New Mexico State Penitentiary Riot
The Penitentiary of New Mexico Prison Riot, which took place on February 2 and 3, 1980, in the state's maximum security prison south of Santa Fe, was one of the most violent prison riots in the history of the American correctional system: 33 inmates died and more than 200 inmates were treated for injuries. None of the 12 officers taken hostage were killed, but seven were treated for injuries caused by beatings and rapes. This was the third major riot at the NM State Penitentiary, the first occurring on 19 July 1922 and the second on 15 June 1953.
Author Roger Morris suggests the death toll may have been higher, as a number of bodies were incinerated or dismembered during the course of the mayhem.
Read more about New Mexico State Penitentiary Riot: Causes, Hostages Taken, Violence Ensues, Negotiations Begin, Inmates Flee, Order Restored, Legacy
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“Is this what all these soldiers, all this training, have been for these seventy-nine years past? Have they been trained merely to rob Mexico and carry back fugitive slaves to their masters?”
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