The Prison Guard's Daughter: My Journey Through the Ashes of Attica

Summary

On September 13, 1971, armed troops and corrections officers at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York slaughtered twenty-nine rioting prisoners and ten hostages in a hail of gunfire. Negotiations for a peaceful resolution had stalled. The sticking point was the prisoners' final demand: amnesty for their murder of correctional officer William "Billy" Quinn, committed four days earlier during the takeover.

Deanne Quinn Miller was five years old when her father was killed, the only Attica employee to die at the hands of inmates. For nearly thirty years, authorities attempting to protect law enforcement fed Deanne Quinn Miller lies about Attica, its aftermath, and her father's death. Here she tells of her relentless quest for truth and justice—for herself, her family, and an entire community.

After the state settled a long-standing lawsuit with injured Attica inmates by awarding them $12 million, Miller cofounded the Forgotten Victims of Attica and succeeded in getting the same compensation for the hostages and their families—who had received no support from the state. As Miller lays bare the truth about her father's death, the world inside Attica, and the state's reckless raid and coverup, she conveys a narrative of compassionate humanity and a call for prison reform.