NCJ Number
89916
Date Published
1980
Length
62 pages
Annotation
This script for a television documentary reconstructs the 1980 riot in the New Mexico State Penitentiary, explains its causes, and examines prison mismanagement, deemed a primary reason for the revolt.
Abstract
The first part recounts the prison takeover, which resulted in the deaths of 33 inmates and over 100 seriously wounded, along with $25 million in damage. Part two investigates the immediate causes for the riot, found to be (1) overcrowded conditions, (2) prison staff incompetence and official indifference, and (3) a practice encouraged by prison officials of having inmates inform on one another for special privileges. The third section of the documentary explores the underlying reason for the riot -- prison mismanagement. During a 10-year period, there were eight State secretaries of correction, and in 5 years, there were five wardens and five correction commissioners. Most serious of all, it is reported that prison authorities knew the riot was imminent and did nothing to counter it. Two weeks before the riot, inmate informants told prison guards, deputy wardens, and a prison psychologist that a takeover was planned and hostages would be taken. Two days before the riot, 13 key State officials discussed the warnings, but no significant preventive action was taken. Corruption among prison guards was another manifestation of mismanagement. Guards peddled drugs to inmates, and middle-level prison officials formed cliques that became too powerful for even the wardens to fight. The documentary concludes by noting that the prison conditions remain about the same as before the riot.