James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, Delaware
February 1, 2017
On February 1st, 2017, inmates in the C-building at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center (JTVCC) in Delaware took control of their unit and held staff hostage in an uprising that lasted over 18 hours. They called the media, released a list of demands, and explained their actions as motivated by their conditions of confinement as well as the election of Donald Trump as President. One prison guard, Steven Floyd, was killed by inmates during the uprising.
Prisoner surrender following a 18 hour uprising at the Vaughn Correctional Center in Delaware (Source: ABC News)
The uprising came after numerous nonviolent protests by prisoners had failed to lead to the prison addressing their grievances. In the aftermath of the uprising, corrections officers alleged that prisoners had been staging inmate-on-inmate fights in the prison yard to find vulnerabilities in the guards’ emergency response. On the day of the uprising, prisoners covered their faces with masks and rushed the two officers
After more than eight months, on October 17th, an indictment was handed down by the Delaware Department of Justice that charged sixteen prisoners with murder charges for the death of a correctional officer. Those sixteen along with two other prisoners are also looking at counts of kidnapping, conspiracy and rioting.
As of this writing, six of these prisoners have pleaded “not guilty” and demanded jury trials. Of these six, five are charged with first degree murder. The court has also determined that the prisoners cannot be granted public defenders due to “conflicts of interest.” Instead they will be appointed private attorneys.
Rally to support Vaughn prisoners on February 2, 2017. (Source: Joe Piette)
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>(1/2) Audio recording of inmate demands at <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Smyrna?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Smyrna</a> prison in Delaware amid hostage situation. Difficult to discern exact words. <a href=”https://t.co/cJ9slVcwqk”>pic.twitter.com/cJ9slVcwqk</a></p>— Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) <a href=”https://twitter.com/RealAlexRubi/status/826909781277409281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>February 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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A version of this article originally appeared on It’s Going Down
Citations:
“Prison siege choreographed; officers beaten for hours“, Delaware Online, February 24, 2017.
“VIDEO: What really happened inside James T. Vaughn during the inmate uprising“, WDEL, February 24, 2017.
“What really caused Delaware’s prisoners to revolt at Vaughn Correctional Center“, Delaware Online, February 17, 2017.
“UPDATE: DOC: Inmates indicted in 2107 riot transferred from Smyrna facility“, VMDT, October 31, 2017.
“6 inmates plead not guilty after deadly Delaware prison riot”, Fox News, November 9, 2017.
“Delaware prison building to be demolished after deadly riot,” The Journal Times, July 16, 2018.
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