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Uprisings in New York State Prisons
Loaded on Dec. 15, 1997
by Julia Lutsky
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1997, page 10
By Julia Lutsky
Filed under:
Racial Discrimination,
Prison Rebellion,
Excessive Force,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Suicides.
Location:
New York.
Brutality by guards lay behind a major uprising at the Mohawk Correctional Facility in upstate New York in July 1997. Josea Benefield, a 22 year-old African-American prisoner in solitary confinement was reported to have hung himself with a bed sheet on Thursday, July 17. He had been …
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More from this issue:
- Massachusetts Prisoner PAC Assailed by Governor, DOC, by Dan Pens
- Prisoner PAC Announces Formation
- Trial Required in Retaliation Claim
- Arizona Holiday Package Decree Modified
- Supreme Court Rulings Trickle Down: Washington Civil Commitment
- From the Editor, by Dan Pens
- Supreme Court Rulings Trickle Down: WA Good Time
- Arizona Death Row Chain Gang Killing
- Supreme Court Rulings Trickle Down: RFRA
- Pro Se Tips and Tactics (Summary Judgments), by John Midgley
- Ohio Overtime Gravy
- Leon County Employees Replaced by Slaves
- Private Prisons Cheaper?
- Jury Awards $201,501 to Raped Indiana Prisoner, by John Emry
- AEDPA Applies to Prison Disciplinary Hearings
- The Poor Get Poorer - The Rich Get Prisons
- Uprisings in New York State Prisons, by Julia Lutsky
- A Matter of Fact
- NJ Guards Threaten Walkout Over Vests
- Second Circuit Approves Disciplinary Hearing Surcharge
- Utah Prisoners May Build Own Cages
- AA Still Violates the Establishment Clause
- U.S. and Russia Reaching Record Levels of Incarceration
- Eleventh Circuit Approves and Applies the PLRA, by James Quigley
- Fifth Circuit Rules on Appeals to Denials of IFP Status
- D.C. Prisoners Win No Smoking Injunction
- More Ohio Jail Construction Corruption
- Frivolous State Litigation, by Paul Wright
- GAO Reports Available: Private and Public Prisons, by Julia Lutsky
- GAO Reports Available: Federal and State Prisons, by Julia Lutsky
- Pepper Spray Report, by Julia Lutsky
- New York State Drug Sentencing Report, by Julia Lutsky
- The Abuse of U.S. Women Prisoners, by Julia Lutsky
- Qualified Immunity in Failure to Protect Claim, by James Quigley
- Montana Prisoners Have Liberty Interest in Classification Hearings, by Danny Arledge
- WA Officials Liable for Seizing Court Tape
- VI Decree Modification Denied Under PLRA, DOC Held in Contempt
- CCA Unveils Aggressive New Marketing Ploy
- Federal Jail in NYC a Mob Social Club?
- Peruvian Prisoners Rebel, by Dan Axtell
- Washington Sex Offender Notification Enjoined
- DC DOC Official Convicted of Contempt
- New Jersey Jail Brutality Settlement
- Man Jailed for Saying 'No' to TB Drugs
- Prisoner Awarded $30,001 in Beating Suit
- More Evidence Required in Retaliatory Infractions
- Counselor Liable in Failure to Protect Claim
- Americans with Disability Act Applies to Jails
- Alabama AG Moves to Dissolve 17 Consent Decrees
- Knowledge of Risk May Establish 8th Amendment Liability
- News in Brief
More from Julia Lutsky:
- Dominican Women Prisoners Strike for Conjugal Visits, June 15, 2002
- Death Toll Hits 87 as Turkish Prison Protest Strike Continues, April 15, 2002
- Turkish Prisoners Struggle Against Transfers, Aug. 15, 2001
- Strikes Sweep Bolivian Prisons as Promise of Freedom Fades, June 15, 2001
- Texas and Florida Prisoners Used in Medical Experiments, April 15, 2001
- Crime and Punishment Relation Examined, April 15, 2001
- The Spirit of Freedom and Resistance, Long Kesh Prison Closed, March 15, 2001
- Mentally Ill Prisoners in the New Jersey Prison System, Feb. 15, 2001
- A.I. Reports on US Compliance with UN Convention Against Torture, Feb. 15, 2001
- Political Prisoners in Spain, Aug. 15, 2000
More from these topics:
- The St. Louis Jails Are Running Out of Guards, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Hygiene Supplies, Suicides.
- Amid ‘Catastrophic’ Shortage, Psychologists Flee Federal Prisons in Droves, Feb. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Federal Court Strikes Much of Virginia’s Felony Voting Restriction, Feb. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Restrictions, discrimination, Voting Rights, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute.
- Tenth Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Claim Over Prisoner’s Suicide in Oklahoma Jail, Feb. 1, 2026. Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, Staff Training, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, Feb. 1, 2026. Transportation, Excessive Force, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Deliberate Indifference.
- Differing Judicial Outcomes for the New York Guards Who Killed Robert Brooks, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Pending Appeal/Sentencing.
- The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- Report on “Pay-to-Stay” Fees Makes Strong Case for Their Repeal, Jan. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Medical Expenses, Cost of Prison Systems, housing, Ability to Pay.
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan Jailer Accused of Retaliatory Assault, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.

