February 2 and 3rd, 1980, mark a bloody day for the New Mexico State Penitentiary. On these dates, the most brutal prison riot in American history took place. During the New Mexico prison riot, prisoners were able to take over the prison completely, 12 officers were held hostage, and there were numerous killings. 

It would go on for 36 hours before law enforcement regained control of the establishment. Before this riot, there had been others that had occurred at the previous location of the Penitentiary of New Mexico: one in 1922 and one in 1953. However, neither of those riots was anything like the one in 1980. It would take years for the aftermath to settle.

The Infamous New Mexico State Prison Riot

During that time, the NM State Penitentiary was extremely overcrowded, and the conditions for the prisoners were horrendous. There were not enough beds for the inmates and those who were non-violent or living with violent offenders. Additionally, at that time, many resources were removed. This included removing educational activities and recreational events, and there was little to no help for rehabilitation. At that time, it was considered one of the dirtiest prisons.

Without activities to look forward to, disease was rampant, and quarters were cramped, making the environment a ticking time bomb for trouble. Problems may have begun in the 1970s when new leadership took over the prison. Also, during that time, the facility was extremely short-staffed. 

The Players

It was also discovered that prison officials were involved in coercion. They would coerce prisoners to “snitch” on other inmates, calling this the “snitch game.” Of course, this did not make other prisoners happy and was another cause of the strife in the establishment. It appeared there was a steady pattern of decline in the penitentiary that festered and led up to the brutal event in 1980. For instance, in the mid-1970s, there was a strike among prisoners instead of the deteriorating conditions of the prison. Prison officials at the time responded by tear-gassing the inmates. 

As the inmates ran away from the tear gas, they were stripped down and beaten with ax handles. After these terrible incidents, a federal lawsuit was written. In addition, an inmate took it upon himself to write a prominent civil rights complaint. It was sent to the U.S. District Court of New Mexico. It was recognized and later became the Duran Consent Decree. There have been numerous pieces of evidence regarding the condition of the prison. From 1977 to 1979, ten grand jury investigations were conducted on the penitentiary and its conditions. However, the prison leadership at the time did not want to use any extra money to fix these issues. Improvements were ordered in 1979, and the riot occurred two months later.

The Dangerous Events

The riot began with alcohol. Many prisoners had made their alcohol in the prison. Intoxication, combined with the unbearable conditions of the establishment, came to a head. Inmates devised a plan to get guards to open the doors at 1 am. If they did not, they planned to jump them. One in the morning was when the officials would do their count for the night to ensure all prisoners were accounted for. 

It began in one of the dorms, where three officers were overtaken by inmates in the overcrowded area. One of these officials had all the keys to the penitentiary. Forty minutes later, another officer was overtaken, and inmates took all four hostages. By 2 in the morning, inmates had taken more hostages and began damaging the interior of the penitentiary. Circumstances at this point were looking bad, and they would only get worse when two rival gangs began to fight. 

These gangs were the Chicanos, and the other gang was loosely called the Aryan Brotherhood. The Chicanos were known to protect each other and would take revenge on others. The most dangerous inmate led the Arayon Brotherhood in the NM State Penitentiary. Most of both gang members had broken out of their cell blocks at this point and were now on a mission to break into another. The cell block, which held 96 prisoners, that they chose to break into housed the mentally ill inmates. Most of these individuals were convicted of sex crimes and were in a very vulnerable state. 

But Why Did the New Mexico Prison Riot Occur?

The ultimate goal of the riot was to take care of any snitches in the prison. But they had to go through the Psychology Wing to get to the snitch quarters. There, they stole numerous drugs and set fire to records.

It turned out the inmates didn’t quite have all of the keys because they did not have the keys to the cell block whichcontained the mentally ill. So, they used blow torches to gain access. Breaking entry this way took over five hours. The whole time they attempted to break into the cell block, they were threatening the prisoners on the other side.

By then, state police had arrived and had attempted to begin negotiations. They did not want to enter the prison until the officers held hostage were set free. Once the inmate gang members broke into that cell block, they murdered 16 prisoners in the most brutal manner possible. This included dismemberment and burning a man alive.

Though it was too late to save many, law enforcement still needed to save their own, so they began to work on negotiations. One of the ways they were able to communicate with the prisoners was via radio. The two-way radios were among the first items for prisoners to steal from their hostages. These negotiations would go on for many hours. The inmates would make a demand only to be declined until the hostages were set free. 

The Demands

The prisoner’s most significant concerns were the unbearable prison conditions, which were all written out in the Duran Consent Decree that had been submitted before the district court. Surprisingly, a few of the officers were protected and fed by inmates. In addition, a couple of officers disguised as inmates were helped out of the prison. Unfortunately, not all of them were that lucky. Two officers had been beaten within inches of their life and had been raped. The inmates let these two go because they did not want them to die on their watch.

The final negotiation that restored order was not recorded, and precisely what was said is unclear.

The Aftermath

When the New Mexico Prison Riot was all said and done, only a couple of inmates were prosecuted for the horrific event. The majority of the prisoners involved were never charged. The highest punishment given for involvement was nine years.

This may have been because much evidence was lost in the riot, and it may have been difficult to pinpoint who committed what crime.

Negotiations continued for years about improving the prison environment. Eventually, the original Duran decree was taken more seriously, and modern prison conditions and the system itself were influenced by it.

The building where the riot occurred is no longer used for imprisonment. The current state penitentiary is elsewhere. However, in 2013, the state began offering tours of the old building where the riot took place.

The final death toll was 33 people. It is suggested there may have been even more deaths, but due to incineration and dismemberment, sadly, it was difficult to obtain a correct number. Finally, several prisoners died from drug overdoses as they had raided the prison pharmacy in the riot. The terrible conditions of the prison, combined with angst within the prison between inmates, caused the tragic event that is still considered the worst prison riot in the history of the U.S.