Attica Correctional Facility
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| Location | 639 Exchange Street Attica, New York |
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| Status | open |
| Security class | maximum / supermax |
| Capacity | 2253 [1] |
| Opened | 1931 |
| Managed by | New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision |
The Attica Correctional Facility is a maximum security/supermax New York State prison in the town of Attica, New York,[2][3] operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. After it was constructed in the 1930s, it held many of the most dangerous criminals of the time. A CS gas system installed in the mess hall and industry areas has been used to quell conflicts in these areas. The prison now holds many inmates who are serving various types of sentences (short-term to life), and who are usually sent to the facility because of disciplinary problems in other facilities.[4]
Riots
Attica was the site of a prison riot in 1971 which resulted in 43 deaths, of which 33 were convicts and ten were correctional officers and civilian employees. One officer died at the hands of the rioting convicts in the riot's early stages. The rest died by gunfire from state troopers and other retired officers.[4]
Notable inmates
- David Berkowitz, better known as Son of Sam, serial killer who confessed to killing six people and wounding several others in New York City during the late 1970s. Since becoming a Christian, Berkowitz has stated he does not want to be paroled and should pay for the sins he has committed. Berkowitz is now housed at Shawangunk Correctional Facility.
- H. Rap Brown, Black Panther Party leader, served a sentence in Attica from 1971 to 1976.
- Mark David Chapman, who pleaded guilty to murdering John Lennon in 1980. Chapman was sentenced to 20 years-to-life and has been denied parole ten times amid campaigns against his release. Chapman is now housed at Wende Correctional Facility.
- Edward Cummiskey, Westies hitman during the 1970s.
- Dean Faiello, unlicensed physician who was charged in the manslaughter of Filipina-American banker Maria Cruz in 2003.
- Jimmy Caci, a captain in the Los Angeles crime family spent eight years in Attica during the 1970s.
- Colin Ferguson, who murdered six people on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in 1993. Ferguson was sentenced to multiple life sentences. Ferguson is now housed at Upstate Correctional Facility.
- Kendall Francois, who murdered eight women, some of whom were prostitutes, and stored their bodies in his home in Poughkeepsie, New York. Francois, who was serving a life sentence without parole, died in September 2014.
- Frank P. Giffune, the Italian mob "fall guy" was sent to Attica in 1940 and sentenced to 12–25 years for grand larceny.[citation needed]
- Sam Melville, notorious as "mad bomber" in 1960s, a Weather Underground member killed by New York State Police troopers during the "Attica Prison riot" of September 13, 1971.[5]
- El Sayyid Nosair, 1993 World Trade Center bombing terrorist was housed in Attica for a short duration related to a different assassination.
- Joseph 'Mad Dog' Sullivan, the only man who has ever escaped the prison.[6]
- Willie Sutton, who robbed 100 banks from the late 1920s to 1952.
- David Sweat, who killed a Broome County sheriff's deputy in 2002 and escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in 2015 was rehoused in Attica in 2017.
- Valentino Dixon was released after 26 years. He was found to be innocent in 2018. Another man confessed to the murder. He was released after he began drawing paintings of golf courses and was featured in a golf magazine.[7][8][9] Tiger Woods golf instructor, Butch Harmon said if Dixon were released, he would teach him how to play golf for free.[7]
Notes
- ^ "Attica Correctional Facility" (PDF). Correctional Association of New York. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ "Facility Listing Archived September 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine." New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Retrieved on July 2, 2010. "Attica Correctional Facility 639 Exchange St Attica, New York 14011-0149."
- ^ "Attica town, Wyoming county, New York Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on July 2, 2010.
- ^ a b See Attica Prison riot
- ^ See Attica, The Official Report of the NYS Special Commission on Attica,(1972); A time To Die, by Tom Wicker, New York Times editor, columnist, actual riot observer
- ^ "Joseph Sullivan Biography" Retrieved on March 26, 2016.
- ^ a b "In Play: Meet Valentino Dixon". Golf Channel. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ "How Golf Digest and College Students Helped Free a Man Convicted of Murder". NY Times. September 20, 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ "NY Inmate-Artist Freed After Being Cleared of 1991 Slaying". NY Times. Associated Press. September 19, 2018.
Further reading
- Thompson, Heather Ann (23 August 2016). BLOOD in the WATER : The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy (Vintage Books ed.). New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN 9780375423222.
- Robbins, Tom; D’Avolio, Lauren (March 2, 2015). "3 Attica Guards Resign in Deal to Avoid Jail". The New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
External links
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42°51.0′N 78°16.3′W / 42.8500°N 78.2717°W
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| Closed | |
Above facilities are male-only unless noted by ♀(female) or ♂♀ (unisex) | |
