 That was your name that day. 1926 01:37:44,562 --> 01:37:47,241 They had us marching around the yard with our... 1927 01:37:47,282 --> 01:37:50,722 With our hands interlocked like this, on top of our heads. 1928 01:37:50,762 --> 01:37:52,402 Abject surrender. 1929 01:38:04,761 --> 01:38:07,322 When I saw these naked bodies 1930 01:38:07,362 --> 01:38:10,482 lined up, snaked around the area, 1931 01:38:10,521 --> 01:38:15,002 it reminded me of portrayals of African Americans 1932 01:38:15,042 --> 01:38:17,442 being herded onto slave ships. 1933 01:38:17,482 --> 01:38:19,041 It was just horrendous. 1934 01:38:19,082 --> 01:38:21,002 It was just horrible, horrible. 1935 01:38:30,961 --> 01:38:32,361 And we're naked 1936 01:38:32,402 --> 01:38:34,442 in the middle of the fucking yard, 1937 01:38:34,482 --> 01:38:37,322 guards going around with, like, baby bats. 1938 01:38:37,362 --> 01:38:39,242 They was shoving them up guys' asses. 1939 01:38:39,282 --> 01:38:40,602 I'm laying here, 1940 01:38:40,642 --> 01:38:42,602 and I'm hoping they don't come my way. 1941 01:38:55,521 --> 01:38:58,521 Frank Smith, Big Black, was put on a table 1942 01:38:58,561 --> 01:39:00,642 with a football under his throat. 1943 01:39:04,762 --> 01:39:06,402 People stood up above him 1944 01:39:06,442 --> 01:39:08,802 on the catwalk, aiming their guns down at him, 1945 01:39:08,841 --> 01:39:12,362 throwing cigars and cigarette butts on him, 1946 01:39:12,401 --> 01:39:13,722 and they said, 1947 01:39:13,761 --> 01:39:15,401 "If that football falls, nigger, 1948 01:39:15,442 --> 01:39:16,962 we're gonna shoot you." 1949 01:39:20,122 --> 01:39:22,401 He was told to get to his feet. 1950 01:39:22,442 --> 01:39:25,161 - He tried. He stumbled. - He fell. 1951 01:39:25,202 --> 01:39:27,242 He was hit with clubs 1952 01:39:27,282 --> 01:39:30,682 on his back, between his legs. 1953 01:39:30,722 --> 01:39:34,122 And he was crying out, you know, 1954 01:39:34,162 --> 01:39:36,362 - "- Don't do this. - Don't do this." 1955 01:39:36,401 --> 01:39:38,441 And then you could hear him screaming 1956 01:39:38,482 --> 01:39:41,362 as he went up through the prison. 1957 01:39:46,322 --> 01:39:49,441 It felt good that I had survived this shit. 1958 01:39:49,482 --> 01:39:52,362 And now, I gotta look out, 1959 01:39:52,402 --> 01:39:54,682 because some more shit is coming. 1960 01:40:00,642 --> 01:40:03,042 The inmates were entering these corridors 1961 01:40:03,082 --> 01:40:07,562 off of the yard, and the guards were, 1962 01:40:07,602 --> 01:40:10,762 like, five or six feet apart, with their clubs. 1963 01:40:10,801 --> 01:40:13,882 And they would hit them against the walls. 1964 01:40:13,922 --> 01:40:17,562 And there was just this dull drum-like sound. 1965 01:40:17,602 --> 01:40:19,242 And then they were hitting the inmates 1966 01:40:19,282 --> 01:40:21,282 as they ran a gauntlet. 1967 01:40:25,402 --> 01:40:27,922 We could hear the screams coming out, 1968 01:40:27,961 --> 01:40:31,322 so that we knew that they were being tortured, 1969 01:40:31,362 --> 01:40:35,641 and that we were somehow part of this unthinkable scene, 1970 01:40:35,682 --> 01:40:37,482 that there was no escaping from, 1971 01:40:37,522 --> 01:40:39,242 but was completely wrong. 1972 01:40:42,802 --> 01:40:44,642 They had guards on both sides, 1973 01:40:44,681 --> 01:40:47,082 and they would be hitting you as you were running through, 1974 01:40:47,122 --> 01:40:49,562 beating you with hoses and batons 1975 01:40:49,602 --> 01:40:51,281 and whatever they had in their hands. 1976 01:40:51,322 --> 01:40:53,122 I'm ducking, trying to get through, 1977 01:40:53,162 --> 01:40:54,642 protecting my head. 1978 01:40:54,681 --> 01:40:56,402 My shoulders got hit, all on my arms, 1979 01:40:56,442 --> 01:40:58,882 - my elbows, my knees. - They still hurt. 1980 01:40:58,922 --> 01:41:01,922 Beating you after making you run through the gauntlet, 1981 01:41:01,961 --> 01:41:03,819 where they took all the glass out the fucking windows 1982 01:41:03,842 --> 01:41:05,401 and put it in the middle of the floor, 1983 01:41:05,442 --> 01:41:06,979 so you had to run through glass with bare feet. 1984 01:41:07,002 --> 01:41:09,361 Nobody came out of that yard 1985 01:41:09,402 --> 01:41:12,042 with... with... picking... 1986 01:41:12,082 --> 01:41:14,601 Without having to pick glass out of your feet for weeks. 1987 01:41:16,202 --> 01:41:19,562 - Couldn't walk. - Nobody can walk anymore. 1988 01:41:19,602 --> 01:41:22,001 But we had to run, because if you didn't run, 1989 01:41:22,042 --> 01:41:24,201 they just kept beating you with these clubs. 1990 01:41:33,442 --> 01:41:35,082 The families of the hostages, 1991 01:41:35,122 --> 01:41:38,762 a lot of them waited just outside the prison wall. 1992 01:41:38,802 --> 01:41:42,122 They're gonna get him out.- 1993 01:41:42,161 --> 01:41:44,842 Then news began to filter out of Attica. 1994 01:41:44,881 --> 01:41:47,962 Names of freed hostages were called out to the loved ones. 1995 01:41:48,002 --> 01:41:49,322 Bob Curtis! Lieutenant Curtis. 1996 01:41:49,362 --> 01:41:50,722 Curtis! 1997 01:41:50,762 --> 01:41:53,882 Al Robbin. Al Robbin. 1998 01:41:56,362 --> 01:41:58,362 Some didn't see their men come out. 1999 01:41:58,402 --> 01:42:00,121 All they learned was the name of the hospital 2000 01:42:00,162 --> 01:42:02,041 where the survivors were being treated. 2001 01:42:02,082 --> 01:42:05,041 - There was no time to wait. - They ran off to see their men. 2002 01:42:08,481 --> 01:42:10,922 Some people couldn't seem to run fast enough. 2003 01:42:15,002 --> 01:42:15,922 My mom came home, 2004 01:42:15,962 --> 01:42:17,401 and she was with her sister, 2005 01:42:17,442 --> 01:42:19,601 and my mom was crying, obviously upset. 2006 01:42:22,682 --> 01:42:24,642 I was outside, sitting on the front porch, 2007 01:42:24,681 --> 01:42:27,801 - you know, praying and worrying. - And "where's Dad?" 2008 01:42:27,841 --> 01:42:29,682 I expected him to show up, you know. 2009 01:42:29,721 --> 01:42:32,162 And, um, I kept, 2010 01:42:32,201 --> 01:42:34,762 "Mom, Mom, where's Dad? 2011 01:42:34,801 --> 01:42:36,922 - What's... why are you crying? - What's going on?" 2012 01:42:36,962 --> 01:42:40,682 When my mother came back in the house, and, you know, 2013 01:42:40,721 --> 01:42:43,122 she said... Now she had to fight with me... 2014 01:42:43,161 --> 01:42:45,322 Argue, I mean, you know, 2015 01:42:45,361 --> 01:42:46,802 because I didn't want to believe it. 2016 01:42:46,842 --> 01:42:48,921 And she finally said, 2017 01:42:48,961 --> 01:42:53,242 "I saw him. I saw him!" 2018 01:42:57,002 --> 01:42:58,362 Finally, she blurted it out. 2019 01:42:58,401 --> 01:43:01,042 "Your father's dead." 2020 01:43:01,082 --> 01:43:02,682 So I ran. 2021 01:43:06,042 --> 01:43:08,922 I ran for a while, and I came back, 2022 01:43:08,961 --> 01:43:10,402 and I was sitting on the front porch, 2023 01:43:10,442 --> 01:43:13,361 trying to be strong and not cry, 2024 01:43:13,402 --> 01:43:16,162 and I could hear everybody in the house crying. 2025 01:43:16,202 --> 01:43:18,922 And I was trying to be so tough, and... 2026 01:43:26,482 --> 01:43:29,162 - I'm sorry. - God damn it. 2027 01:43:43,762 --> 01:43:45,082 The National Guardsmen were told 2028 01:43:45,122 --> 01:43:47,282 to get back in their trucks, 2029 01:43:47,322 --> 01:43:50,482 and we did that and were taken out to the parking area. 2030 01:43:50,521 --> 01:43:53,121 And a colonel then addressed the battalion, 2031 01:43:53,162 --> 01:43:55,562 maybe several hundred men. 2032 01:43:55,601 --> 01:43:57,562 And he said, essentially, 2033 01:43:57,602 --> 01:44:02,161 "You saw things that were excessive and wrong today, 2034 01:44:02,202 --> 01:44:05,802 and I have to ask you not to speak of this to anyone, 2035 01:44:05,842 --> 01:44:08,042 because the world will not understand 2036 01:44:08,081 --> 01:44:09,802 what happened here today." 2037 01:44:12,122 --> 01:44:13,642 The most violent rebellion 2038 01:44:13,681 --> 01:44:15,042 in modern American penal history 2039 01:44:15,081 --> 01:44:16,802 came to an end today 2040 01:44:16,841 --> 01:44:18,962 at the maximum-security prison in Attica, New York. 2041 01:44:19,002 --> 01:44:20,179 In the final hours of the revolt, 2042 01:44:20,202 --> 01:44:21,962 led primarily by Blacks, 2043 01:44:22,002 --> 01:44:24,722 the inmates murdered nine of their white hostages. 2044 01:44:24,762 --> 01:44:26,721 28 convicts were killed by state troopers 2045 01:44:26,762 --> 01:44:27,961 and sheriff's deputies, 2046 01:44:28,002 --> 01:44:30,082 who regained control of the prison. 2047 01:44:30,122 --> 01:44:31,925 The storming of the prison had the full approval 2048 01:44:31,962 --> 01:44:33,561 of New York's Governor Rockefeller, 2049 01:44:33,601 --> 01:44:35,602 who earlier had rejected a prisoner demand 2050 01:44:35,641 --> 01:44:37,362 for complete clemency. 2051 01:44:37,401 --> 01:44:40,242 The White House said that, after the prison was retaken, 2052 01:44:40,281 --> 01:44:42,162 President Nixon telephoned the governor 2053 01:44:42,201 --> 01:44:44,922 to express his approval of Rockefeller's action. 2054 01:45:35,561 --> 01:45:37,761 Yesterday, officials at the prison 2055 01:45:37,802 --> 01:45:41,002 said eight of the hostages had had their throats cut. 2056 01:45:41,041 --> 01:45:43,442 But today, the Monroe County medical examiner, 2057 01:45:43,482 --> 01:45:45,321 having looked at the bodies, 2058 01:45:45,362 --> 01:45:47,641 said no throats were cut at all. 2059 01:45:47,682 --> 01:45:49,602 The Medical Examiner says the hostages 2060 01:45:49,642 --> 01:45:52,802 were apparently killed by large-caliber ammunition 2061 01:45:52,841 --> 01:45:55,522 and shotgun blasts, from a distance, 2062 01:45:55,562 --> 01:45:57,641 which immediately raised the possibility 2063 01:45:57,682 --> 01:46:00,681 that some of the hostages may, in fact, have been shot down 2064 01:46:00,722 --> 01:46:03,841 by the lawmen who broke in to rescue them. 2065 01:46:03,882 --> 01:46:07,082 Some of the hostages were actually shot 2066 01:46:07,121 --> 01:46:09,321 running towards the state troopers, 2067 01:46:09,362 --> 01:46:12,041 thinking, "I'm saved. I'm saved." 2068 01:46:12,721 --> 01:46:16,082 And the hostages were dressed the same way the inmates were. 2069 01:46:18,002 --> 01:46:20,281 Anything that had inmate garb on it, 2070 01:46:20,322 --> 01:46:22,522 they just started shooting at you. 2071 01:46:25,042 --> 01:46:27,522 What Rockefeller had done 2072 01:46:27,561 --> 01:46:32,282 was treat the hostages 2073 01:46:32,322 --> 01:46:37,161 as no more real, live human beings 2074 01:46:37,202 --> 01:46:41,121 who deserved to be respected than the prisoners. 2075 01:46:41,162 --> 01:46:45,442 And so you kill them all, and you restore order, 2076 01:46:45,482 --> 01:46:50,202 and you make me into a major figure 2077 01:46:50,242 --> 01:46:52,882 who believes in law and order 2078 01:46:52,921 --> 01:46:55,801 at a time when that concept 2079 01:46:55,842 --> 01:46:59,722 is beginning to really take hold. 2080 01:47:21,682 --> 01:47:25,001 It should have ended in a negotiated settlement. 2081 01:47:25,042 --> 01:47:26,442 No, they weren't interested in that. 2082 01:47:26,482 --> 01:47:28,482 They were interesting in showing 2083 01:47:28,522 --> 01:47:30,162 the naked fist of power. 2084 01:47:30,201 --> 01:47:33,241 Law and order. 2085 01:47:33,282 --> 01:47:34,458 The national mindset of the nation 2086 01:47:34,481 --> 01:47:36,921 was law and order. 2087 01:47:36,961 --> 01:47:40,761 And law and order does not permit 2088 01:47:40,801 --> 01:47:44,002 any challenge 2089 01:47:44,042 --> 01:47:46,442 to its authority whatsoever. 2090 01:47:46,482 --> 01:47:48,481 God willing, a few more months, in January, 2091 01:47:48,522 --> 01:47:50,921 I'll be 90 years old. 2092 01:47:50,962 --> 01:47:53,801 I will never, ever, ever, ever, 2093 01:47:53,842 --> 01:47:58,522 ever, ever, ever forget Attica. 2094 01:47:58,562 --> 01:48:02,202 Ever. 2095 01:48:02,242 --> 01:48:06,561 It didn't have to be that way. 2096 01:48:47,281 --> 01:48:50,082 All eight cases 2097 01:48:50,122 --> 01:48:54,001 died of gunshot wounds. 2098 01:48:54,042 --> 01:48:56,802 There was no evidence of slashed throats. 2099 01:49:18,082 --> 01:49:19,962 I've never received an apology. 2100 01:49:21,242 --> 01:49:22,842 I've never received an apology, 2101 01:49:22,882 --> 01:49:24,263 and for me, that's a pretty big deal. 2102 01:49:26,162 --> 01:49:29,801 So come. 2103 01:49:29,842 --> 01:49:32,482 To me. 2104 01:49:32,522 --> 01:49:35,961 What does money do when you don't have your dad, 2105 01:49:36,001 --> 01:49:38,282 or your brother, or your uncle? 2106 01:49:41,321 --> 01:49:44,282 How does that replace anything? 2107 01:49:44,322 --> 01:49:48,082 And I think it was the state's way of saying, 2108 01:49:48,122 --> 01:49:49,522 "We're gonna give you this money, 2109 01:49:49,561 --> 01:49:51,282 and we want you to go away." 2110 01:49:51,321 --> 01:49:56,001 Beyond the blue. 2111 01:49:56,042 --> 01:49:59,602 Then my. 2112 01:49:59,642 --> 01:50:03,522 True love. 2113 01:50:03,561 --> 01:50:08,322 Will come shining through. 2114 01:50:08,361 --> 01:50:09,922 For nearly 30 years, 2115 01:50:09,962 --> 01:50:12,762 former Attica inmates have waited for justice. 2116 01:50:12,802 --> 01:50:14,442 Today, it finally came 2117 01:50:14,482 --> 01:50:17,562 in the form of a $12 million settlement. 2118 01:50:17,602 --> 01:50:20,242 - And be. - And be. 2119 01:50:20,281 --> 01:50:22,761 My love. 2120 01:50:22,802 --> 01:50:25,562 There was never justice. 2121 01:50:25,602 --> 01:50:27,482 All we got was money. 2122 01:50:27,522 --> 01:50:29,922 And money wasn't enough. 2123 01:50:29,962 --> 01:50:31,442 Then you can't justify all the killings 2124 01:50:31,482 --> 01:50:33,002 that happened in Attica. 2125 01:50:33,041 --> 01:50:34,722 You can't justify it. 2126 01:50:34,762 --> 01:50:37,242 - And so there's no justice. - There was never justice. 2127 01:50:37,281 --> 01:50:40,202 The sun. 2128 01:50:40,242 --> 01:50:44,042 Will shine. 2129 01:50:44,082 --> 01:50:47,721 Beyond. 2130 01:50:47,762 --> 01:50:51,322 The blue. 2131 01:50:51,362 --> 01:50:54,882 Then my. 2132 01:50:54,922 --> 01:50:58,561 True love. 2133 01:50:58,602 --> 01:51:03,242 Will come shining through. 2134 01:51:05,521 --> 01:51:09,842 - So come. - So come to me. 2135 01:51:09,882 --> 01:51:12,202 On bended knee. 2136 01:51:12,241 --> 01:51:15,602 - And be. - And be. 2137 01:51:15,642 --> 01:51:19,241 My love. 2138 01:51:19,282 --> 01:51:23,481 - For as long. - For just as long, baby. 2139 01:51:23,521 --> 01:51:26,762 As you are mine. 2140 01:51:26,801 --> 01:51:29,082 I know the sun. 2141 01:51:29,121 --> 01:51:32,281 Will shine 161331

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