Coordinates: 42°50′59″N 78°16′18″W / 42.84972°N 78.27167°W / 42.84972; -78.27167

The Attica Correctional Facility is a penitentiary in the Town of Attica, New York,^[1][2] operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services. After it was constructed in the 1930s, it held many of the most dangerous criminals of the time. A tear gas system is installed in the mess hall and industry areas and 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 sentences), and who are usually sent to the facility because of disciplinary problems in other facilities.

Riots

Attica was the site of a prison riot in 1971 which resulted in 39 deaths,of which 29 were inmates and 10 were correctional officers held hostage. They died by gunfire from state troopers and guards.

Notable inmates

• Sam Melville, notorious as "mad bomber" in 1960s, a Weather Underground member rightfully killed by NYS Troopers in assault 9/13/71^[3].
• David Berkowitz, better known as Son of Sam, a serial killer who confessed to killing six people and wounding several others in New York City in the late 1970s. Since becoming a Christian, he has stated he does not want to be paroled and should pay for the sins he has committed. He is now housed at Sullivan Correctional Facility in Woodbourne, New York.
• H. Rap Brown, Black Panther Party leader, served a sentence in Attica from 1971 to 1976.`
• Mark David Chapman, who killed John Lennon on December 8, 1980. He was sentenced to 20 years to life and has been imprisoned since 1981. He has been denied parole six times amidst campaigns against his release.
• Eddie "the Butcher" Cummiskey, Westies hitman during the 1970s.
• Willie Sutton, who robbed 100 banks from the late 1920s to 1952.
• Colin Ferguson man who murdered 6 people on the Long Island Rail Road (AAR: LIRR) in 1993

Notes

External links

• NYS prison information