Blood in the Water

Blood in the Water is a 2016 historical non-fiction book written by American historian Heather Ann Thompson. In it, she explores the uprising at Attica prison in New York State in 1971 and its bloody suppression by the state. As well as the causes of these events, Blood in the Water looks at their legal and political aftermath, in terms of both the state’s prosecution of prisoners and inmate efforts to find justice for violence inflicted in the retaking. Blood in the Water won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for History and the 2017 Bancroft Prize (for books about the history of the Americas). This guide uses the 2017 Vintage Books edition.

When New York State troopers and correction officers regained control of Attica in September 1971 in a barrage of rifle and shotgun fire, 39 inmates and hostages were killed, and scores were injured. Surviving, often gravely injured, prisoners were then beaten and sometimes tortured as they were herded back to their cells. Blood in the Water tell the story of how and why this happened, exploring the social, cultural, and political forces, as well as the personal ambitions and narratives, that allowed such violence to occur. It also tells of the state’s attempted cover up of these events and the fight of prisoners, lawyers, and activists to bring them to light.

Blood in the Water is divided, except for a brief introduction, into ten parts. Each contains a short biography of an important historical protagonist and between four and seven chapters. Part 1 looks at the broader political context behind the uprising. Specifically, it explores how the “war on crime” initiated by Lyndon B. Johnson and continued by Richard Nixon helped swell prison numbers and lead to prison overcrowding. This overcrowding, along with already inhumane conditions, inadequate numbers of correctional officers, and betrayed promises about reform, created conditions in which a revolt was likely. Part 2 is about the prison uprising itself. It looks at the immediate spark: the sense that some prisoners had been unfairly punished, then trapped, which led to the prisoners rebelling. It also details how the prisoners organized to present a coherent set of political demands. Part 3 explores the attempted negotiations between state and prisoners, which were carried out via the “observers committee,” a selected group of independent politicians, lawyers, and journalists.

Part 4 discusses the final breakdown of negotiations and the decision by the head of correctional services, Oswald, and New York Governor Rockefeller to retake the prison by force. It gives an account of the retaking itself, the treatment of inmates in their rehousing, and state lies about prisoner brutality. Part 5 covers the immediate political and cultural fall-out of Attica with regards to the initial autopsies of those killed, funerals, and protests, especially in light of revelations that the state had lied. Part 6 gives an account of the various committees designed to investigate events at Attica and to monitor subsequent treatment of prisoners. It also explores the state’s aggressive, and often coercive, efforts to gather evidence with which to prosecute prisoners.

Part 7 describes attempts by prisoners to organize legal defense against the indictments they were subject to. Thompson discusses political differences in defense strategy, and the trials themselves, especially that of John Hill, the prisoner accused and found guilty of murdering correctional officer William Quinn. Part 8 discusses the cover-up of crimes by state troopers and the attempt to censor the investigation, which led state lawyer Malcom Bell to go public with evidence of the cover-up. Although in 1976 all crimes at Attica, state and prisoner, were pardoned, prisoners still wanted legal redress. As such, Part 9 discusses the efforts by prisoners to sue the state for compensation over abuse and torture. These efforts resulted in a legal victory, and a final settlement, in 2000, of $12 million. Part 10 examines the formation of the Forgotten Victims of Attica (FVOA), composed of surviving hostages and widows of dead hostages who were galvanized by news of prisoner compensation and their pursuit of justice. Despite many delays, in 2005 they received compensation from the state, but no formal apology. Finally, in the Epilogue, Thompson discusses the broader effects of Attica on American politics and attitudes towards crime and punishment.