Attica's 'Forgotten Victims' to hold memorial on anniversary of deadly 1971 retaking of prison
The deadly Attica uprising will be the focus of an annual commemoration Wednesday on prison grounds at the Attica Correctional Facility.
The Forgotten Victims of Attica and New York State corrections officials will both hold ceremonies on Sept. 13 at the prison grounds, remembering the uprising and the violent retaking by law enforcement that left 39 dead — 29 prisoners and 10 prison workers who'd been held hostage after inmates seized control of the prison on Sept. 9, 1971.
The Forgotten Victims of Attica, or FVOA, is an organization of prison workers who were at the riot, and the families of those who were killed at the riot or have died in the years since.
The organization pushed the state to meet a series of demands to try rectify the treatment of widows and prison workers after the riots. Most of the widows were only paid workers' compensation awards after the deaths, and accepting the payments precluded them from suing the state.
This year's FVOA Memorial Service will be at 4:30 p.m. at the prison. The state service will follow.
In all 43 people died between the initial uprising and the retaking, in which all who were killed were fatally shot by State Police and others who stormed the prison. Attica stands as the deadliest prison uprising in the country's history.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Memorial to be held at Attica prison on anniversary of deadly retaking
