Herbert W. Jones Jr., a 26-year-old Caucasian male, was an industrial account clerk at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York. On September 9, 1971, the routine of prison life was shattered when inmates rioted, seizing control of large portions of the facility and taking 42 staff members, including Jones, hostage. The prisoners were protesting inhumane living conditions and demanding basic rights.
For four tense days, negotiations between the inmates and state officials unfolded, with the prisoners issuing a list of demands. While authorities agreed to many of the conditions, the demand for complete amnesty from criminal prosecution for the takeover was a major sticking point.
The fragile hope for a peaceful resolution was shattered on the morning of September 13, 1971. Under the order of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, a massive force of state troopers and corrections officers launched an assault to retake the prison. Helicopters dropped tear gas into the prison yard as law enforcement opened fire. In the ensuing chaos, Herbert W. Jones Jr. was struck in the head by a. 270 caliber bullet fired by a state trooper and died instantly. He was one of 10 hostages and 29 inmates killed in the raid.
Initial reports from authorities falsely claimed that the inmates had slit the throats of the hostages. However, autopsies later revealed that all 10 hostages, including Jones, had died from gunfire from the state's forces. The violent retaking of the prison and the subsequent cover-up of the true cause of the hostages' deaths sparked outrage and led to congressional investigations. In the years that followed, Jones's widow, Lynda, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the State of New York. The case, along with a larger class-action lawsuit by inmates, brought to light the excessive force used by the state and the brutal reprisals against prisoners after the riot was suppressed. No specific individual was ever charged with the death of Herbert W. Jones Jr., as his death was part of a state-sanctioned assault.
