Preparations
Jerry Myles knew that timing would play a major factor in the successful initiation of the riot. Between the time he was released back into general population in February 1958 until he decided to start the riot, he paid close attention to the movements of the guards and found a loophole in their routine; each day during the dinnertime turnover, the ratio of guards to inmates was decreased in Cellblock 1. His plan was to seize a rifle from one of the guards who walked the catwalk outside his cell when the guard was alone. The catwalk was close to the tier of cells. Guards routinely moved between the catwalk and the tiers by little more than hopping from one to the other; since neither walkway was caged, the maneuver was simple.
Myles also needed to recruit other inmates to his cause but limit the number of prisoners who knew specifics to ensure the administration would be caught unawares. He chose to let Lee Smart in on the plans, coaxing the boy along with promises of freedom and adventure. George Alton, a shrewd, intelligent man, was less easily convinced, though a workable escape plan attracted him. Myles needed Alton because of his rapport with the inmate population. Alton also worked in the prison garage and had access to gasoline, a crucial part of Myles' plans. Myles assured Alton that they would use Deputy Warden Rothe as a shield and hostage to gain exit from Tower 7, and from there to freedom. Myles also strong-armed Harold Laureys, a known lockpicker, or "gopher man" in prison lingo, into being ready for an escape attempt, but gave him few specifics other than that.
Myles, Smart, and Alton constructed a reservoir in one of the shelves in Smart's cell, and Alton regularly filled that space with gasoline he smuggled out of the garage. The trio waited until they had filled the container before enacting their plans.
Read more about this topic: Montana State Prison, 1959 Riot
Famous quotes containing the word preparations:
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—Jane Austen (1775–1817)
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“At the ramparts on the cliff near the old Parliament House I counted twenty-four thirty-two-pounders in a row, pointed over the harbor, with their balls piled pyramid-wise between them,—there are said to be in all about one hundred and eighty guns mounted at Quebec,—all which were faithfully kept dusted by officials, in accordance with the motto, “In time of peace prepare for war”; but I saw no preparations for peace: she was plainly an uninvited guest.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)