Lucasville

The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising

Staughton Lynd

• Publisher: PM Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9781604862249
• eBook ISBN:
  9781604865356
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Political Advocacy
• Index: Social Sciences

Lucasville tells the story of one of the longest prison uprisings in U.S. history. At the maximum-security Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, prisoners seized a major area of the prison on Easter Sunday, 1993. More than 400 prisoners held L block for eleven days. Nine prisoners alleged to have been informants, or "snitches, " and one hostage correctional officer, were murdered. There was a negotiated surrender. Thereafter, almost wholly on the basis of testimony by prisoner informants who received deals in exchange, five spokespersons or leaders were tried and sentenced to death, and more than a dozen others received long sentences.

Lucasville examines the causes of the disturbance, what happened during the eleven days, and the fairness of the trials. Particular emphasis is placed on the interracial character of the action, as evidenced in the slogans that were found painted on walls after the surrender: "Black and White Together, " "Convict Unity, " and "Convict Race."

An eloquent Foreword by Mumia Abu-Jamal underlines these themes. He states, as does the book, that the men later sentenced to death "sought to minimize violence, and indeed, according to substantial evidence, saved the lives of several men, prisoner and guard alike." Of the five men, three black and two white, who were sentenced to death, Mumia declares, "They rose above their status as prisoners, and became, for a few days in April 1993, what rebels in Attica had demanded a generation before them: men. As such, they did not betray each other; they did not dishonor each other; they reached beyond their prison 'tribes' to reach commonality."

INDEX

Abu-Jamal, Mumia: on SOCF uprising and Lucasville Five, 1-3; on respect, 166 Access to counsel: for participants in uprising, 91-97 Agreement (21-point agreement), 15: Atty. Schwartz on enforcement of, 90; text of, 64-66 Allen, Cecil: asks Skatzes to be spokesman, 137; goes on yard as spokesman on April 12, 51 Amnesty: at Attica, 10, 159-61; for Lucasville participants, 161-66

Amnesty International: petition to by SOCF prisoners, 17-18 April 11, 1993: alleged agreement between Muslims and AB, 122-25; events of, 42-43, 47-49 April 15, 1993 meeting, 123-25: Supreme Court of Ohio on, 54; Lavelle’s testimony about, 55-56. See also Transcript of Tunnel Tape 61 (Appendix 1) Aryan Brotherhood (AB): alleged agreement before uprising to settle disputes with other groups, 121; alleged agreement with Muslims on April 11, 122-23; beliefs of, 140-43; and court opinions in State v. Robb, 130-31; hostility of to interracial celling, 136; Jason Robb joins, 34; racial attitudes of, 6, 135; Robb and Skatzes members of, 15 Attica, New York, uprising (1971): amnesty for all participants, 10, 159-61; loss of life at compared with SOCF, 1, 67; and Lucasville Five, 1-2; race relations in uprising at, 133-34; uprising at, 7, 50

Baich, Atty. Dale, 7: attempts to represent common interests of participants in uprising, 91-94; and grand jury bias, 92-94; on Public Defender’s efforts to inform participants in uprising of their rights, 91-92 Black Gangster Disciples (BGD), 53: alleged agreement before uprising to settle disputes with other groups, 122; and murder of Officer Vallandingham, 59-62. See also Lavelle, Anthony

Bowers, Jackie, 11: on childhood of George Skatzes, 39-41; at community forum on “supermax,” 5 Brookover, Robert: picture of, 86; protected by George Skatzes, 69; indictment without death penalty specifications, 197 (Appendix 5); plea bargain, 110, 195 (Appendix 4); prepared to testify by prosecutors, 104; testimony of, 104-06

Cannon, Derek: evidence of innocence, 164-65, 221-22n34; and testimony by Namir at trial of, 32, 204n6; threatened with death penalty if refused to “cooperate,” 100 Cassano, August: on Lucasville Fourteen, 201n6 Cincinnati, Ohio: death sentencing in, 97-99; racist history of, 98, 213n19; as venue for trials of Hasan and Namir, 97-99 Clark, Officer Darrold: protected by George Skatzes, 68-69; release of by prisoners, 63; “kidnapping” of, 222n35 Class: and race at Attica, 133-34 Cohen, Dr. Robert: on methods of testing for TB, 27-28 Complicity: death penalty available for, 120-21; definition of, 121; whether applicable in SOCF uprising, 121-25 Conspiracy: death penalty not available for, 120; definition of, 120; doctrine condemned by United States jurists, 215-16n11; to riot, 220n13; whether applicable in SOCF uprising, 121-25

Correctional Institution Inspection Committee (CIIC): on conditions at SOCF before uprising, 18, 20, 22

Death penalty: opposition to by potential jurors in State v. Skatzes, 113-20; petition and letter calling for, Appendix 3; unavailable in prosecution for conspiracy, 121 “Death-qualified jury” doctrine: defined, 89-90, 113; used in jury selection in State v. Skatzes, 113-20 Demands of prisoners: presented, 50-53; listed, Appendix 2; on sheets hung from L-6 windows, 77-81, 206n18; discussed at April 15 meeting, 54-56, 123-24; for restoration of water and electricity, 8, 51-52, 54-55, 58-59, 124, 206n17 Demons, Officer Anthony: converts to Islam, 63; on Officer Vallandingham’s murder, 206n17; released by prisoners, 63

Dotson, Officer Larry: assisted by George Skatzes, 69, 210n17; on cause of death of Officer Vallandingham, 222n37; on Officer Demons’ statement after his release, 206n17; onduration of uprising, 199n1; on earlier incident of hostage-taking at SOCF, 205n1; on prisoner...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• One: A Long Train of Abuses
• Two: The Worst of the Worst
• Three: Who Killed Officer Vallandingham?
• Four: Settlement of a Siege
• Diagrams and Photographs
• Five: The Criminal Injustice System—Before Trial
• Six: The Criminal Injustice System—Trial and Appeal
• Seven: Overcoming Racism—the Lucasville Redemption
• Eight: Attica and Amnesty
• Chronology of Lucasville Rebellion
• Appendix One: Transcript of Tunnel Tape
• Appendix Two: Demands of the Prisoners in L Block
• Appendix Three: Documents Circulated by Advocates of the Death Penalty for Lucasville Rioters
• Appendix Four: Selective Prosecution of Leaders of the Rebellion Compared with Informants who Concededly Committed the Same Acts
• Appendix Five: Selective Prosecution Based on Identity of Victim
• Endnotes
• Index
• About the Authors