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| Violent prison riot 50 years ago recalled |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 09/27/2004 |
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Last week, the Missouri State Penitentiary sat empty - its inmates recently moved to a new prison. But 50 years ago, the prison was full of chaos, fire and blood. Last Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of a major riot at the now 168-year-old state prison in downtown Jefferson City. Gail Hughes was a corrections case worker in the prison at the time and still remembers the sights and sounds of that day. "It was probably the darkest day in Missouri corrections history," he said. The riot began when two inmates pretended they were ill and then overpowered some officers and stole their keys, according to "Somewhere in Time," a book about Missouri prison history by the state prison's associate superintendent, Mark Schreiber. The inmates went around unlocking other cells, and soon many prisoners were running loose within the prison buildings and grounds. Hughes, now 73, of California, Mo., recalled the scene Wednesday. "It just rolled from that point. The institution just almost literally exploded," Hughes said. "It was quite a scene. It looked like what you'd think of bombs. I guess war scene would be a fair description." Inmates set buildings on fire, including factories that made everything from twine to auto tags. It took the efforts of prison workers, the state Highway Patrol, police and the National Guard to quell the riot with gunfire, and things weren't back under control until the next day, according to the book. No inmates escaped. Four inmates died and another 50 were injured, and four workers were injured; Schreiber estimated the riots caused $7 million worth of property damage. Schreiber said inmates' food and living conditions - including overcrowding - may have contributed to the riot, and said that many other prisons experienced riots around that time. |
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