Major Incidents
August 17, 1955: 75 inmates armed with bats and clubs refused to move from the yard. The warden gave them five minutes and then authorized the state police to forcefully return them to their cells.
May 1976: a fight broke out between two Muslim groups. They armed themselves with baseball bats and chunks of wood. A warning shot was fired and the guards used tear gas to break the fight up.
August 1976: The inmates, in apparent protest, refused to leave their cells, administrators believe the protest to be due to overcrowding, lack of work for all inmates, and racism. A report on Great Meadow called the facility, “ the garbage heap of the state prison system.” No one was hurt during the demonstration.
May1981: after an hour-long exercise period, a brawl broke out between inmates and correctional officers. In total 28 people, including two guards were injured. The brawl broke out at 11 A.M. and with the help of tear gas was brought under control within twenty minutes.
A 38 year-old inmate died in 1982 after an encounter with prison guards. The altercation broke out when the inmate supposedly attacked a guard while being escorted back to his cell.
September 2007: Guards had to use tear gas to break up an inmate quarrel. This was the second time in one week that guards had to use gas to break up a fight.
Read more about this topic: Great Meadow Correctional Facility
Famous quotes containing the words major and/or incidents:
“The major men
That is different. They are characters beyond
Reality, composed thereof. They are
The fictive man created out of men.
They are men but artificial men.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“An element of exaggeration clings to the popular judgment: great vices are made greater, great virtues greater also; interesting incidents are made more interesting, softer legends more soft.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)