1. Descent into Madness:
The New Mexico State Prison Riot
Mark Colvin

2. Most horrific prison riot in history
36 hours
33 inmates killed by other inmates
200 inmates severely injured – beating, stabbing, rape
OD’s from drugs from the pharmacy

3. 12 corrections officers taken hostage
None killed
Seven beaten, stabbed, sodomized
Some guards protected by inmates
Some helped to escape riots by inmates

4. Prisoners risked their own lives
To keep others from harm

5. 20 million dollars damage
200 million in response costs and aftermath

6. Methodology
300 in-depth interviews
Prisoners
Guards
Officials

7. History of the prison is important to understand what happened
Not always violent and disorderly
Big change in three to four years prior to riot

8. Background

9. At Attica,
A few hours of rioting turned into organized protest of prison conditions
No more deaths until authorities retook prison

10. At New Mexico riot, Huge disorganization
Many inmate on inmate killings
Exceptionally brutal

11. 1976 Reduction of privileges and programs leads to
Peaceful, organized protest
Response – new era – more coercion and violence

12. Strike broken with violence
Teargas
Gauntlet – axe handles
Leaders identified, transferred out of state
Inmate leadership – provided social cohesion – now gone
“Hole” – solitary reopened and used
Segregation for discipline more common

13. Lots of turnover in state leadership
Similarly, at local level,
five wardens in five years
Administrative confusion – conflicting policies
Clique of administrators running show, virtually unaccountable to anyone

14. Growing inconsistencies in security and discipline
In a prison, consistency and routine are hugely important
Now, inmates can not calculate punishment for different behaviors
Seen by inmates as harassment
Prison officers get caught up in “harassment game” – prisoners go to hole

15. The “snitch game” Privileges for telling on others
Punishment for not cooperating with guards
“hang a snitch jacket” on someone –
Guards threaten to tell other inmates that you are a snitch, even if you aren’t
Certain cellblock used for “protection”

16. History of little inmate to inmate violence
Gives way to murder, and routine fights and sexual assaults

17. Social order had been disturbed
Forces that held back disorder dissolved
Inmate leadership removed
Small, self-protective cliques emerge
New inmates arrive into a volatile atmosphere
Violence not imported from outside

18. New inmates face tough choices
Submit to others
Become a snitch
Fight other inmates – “don’t mess with them”

19. Submission Labeled “morally weak” Won’t stand up for yourself
PC’d up -protective custody- also weak
Snitch – weakest of the weak

20. Competition for violent reputations
Leads to increased violence – daily occurrences
Anglo vs. Chicano fights
Anglo cliques emerge

21. All these forces Lead to a fragmented prison society
Which finally explodes in 1980

22. Overview of the riot pp

23. Summary Explosive episode had its roots going back much further
Lack of organization of the riot and inmate to inmate violence make it notable
Violence caused by a few cliques
Cliques emerge due to organizational changes and control policy changes