6, 2022 at 3:42 PM PDT. The convicts created a structure to keep relative stability and peace. LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) _ A guard held hostage during an 11-day prison uprising was arraigned on misdemeanor gun and alcohol charges today after his weekend arrest when police investigated a loud music complaint. As an inmate rebellion stretched into a second week at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, negotiators said Sunday they have audiotapes proving that five guards held hostage are alive. The overall . We want to put them in the electric chair for murdering Officer Vallandingham.. A official of the Ohio Department of Correction and Rehabilitation later identified the guard as James Demons, 26, who has worked at the prison since 1990. We are not claiming that all of these prisoners are innocent (though some surely are). Ten guards and eight inmates were injured in the melee. - Three prisoners saw Lavelle and two other Disciples come down the L- block corridor from L-1 and go into L-6, leaving a few minutes later; The state refused to negotiate or recognize the prisoners demands from the start. This cause is now before the court upon an appeal as of right. 0000002877 00000 n CINCINNATI (ENQUIRER) - James Ruppert, who shot and killed 11 members of his family on Easter in 1975, died Saturday at Franklin Medical . Chris Martin 2230 Vinton ave. Mrs. June Debord of Lucasville it. They draped that sheet for all - including a rapidly growing crowd of reporters - to see. After the loud music complaint, officers approached a car with its speakers blaring. Inside the cell block, inmates sat in darkness and without running water. Alternative means of testing for TB by use of X rays or a sputum test were available and had been used at Mansfield Correctional Institution. Willie Johnson and Eddie Moss heard Were explicitly blame Lavelle for the killing; By 3:21 am the next morning, prisoners who remained on the yard rather than in the cell block surrendered to the authorities, who rounded them up, stripped them of all clothes and possessions and packed them naked, ten to a cell in another block. Even the demons believeand shudder!" This statement comes in a passage where James is explaining "religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father" ( James 1:27 ). 1. He still wants vengeance, the kind he couldn't get outside that prison fence. The father and son played ball in the yard, watched their favorite teams on TV and spent endless hours working on cars. Nine inmates and a guard died during the siege. Demons stressed during the negotiations that Muslim convicts were not involved in the killing of the inmates. . The issue in James 2:14-26 is not about gaining or proving that one has eternal life, but rather, living as a profitable servant of Jesus Christ. . - Two older and, in my opinion, reliable convicts, Leroy Elmore and the late Roy Donald, say that on April 15 Lavelle told each of them in so many words that he had had the guard killed. Tate became always more unreasonably stubborn and arbitrary, escalating tensions over minor issues, until the prisoners broke into a full-on violent revolt. - Three members of the Black Gangster Disciples stated under oath that Lavelle tried to recruit them for a death squad after Ms. Unwins statement on April 14; What is the State afraid of? FREE ALL PRISONERS! 6. That bonding time in the garage also was a learning experience that ultimately led Bobby to become a mechanic. Factions split up into different parts of the occupied cell block, but coordinated activities through a group of representatives who negotiated demands to bring an end to the uprising. His 25-year sentence expires in six years, but he has a 2017 date with the parole board. "But truth is, I wish they weren't going to be executed by being put to sleep. 77 Morgan Dr, Lucasville, OH . He still blames the entire corrections system, and a prison spokeswoman in particular, for provoking the inmates. Ten men were killed. On the morning of April14, spokeswoman Tessa Unwin made a statement to the press on behalf of the authorities. You can fight for justice by supporting them in court, opposing the death penalty in Ohio, writing letters or calling the Warden at OSP or the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC). There was no telephone listing for him in Lucasville or Portsmouth. The Lucasville prison riot was the longest prison siege in U.S. history. Those who refused to testify against others were branded the worst of the worst and given harsh penalties, including death. Ex-inmates say Lucasville is a nightmarish institution where guards and inmates divided into racial gangs like the Aryan Brotherhood and the Bloods feed a culture of antagonism and violence. He told them he had an uneasy feeling that something was brewing at the state's only maximum-security prison. Looking back on Tates actions after the uprising, some prisoners believe that he was trying to provoke violence in order to justify his expansion plans. The media prematurely reported as much, telling their viewers entirely false stories of dozens of bodies piling up inside the occupied cell block. But after the release of five fellow guards April 21, Demons said he pretended to convert only to stay alive. That Easter riot on April 11, 1993, turned into an 11-day standoff as inmates virtually destroyed the interior of an entire maximum-security cell block, killed nine fellow inmates and strangled Robert Vallandingham. In 1989, Warden Terry Morris asked the legislative oversight committee of the Ohio General Assembly to prepare a survey of conditions at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. 208 23 They destroyed much physical evidence and went after anyone who refused to be witnesses and snitch out other prisoners. My dad's death probably saved others from dying back then, but it doesn't make it any easier.". Interment . However, Muslim prisoner Reginald Williams, a witness for the State in the Lucasville trials, testified that the hope of the group that planned the 1993 occupation was to carry out a brief, essentially peaceful, attention-getting action to get someone from the central office to come down and address our concerns (State v. Were I at 1645), to barricade ourselves in L-6 until we can get someone from Columbus to discuss alternative means of doing the TB tests (State v. Sanders at 2129.) Prisoners attempted to defend themselves through legal and non-violent channels exhaustively. xref . Within minutes, eight guards were taken hostage, joining 450 of the prison's 1,819 inmates behind barricades in Cellblock L. At least seven inmates and one guard are dead. Gov. This included funeral costs. 0000003995 00000 n An inmate identified only as 'George' was allowed Thursday night to broadcast prisoners' demands over WPAY, a Portsmouth radio station, and guard Darrold Clark, 21, of New Boston, was released. "The general advice given by police negotiators is to negotiate on terms set by the hostage-takers," said Bert Useem, a University of Louisville sociologist. . you was supposed take home the trophies and hang the plaques up. 208 0 obj <> endobj 0000002157 00000 n Inmate Emanuel Newell, who had almost been killed by the rebelling prisoners, was carried out of L block on a stretcher. The raw intent of the State to violate these understandings was made clear during and immediately after the surrender. With much sadness I will give you the raw deal, your brother George has done a vanishing act on us. His attorney entered innocent pleas for him at an arraignment today. Authorities very nearly had a much larger crisis on their hands. The veins in his arms swell and his stare hardens when he says that his children will never know their grandfather. That is why, to repeat, I believe that our first task following this gathering is to make it possible for these men to tell their stories, on camera, in face-to-face interviews with representatives of the media. But few experts believe prisons are anything other than time bombs with rapidly advancing second hands. During the broadcast, Demons came out in Muslim dress and announced his conversion to Islam. They get very little sunlight or human contact. Following the uprising, the state of Ohio built a supermax facility outside Youngstown called Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP). Law enforcement officers in the mortuary and standing outside on streets and sidewalks wore black tape over their badges. "And for the ones on Death Row, I still want them dead. 'Those boys were killed because they were snitchers -- because they were snitchin' is what it boils down to,' he said. Her husband died a year later. Perhaps most remarkable about situations like Lucasville is that they don't happen more often. Executions take place at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. Hundreds of prisoners, many of whom were on their way in from outdoor rec time, were now either in the occupied cell block or on the yard outside of it. 1,818 Followers, 3,161 Following, 485 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from James Demons (@jdemons) . 0000008078 00000 n Advertisement. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The state of Ohio and the Ohio State Highway Patrol did everything they could to prevent a fair trial at every stage in the process. Article continues below this ad 0000000756 00000 n Then the rage set in. trailer Holding ODRC accountable starts with amnesty for these prisoners. . About a dozen residents stood on a low hillside near the prison with posters voicing their bitterness over demands broadcast last week by representatives of the 450 barricaded inmates in exchange for hostage releases. Lets hear ya. The prisoners roared their approval and the uprising expanded beyond this specific group of prisoners upset with TB testing methods. They spent the next 11 days working together to negotiate a peaceful conclusion to the uprising. It began on April 11, 1993 (Easter Sunday) at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville in Scioto County and . When prisoners rigged up a loudspeaker system in order to communicate with reporters outside, prison officials first drowned it out with a helicopter, then shut off the water and electricity. The state tells us that the men condemned to death can write letters and make telephone calls. 0000004604 00000 n Kornegay would not disclose the contents of the tape. You have successfully removed Lucasville Cemetery from your Photo Volunteer cemetery list. In James 2:19 James writes, "You believe that God is one; you do well. 9. Unlike prisoners who testified for the State, the twelve men whose evidence I have summarized received no benefits for coming forward and, in fact, risked retaliation from other inmates by doing so. 0000011414 00000 n The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (commonly referred to as Lucasville) is a maximum security prison located just outside Lucasville in Scioto County, Ohio.The prison was constructed in 1972. On Wednesday, April 6, 1994 G. said about 8:00 a.m. that he had a lawyer visit . But the media access that these prisoners seek is the kind of exchange that can occur in courtroom cross-examination. The inmates radio message on Thursday and a TV broadcast on Friday said the removal of Warden Arthur Tate was a condition of a peaceful surrender and asked for an end to nepotism in the hiring of guards. George Skatzes and Aaron Jefferson were tried in separate trials and each was convicted of striking the single massive blow that killed Mr. Sommers. Find top songs and albums by The Louie James Demons including My Love My Hate, Heart So Black and more. LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) _ A guard held hostage during an 11-day prison uprising was arraigned on misdemeanor gun and alcohol charges today after his weekend arrest when police investigated a loud music complaint. The new KN-340MAJ will . Opened in 1972, four years after the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus was devastated by a week of rioting that killed five prisoners, Lucasville was hailed as a gleaming example of progressive correction management designed to be the latest word in humane confinement," one Cleveland newspaper feature exulted). Officer Vallandingham had previously served with the United States Army during the Vietnam War. I will divide my remarks in four parts. fnaffnafE Shared Projects (228) . 0000004866 00000 n Four of the five, along with most other Lucasville defendants, are housed at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown. SOCF is located outside the village of Lucasville in Scioto county. As the inmates filed back into the cell block, chaos erupted. The state violated this agreement. Oakwood was later dubbed the snitch academy by other prisoners. Few knew of what was to come: The Sunni Muslims had planned an uprising in retaliation for forced tuberculosis testing scheduled for the following day. True to form in the American criminal justice system, who actually did what is less important than who is willing to cooperate and bargain with the state. Our first goal is to increase awareness of the uprising and to tell the stories of the many prisoners unjustly suffering punishments for their attempt to resist unimaginable oppression. These changes allow them to demonstrate that they are not a danger to others and thus should help them eventually reduce their security level. Five were sentenced to death, including four of the seven convicted for their roles in the slaying of the respected and well-liked guard. . James F Hilt is a resident of OH. They overtook a guard with keys and seized control. I urge all present not to be distracted by official talk about alternative means of communication. Six inmates were beaten to death by other prisoners, authorities said, and a seventh was found dead in another cell block. There have been three major prison uprisings in the United States during the past half century. Rage welling up in the 19-year-old told him to climb the Lucasville prison's razor-wire fences and avenge his father's death. In Ohio, inmates spend an average of 16 years on Death Row before execution. Prison administrators surely expected, and perhaps Warden Tate intended to provoke a race-war and a blood bath. LUCASVILLE James Philip Spriggs, 89, of Lucasville, passed away Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at SOMC Hospice. He was charged with improper handling of a firearm and possession of an open flask in a motor vehicle. Hours later, Robert's body was dumped in the recreation yard. As you read that, hopefully you can see the almost dismissive manner that James uses in describing this person's faith. By Cameron Knight. A courageous medical examiner said, No, the officers all died of bullet wounds. James Tony Demons, 25, was arrested Saturday in Portsmouth. Now the Lucasville prisoners are again knocking on the door of the State, hunger striking, crying out against their isolation from the dialogue of civic society. Let them free. This did not work out as planned. Six of the seven dead prisoners are white, but inmate leaders emphatically deny that the violence was racially motivated. How did prison racial factions impact the uprising? ( Job 1:6) But the Bible foretold that there would be a "war in heaven" that would result in Satan's being expelled from heaven and "cast out into the earth.". Its modern design-with individually managed units branching off main corridors and multiple control rooms that can cordon off trouble spots-was a stark departure from the Bastille-like fortress it replaced. "Those boys was killed because . They created a rudimentary infirmary, no weapons zones, guard posts and a group of representatives from each faction to negotiate with each other and the state. 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