Attica Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison campus in the
Town of Attica, New York, operated by the
. It was constructed in the 1930s in response to earlier riots within the New York state prisons.
A
CS gas
The compound 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (also called ''o''-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile; chemical formula: C10H5ClN2), a cyanocarbon, is the defining component of the lachrymatory agent commonly referred to as CS gas, a tear gas which ...
system (chlorobenzylidine malononitrile) installed in the mess hall and industry areas has been used to quell conflicts in these areas. The prison now holds numerous inmates who are serving various types of sentences (short-term to life). They are often sent to this facility because of disciplinary problems in other facilities.
[See Attica Prison riot] The prison is a
maximum security facility.
In 1984, immediately adjacent to the Attica prison, the construction of the
Wyoming Correctional Facility was completed. The Wyoming prison is a
medium security facility.
Rebellion
Attica was the site of a
prison uprising in September 1971 in which inmates took control of the prison for several days. They were seeking to negotiate to improve conditions and treatment at the overcrowded prison. The uprising and subsequent retaking of the prison by the state resulted in 43 deaths and over 89 injuries. Police killed 39 people, ten of which included correctional officers and civilian employees who had been taken hostage. Three prisoners were killed by other inmates and one guard died later from injuries sustained during the initial uprising.
Notable inmates
*
David Berkowitz, better known as Son of Sam,
serial killer
A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone:
*
*
*
*
* (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
who confessed to killing six people and wounding several others in New York City during the late 1970s. Since becoming a Christian, Berkowitz has said that he should pay for the sins he has committed and will not seek parole. Berkowitz is now housed at
Shawangunk Correctional Facility.
*
H. Rap Brown,
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...
leader, served a sentence in Attica from 1971 to 1976.
*Brandon Clark, perpetrator of the
Murder of Bianca Devins and then posted her dead body online.
*
Jimmy Caci, a captain in the
Los Angeles crime family, served eight years in Attica during the 1970s for armed robbery.
*
Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to
murdering John Lennon in 1980. Chapman was sentenced to 20 years-to-life for killing Lennon and has been denied parole thirteen times amid campaigns against his release. Chapman is now housed at
Green Haven Correctional Facility.
*
Joseph Christopher
Joseph Gerard Christopher (July 26, 1955 – March 1, 1993) was an American serial killer who gained infamy for a series of murders in the early 1980s. He is believed to have killed at least twelve African American men and boys and wounded numero ...
, a serial killer who committed murders in the early 1980s in Buffalo, Manhattan, and Rochester. He was held in Attica in 1985. He died March 1, 1993.
*
Edward Cummiskey,
Westies hitman during the 1970s.
*Valentino Dixon was exonerated and released in 2018, after 27 years of incarceration, after another man confessed to the murder for which Dixon was convicted.
*
Dean Faiello, unlicensed physician who was convicted of the manslaughter of banker Maria Cruz in 2003.
*Colin Ferguson, who
murdered six people in 1993 on the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
(LIRR) in a racist attack. Ferguson was sentenced to multiple life sentences; as of 2024, he is housed at
Mid-State Correctional Facility.
*
Kendall Francois murdered eight women and stored their bodies in his home in
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...
. Serving a life sentence without parole, he died in September 2014.
*
Joe Gallo of the
Colombo crime family
The Colombo crime family (, ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City within the criminal organization known as the American Mafia. It was during ...
spent nine years in Attica for attempted extortion.
* Nauman Hussain: Convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 5 to 15 years for his role in the 2018
Schoharie limousine crash.
*
Arohn Kee, serial killer
*
Sam Melville, notorious as "mad bomber" in 1960s. He was among 30 prisoners killed by
New York State Police
The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the U.S. state of New York; it is part of the New York State Executive Department and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 non-sworn members.
The New York State Police are re ...
and other law enforcement, in addition to 10 hostages, in their suppression of the Attica Prison uprising on September 13, 1971.
*
El Sayyid Nosair,
1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack carried out by Ramzi Yousef and associates against the United States on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex in Manhat ...
terrorist was housed in Attica for a short period related to the 1990
assassination of Meir Kahane.
*
Ralph "Bucky" Phillips, convicted murderer, was captured after one of the largest manhunts in New York state history.
*
Joseph 'Mad Dog' Sullivan, a mobster and the only man who has ever escaped the prison.
*
Joel Rifkin, serial killer, was held here for more than four years in solitary confinement before being transferred to the
Clinton Correctional Facility in Clinton County.
*
Willie Sutton, robbed 100 banks from the late 1920s to 1952.
*
David Sweat, killed a
Broome County deputy sheriff in 2002 and escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in 2015; was captured and transferred to Attica in 2017.
In popular culture
*In Season 4 Episode 2 of
The Golden Girls
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...
Dorothy claims to have served a year at Attica while arguing with a cellmate at the local jail.
See also
*
Inmates of Attica Correctional Facility v. Rockefeller
Further reading
*
*
References
External links
Attica Correctional Facility webpage
{{Authority control
1931 establishments in New York (state)
*
Prisons in New York (state)