Lucasville The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising

by Lynd, Staughton; Abu Jamal, Mumia

• ISBN13: 9781604862249
• ISBN10: 1604862246
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-03-07
• Publisher: PM Press

Summary

In telling the story of one of the longest prison uprisings in U.S. history, in which hundreds of inmates seized a major area of an Ohio correctional facility, this chronicle examines the causes of the disturbance, what happened during its 11-day duration, and the fairness of the trials in the aftermath of the rioting. Recounted from the prisoners' side and viewed through a lawyer's and an activist's lens, this expose sheds light on the horrific and inhumane prison conditions, the rebellion and killing of 10 people, the drivers of the negotiated surrender, and the trial that was filled with misrepresentations and evasions on the part of those running the prison. The eloquent new foreword from the renowned political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal underlines the theme of the interracial character of the uprising and the basic desire of the prisoners to be recognized as men. A detailed view on a major prison uprising, this new edition will appeal to legal scholars, history buffs, prisoner and human rights activists, and family members of incarcerated individuals alike.

Author Biography

Staughton Lynd is a civil rights and a peace activist, a historian, a lawyer, and a professor. He taught American history at Spelman College and Yale University and was a director the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee of Freedom Schools in the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer. He is the author and coauthor of more than 12 books, including Intellectual Origins of American Radicalism, Stepping Stones: A Memoir of a Life Together, and Wobblies and Zapatistas. He lives in Youngstown, Ohio. Mumia Abu Jamal is a prisoner who is currently serving time for the alleged killing of a Philadelphia police officer in 1981. He is the author of Death Blossoms, Live from Death Row, and We Want Freedom.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 1
Introduction	p. 5
A Long Train of Abuses	p. 15
The Worst of the Worst	p. 31
Who Killed Officer Vallandingham?	p. 47
Settlement of a Siege	p. 63
Diagrams and Photographs	p. 75
The Criminal Injustice System-Before Trial	p. 89
The Criminal Injustice System-Trial and Appeal	p. 113
Overcoming Racism-The Lucasville Redemption	p. 133
Attica and Amnesty	p. 151
Chronology of Lucasville Rebellion	p. 169
Transcript of Tunnel Tape 61	p. 173
Demands of the Prisoners in L Block	p. 188
Documents Circulated by Advocates of the Death Penalty for Lucasville Rioters	p. 191
Selective Prosecution of Leaders of the Rebellion Compared with Informants who Concededly Committed the Same Acts	p. 194
Selective Prosecution Based on Identity of Victim	p. 196
Endnotes	p. 199
Index	p. 223
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