Prison Riots Ohio

Investigators found the bodies of two more inmates Thursday as they began to sift through debris left when maximum-security prisoners ransacked a cellblock during a 10-day standoff at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. In Columbus, lawmakers ordered investigations into the siege, which left nine inmates and one guard dead. Prisoners gave up Wednesday during a seven-hour televised broadcast that they said was a condition for their surrender.

A riot in the state prison's death row unit was brought under control within five hours after a tactical team stormed the facility with tear gas. "They went in with skill and with a plan and some surprise," Warden Ralph Coyle said. Death row inmates at the Mansfield Correctional Institution were confined to their cells after the riot. State officials would not speculate on a cause of the riot because it remained under investigation.

Hopes for a resolution of the seven-day prison uprising here were moving through a familiar up-and-down cycle on Saturday. Authorities got a Cincinnati TV station to commit air time for a live broadcast of inmates surrendering at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, but as the hours passed there was no surrender to televise and authorities later asked the crew to leave the grounds.

A ringleader of a 1993 Ohio prison riot in which 10 people died was sentenced to death Tuesday. George Skatzes was sentenced by a Montgomery County Circuit Court in the slaying of two fellow inmates, and to 30 years to life for his involvement in the death of a guard. Nine inmates and one guard died during the 11-day siege at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility at Lucasville.

Prison authorities cut off water, electricity and food shipments on Monday to a maximum-security facility here in an attempt to end a standoff that began with an Easter Sunday riot and left six inmates dead, 19 injured and eight guards taken hostage. About 450 prisoners were still barricaded inside the L Block at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, 90 miles south of Columbus. The inmates presented a list of 19 demands for ending the confrontation.

As a siege that has claimed at least seven prisoners' lives dragged on through a fourth day at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, hundreds of mutinous inmates received their first delivery of food and water, along with medicine for two of the eight guards they hold as hostages.

As an inmate rebellion stretched into a second week at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, negotiators said Sunday they have audiotapes proving that five guards held hostage are alive. Sharron Kornegay, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said the families of the remaining hostages had listened to the tape, received through negotiations, and verified the voices. Kornegay would not disclose the contents of the tape.

A ringleader of a 1993 Ohio prison riot in which 10 people died was sentenced to death Tuesday. George Skatzes was sentenced by a Montgomery County Circuit Court in the slaying of two fellow inmates, and to 30 years to life for his involvement in the death of a guard. Nine inmates and one guard died during the 11-day siege at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility at Lucasville.

A riot in the state prison's death row unit was brought under control within five hours after a tactical team stormed the facility with tear gas. "They went in with skill and with a plan and some surprise," Warden Ralph Coyle said. Death row inmates at the Mansfield Correctional Institution were confined to their cells after the riot. State officials would not speculate on a cause of the riot because it remained under investigation.

Five prison guards, some with their heads bandaged, walked to freedom amid jubilant pats on their backs late Wednesday night as the 10-day siege of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility ended with the peaceful surrender of 450 rebel inmates. Shadowy television pictures recorded the men walking without assistance and being greeted by cheers and embraces from state officials supervising the surrender. They later were reported in stable condition at a hospital.

Investigators found the bodies of two more inmates Thursday as they began to sift through debris left when maximum-security prisoners ransacked a cellblock during a 10-day standoff at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. In Columbus, lawmakers ordered investigations into the siege, which left nine inmates and one guard dead. Prisoners gave up Wednesday during a seven-hour televised broadcast that they said was a condition for their surrender.

Five prison guards, some with their heads bandaged, walked to freedom amid jubilant pats on their backs late Wednesday night as the 10-day siege of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility ended with the peaceful surrender of 450 rebel inmates. Shadowy television pictures recorded the men walking without assistance and being greeted by cheers and embraces from state officials supervising the surrender. They later were reported in stable condition at a hospital.

Prisoners occupying a building at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility said Monday they want to talk face-to-face with their attorney, but they are willing to end the bloody siege that began on Easter Sunday and has claimed at least eight lives. The 450 inmates are holding five guards captive. Cleveland attorney Niki Schwartz, a prominent criminal defense attorney who has represented prisoners in several Ohio inmate rights cases, was flown to town in a state Highway Patrol plane on Sunday.

As an inmate rebellion stretched into a second week at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, negotiators said Sunday they have audiotapes proving that five guards held hostage are alive. Sharron Kornegay, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said the families of the remaining hostages had listened to the tape, received through negotiations, and verified the voices. Kornegay would not disclose the contents of the tape.

Hopes for a resolution of the seven-day prison uprising here were moving through a familiar up-and-down cycle on Saturday. Authorities got a Cincinnati TV station to commit air time for a live broadcast of inmates surrendering at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, but as the hours passed there was no surrender to televise and authorities later asked the crew to leave the grounds.

A few hours after the body of a hostage guard was found in the prison exercise yard, mutinous inmates at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility released a guard in a deal that allowed them to broadcast their complaints on a local radio station. The released guard, 23-year-old Darrold R. Clark, walked out of the prison without assistance after the 15-minute broadcast, apparently leaving six hostages still in the hands of the rebellious inmates.

A fight among inmates escalated into a riot Sunday at a maximum security prison, with inmates killing at least five fellow prisoners and holding at least eight guards hostage, authorities said. At least fifteen people were injured at the south-central Ohio prison, including 10 guards and five inmates, authorities said. Sharron Kornegay, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said the prisoners had apparently been beaten to death.

The violent unrest at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility spread on Tuesday to a second building, where a seventh corpse was discovered, and authorities later fired tear gas to subdue unruly prisoners in their cells. Negotiations continued with about 450 inmates who have been holding eight guards hostage in the L Block since Sunday. Six inmates' bodies were recovered from the L Block on Monday.

As a siege that has claimed at least seven prisoners' lives dragged on through a fourth day at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, hundreds of mutinous inmates received their first delivery of food and water, along with medicine for two of the eight guards they hold as hostages.

The violent unrest at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility spread on Tuesday to a second building, where a seventh corpse was discovered, and authorities later fired tear gas to subdue unruly prisoners in their cells. Negotiations continued with about 450 inmates who have been holding eight guards hostage in the L Block since Sunday. Six inmates' bodies were recovered from the L Block on Monday.