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Attica legal battle comes to an end after 26 years

Thirty-two inmates and 11 prison employees were killed during the four-day standoff at the Attica state prison in New York in 1971

ROCHESTER, New York (CNN) -- A 26-year legal battle stemming from the bloodiest prison uprising in U.S. history has drawn to a close.

U.S. District Judge Michael Telesca on Monday determined how to apportion an $8 million settlement from New York state to hundreds of inmates involved in the 1971 revolt at Attica Correctional Facility. Forty three people were killed. Eighty others were injured.

Attorneys for the inmates filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in 1974 seeking $2.8 billion, alleging that the state used excessive force to end the revolt and tortured and brutalized inmates afterward.

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About 30 plaintiffs brought the lawsuit. The class action sought to include the whole "class" of people who were affected by the state government's action, explained attorney Daniel Meyers, part of the inmates' legal team.

That "class" included 1,281 inmates who were at the prison's "D" yard, where the rioting and police actions were centered.

The lawsuit named five state officials, including then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, who authorized the use of force to end the riot.

The judge's decision

Telesca decided in a ruling issued Monday that 502 former inmates in the prison's D yard, or their families, will receive between $6,500 and $125,000 from the state. The state, which admitted no wrongdoing, will also pay $4 million to cover legal costs incurred by the inmates' attorneys.

Meyers said many of the 1,281 inmates died or could not be located. Some 580 people applied to receive the settlement money; 502 were approved by the judge, Meyers said.

The 1974 lawsuit did not go to trial until the 1990s because of changes in legal venue, the reluctance of lawyers to take the case, legal maneuverings and other factors.

A federal appeals court returned the case to a lower court in the 1990s for a speedy resolution. Telesca got the case in August 1999 and immediately started to work on wrapping it up.

He pushed for a settlement, saying litigation would further delay the case. The two sides agreed to a deal in January. Telesca approved it a month later and asked people to submit written statements about the nature and extent of their injuries and other matters involved with the riot.

The 502 people were approved for the settlement after the judge verified through prison records that they were at the D yard at the time of the revolt, according to court papers.

Many of the former inmates receiving the money are in their 50s or older. The settlement does not include the families of the prison guards who were killed during the uprising.

Meyers said plaintiffs have the right to file individual appeals seeking larger damage amounts. If appeals are filed, the distribution of the settlement money, expected to be completed by November, could be delayed, Meyers said.

The revolt and its aftermath

The revolt came after inmates complained for years about poor living conditions in the prison, citing poor medical care, bad food and abusive treatment.

Inmates took over parts of the prison on September 9, 1971, holding 49 guards hostage. The standoff ended four days later when 1,500 troops stormed the prison.

Thirty-two inmates and 11 prison employees died during the fiery assault; some 80 others were injured.

The riot erupted at a time of protests against the Vietnam War and followed a string of race riots at U.S. cities throughout the 1960s.

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United States District Court Western District of New York

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