Murder. Mass rape. Mass torture. Violence beyond violence. Millions upon millions of dollars of property damage. An institution turned upside down – the strong fool ruling over the weak doctor; the prisoner over the guard; evil let loose over the good and the weak. Such is the New Mexico State Penitentiary Riot. More than thirty were killed in the drug-fueled orgy of sadistic violence. Hundreds were injured. Some authors suggest hundreds were sodomized. This is the worst prison riot in United States history. This is an objective, empirical case study of raw power. This is the definitive history of the worst riot in our nation’s past. This is Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and its sociopolitical impact.

Download episode 79 here: download

Maps and Images:

Extensive maps and images are posted to the definitive historical atlas of The New Mexico Penitentiary Riot located here: Definitive Historical Atlas of the New Mexico State Penitentiary Riot

Music Source:

Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio /// website: karlcasey.bandcamp.com

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

Trevor, J. (2020). New Mexico Prison riot illustration. Albuquerque Journal.

Saenz, A. (1986). Politics of a Prison Riot: The 1980 New Mexico Prison Riot, its causes and aftermath. Rhombus Publish Company.