Santiago Santos was a 29-year-old inmate at Attica Correctional Facility who was shot and killed on September 13, 1971, during the state’s retaking of the prison. The retaking followed a four-day uprising that began September 9, 1971, when inmates seized large portions of the facility and dozens of hostages to press demands for better food, medical care and basic rights amid severe overcrowding and poor conditions.

Governor Nelson Rockefeller ordered state troopers to retake the prison; tear gas was dropped into the yard and a heavily armed force entered. Troopers fired into the yard during the assault, and Santos was one of 29 inmates killed that day. Ten hostages also died; autopsies later showed that all but one of those hostage deaths resulted from law enforcement gunfire.

The siege prompted years of investigations and legal battles. Does anyone have further information about Santos’s life at Attica or contacts who have researched the inmate leadership during those four days?