THE NEW MEXICO PENITENTIARY RIOT, WHICH TOOK PLACE ON FEBRUARY 2 AND FEBRUARY 3, 1980
THE NEW MEXICO PENITENTIARY RIOT, WHICH TOOK PLACE ON FEBRUARY 2 AND FEBRUARY 3, 1980
The New Mexico Penitentiary Riot, which took place on February 2 and February 3, 1980 in the state's maximum security prison south of Santa Fe, was one of the most violent prison riots in the history of the American correctional system: 33 inmates died and more than 200 inmates were treated for injuries. None of the 12 guards taken hostage were killed but seven were treated for injuries caused by repeated beatings and rapes.
This location was used by Adam Sandler’s movie The Longest Yard and the water tower still bears the fictional name, Allenville. (Note: it has also been used for other movies and is used for storing movie props today)
These are the areas that are considered to be the most haunted in New Mexico. The accounts start in 1981 and have continued into the present day. They have been seen by corrections officers as well as members of the New Mexico National Guard.
The most active areas of the former prison are Cell Block 4 as well as Cell Block 3; which housed the maximum-security prisoner; the tool room and the tunnels underneath the prison including the laundry room and the gas chamber
BILL WOULD COMPENSATE OFFICERS IN '80 NEW MEXICO PRISON RIOT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A dozen guards were held hostage 35 years ago during one of the nation's deadliest prison riots. Some were brutally beaten and sexually assaulted as rioting prisoners killed 33 of their fellow inmates during a clash that included beheadings, amputations and burned bodies.
Now, New Mexico lawmakers are considering compensation for those correctional officers who are still alive and suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee heard the emotional account of Lawrence Lucero, one of only two officers who managed to escape in the opening hours as inmates rushed the control center at the Penitentiary of New Mexico on Feb. 2, 1980.
Lucero recalled seeing one man being dragged away with a belt around his neck. Another had his head bashed in while Lucero and another correctional officer watched helplessly from behind bullet-proof glass that the inmates eventually shattered with metal pipes.
"The fire, the screams, the torturing of people, it's just something not even a movie could prepare you for. It's just something beyond this world," said Lucero, who was 25 at the time.
Now nearly 60, Lucero has nightmares of inmates coming to attack him and he can't forget the smell of burning flesh. His wife, Isabel, testified that she too has had to deal with the effects the riot had on her husband.
Fueled by a combination of overcrowding and poor conditions, the riot lasted 36 hours. It led to extensive reforms within the state's prison system.
Democratic Rep. Eliseo Lee Alcon said the correctional officers who were swept up in the riot should have been compensated years ago. He and other lawmakers apologized to Lucero and said the officers should have never had to experience something like that.
Alcon estimated only five or six of the former correctional officers are still living.
The House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of the bill after making several changes to simplify the compensation process. The measure calls for setting aside $1.5 million for the effort.
Last year, the Senate unanimously passed a memorial recognizing the tragedy and expressing a commitment to criminal justice reform.
The state Corrections Department also has offered tours of the old prison in hopes of providing a record and an accounting by the officers and inmates who were there.
When people ask what happened that night, Lucero answers with a Spanish phrase that when translated means "the devil was set loose."
"That's exactly what happened," he said, "and I see this bill as an opportunity where we can put the cork back into that bottle, close that gate and put a final end to this terrible chapter in New Mexico history," he said.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/bill-would-compensate-officers-in-80-new-mexico-prison-riot/ar-BBhM3K1
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