The New Mexico State Penitentiary riot was the most violent prison riot in United States history. This is the definitive historical atlas of that riot. The story of the riot can be found in episode 79 of Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and its sociopolitical impact.
Warning: Some of the images in this atlas include detailed depictions of violence, riotous destruction, and human remains. Viewer discretion is advised.
Timeline of prison takeover (Bingamen, 1980)(Bingamen, 1980)(Bingamen, 1980)Diagram of the Control Center Area – Notice the location of the supposedly unbreakable windows (Bingamen, 1980)(Bingamen, 1980)(Bingamen, 1980)(Arnold et al., 1980)Aerial photo of the prison (Arnold et al., 1980)(Arnold et al., 1980)Property damage was extensive, as in this cell block. Notice the water on the floor. Inmates deliberately flooded the prison in order to cause more damage (Arnold et al., 1980).Another dorm. Notice the tight aisles guards routinely walked between inmate bunks (Arnold et al., 1980).One of the first rooms ransacked was the prison hospital (Arnold et al., 1980). In the hospital, prisoners found huge caches of drugs due to the state policy of purchasing in bulk. On the top right you can see needles where inmates injected themselves (Arnold et al., 1980). In this photo, University of New Mexico students meticulously search the burned-out gymnasium for human remains (Arnold et al., 1980). The search for human remains was extensive and involved numerous students (Arnold et al., 1980).
(Arnold et al., 1980)
(Arnold et al., 1980)(Arnold et al., 1980)
Notice the shattered glass and water on floor (Arnold et al., 1980).
More important than the property damage in this picture is the grille door. Many of these doors were routinely left unlocked. This directly led the murder, torture, abuse, and rape of hundreds of people (Arnold et al., 1980). (Arnold et al., 1980)Not a single room was spared in the rampage. Here an administrative office is turned over. What violence took place in this room? (Arnold et al., 1980)A rare picture of the main corridor. Notice the flooding (Arnold et al., 1980). (Arnold et al., 1980)The top-left photograph is the aftermath of an acetylene blow torch. Prisoners used the torches to cut though walls, prison bars, and makeshift barricades in order to inflict torture-filled “vengeance” on snitches and other undesirables. This took time. If authorities had acted decisively, many lives – and it must be added – many fates worse than death, would not have taken place. Weakness in the face of disorder only leads to more criminality. This is an empirical, objective fact, as the case study of the New Mexico Prison riot aptly and unequivocally demonstrates (Arnold et al., 1980). A burned-out cell. Some inmates were set on fire inside their cells (Arnold et al., 1980). Bloody aftermath of torture (Albuquerque Journal, 2020)Tired faces of survivors (Arnold et al., 1980).Just two of the many wounded (Arnold et al., 1980).(Arnold et al., 1980).Men carry corpses in the aftermath of the riot (Arnold et al., 1980).Still more human remains are removed (Arnold et al., 1980).(Arnold et al., 1980).(Arnold et al., 1980).Governor Bruce King speaks to the press outside the prison (Arnold et al., 1980).During the riot, many prisoners voluntarily retreated to the perimeter fence where they were protected by guards. Notice the eternal political truth: protecto ergo obligo – man seeks protection. Thus, the state is born. (Arnold et al., 1980).Inmates huddle against the fence seeking protection (Arnold et al., 1980).Yet another body is removed from the penitentiary (Arnold et al., 1980).(Arnold et al., 1980).The prisoners who retreated to the perimeter fence faced brutal cold and lack of food. Here they signal to aircraft for help (Arnold et al., 1980).
References:
Stone, W.G. & Hirliman, G. (1982). The hate factory. Dell Publications.
Morris, R. (1983). The Devil’s butcher shop. F. Watts Publications.
Colvin, M. (1992). The penitentiary in crisis: from accommodation to riot in New Mexico. State University of New York Press.
Colvin, M. (June 1982). The 1980 New Mexico Prison Riot. Social Problems 29(5).
Bingamen, J. (1980). Report of the Attorney General on the February 2 and 3, 1980 Riot at the Penitentiary of New Mexico.
Useem, B. & Kimball, P. (1991). States of siege: U.S. prison riots, 1971-1986. (1991). Oxford University Press.
Useem, B. (October 1985). Disorganization and the New Mexico Prison Riot of 1980. American Sociological Review 50(5).
Pederson, J.L. (1984). Court impact on disciplinary policy at the Penitentiary of New Mexico. Master’s Thesis. The University of New Mexico.
Rolland, M. (1997). Descent into madness. Mathew Bender and Company.
Dinitz, S. & Beto, G. (August 1983). In fear of each other. Sociological Focus 16(3).
Sante Fe Reporter. 36 Hours, 30 Years Later: One National Guardswoman’s Account of the 1980 Prison Riot. November 24, 2010.
Brininstool, Andrew. (2015). How New Mexico Transformed the Site of a Deadly Prison Uprising into a Tourist Destination. Vice Magazine.
Arnold, J., Hammett, K., Kessler, D., & Roybal, D. (1980). Holocaust at New Mexico State Penitentiary, Feb. 2-3, 1980. Lubbock, Tex: C.F. Boone
Saenz, A. (1986). Politics of a Prison Riot: The 1980 New Mexico Prison Riot, its causes and aftermath. Rhombus Publish Company.
Trevor, J. (2020). New Mexico Prison riot illustration. Albuquerque Journal.
Albuquerque Journal. (2020). Photograph published to website. Accessed December 27, 2020. URL no longer available.
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