40 years later: Former inmate reflects on infamous prison riot in Santa Fe

[@rbermea]

I think the New Mexico State Prison Riot was the worst prison riot in U.S history. How 33 inmates died by being butchered, dismembered, charred, decapitated, castrated, etc. 12 corrections officers were kept hostage and were raped by a swarm of inmates wreaking havoc at the Old Main.

[@100Mmore]

more than 200 rapes occurred too

[@Kriegter]

1. Secure the Keys 2. Ascend from darkness 3. Rain fire 4. Unleash the Horde 5. Skewer the Winged Beast 6. Wield a Fist of Iron 7. Raise Hell 8. FREEDOM

[@karenault6273]

It's what nightmares are made of my god is probably kill myself before they would cut thru the bars lol

[@delavey06]

Disgusting animals what they did to some of the inmates, because they believed them to be snitches. unspeakable acts of depravity

[@brandonramos1986]

Yeah I think it was worser than that one prison called Attica in upstate New York I'm surprised they never made a movie based on this Prison Riot in New Mexico

[@robertmirabal4717]

My brother was one of the inmates tortured and killed during the riot. His name is Joseph A. Mirabal. He got there by violating his probation for receiving stolen property. When he was young (9-14) he was a an alter boy in the catholic church in our town of Alamogordo. When I was very small and still learning to talk I gave everyone in my family their nickname that they still use to this day. Joseph's nickname was "Joe Tony". Everyone knew him by that name. He was raised by our grandparents. When my grandfather passed away, Joe Tony turned wild and often chased by the law all over town. In 1977 he told me he was having a recurring dream of him having a bad death and that he would never live past the age of 24. He told me no one would ever be convicted of his death and everyone would know about it. I asked him who is "everyone?" He said, "everyone everywhere." He explained to me that when you are a alter boy you are supposed to lead a clean life which is something he failed to do. So in order to receive forgiveness from God he would have to suffer a bad, torturous and painful death. He didn't know where this would take place. He was 21 at the time when he told me and my half-sister about his recurring dream. When he died in the NM prison riot he was 24 and two weeks after his birthday on January 18th, 1980. Joe Tony despised "snitches" all his life. He was not a gang member and was known to stand on his own two feet and fight his own battles. Many admired his courage and his willingness to help and protect others from those who meant to harm them. He served his country during the Vietnam War in the U.S. Navy. Before that he spent a year and half in reform school in Springer, NM. He was 17 1/2 when he was released. Six months later he joined the Navy. He led a remarkable life and would make a good book or a movie epic like Ben Hur with the prison riot as its centerpiece. I wonder if the prison riot was determined to happen no matter what anyone did to try and stop it. The riot was already foretold in his dreams

[@dustincraigusmc]

My great uncle was an inmate there as well during the riot. His name was Warren Howard, he went by Forrest. He survived the riot but it forever changed him. I never knew that he was there until he finally opened up about it after a woman contacted him about a book she was writing. He asked me if he should tell what he knew or not and then went into deep details of what all transpired. After that night he could never bring himself to talk about it again. He told me his involvement and how he survived off of the luck of being mistaken for dead. He two was in the military and served during Vietnam. Sadly he passed away this year. I'm sorry for your loss.

[@paulbentley1705]

I'm sorry for your loss. I agree your brothers story would be a great book it sounds. Can you tell me why he was killed? A man came to my Church and gave speech about this tragedy. He was locked up there when it happened and he gave his story breaking down. It really hit me.

[@robertmirabal4717]

@@paulbentley1705 My brother and Joe Madrid helped 84 inmates escape out of the dorm and both were murdered by the execution squad for that in a brutal fashion.

[@christinfranklin1333]

@@robertmirabal4717 I'm gonna look your brother up .. his name should be well known besides the few that everyone remember that is amazing while most ppl were cowering in the background or following the leader he stood for what was right and gave his doing just that...I know God had a special place reserved just for him 🥰🥰🥰

[@luisbohorquez7096]

So sorry for your loss brother May God bless him and keep him..😢🙏❤️🙏🙏🙏 And may God bless you and your family❤

[@charlottehumphreys3837]

I am so sorry for anybody who lost a loved one in this tragic event! This will definetely go down in history as one of the worst ever!!

[@hyphenlife]

This is the most footage I’ve seen from the event. This network should do a documentary with all the footage They have. It was a heavily covered event at the time, but not a lot of documentation.

[@keldonmcfarland2969]

Do a KZbin search. There are quite a few out there with hours of footage and interviews.

[@jacob1423]

@@keldonmcfarland2969 fr there’s a 40 min documentary on it on yt

[@Ronin_Noir]

There are 3 documentaries on it and 2 Audio books on KZbin written by an inmate and another written by a correctional officer who was there. The documentaries don’t go too much into detail but the books are eye opening and more horrifying.

[@JLR-z8u]

BBC did a documentary on it. They have actual footage of the prison before the riot due to another documentary. The BBC doc goes into good detail.

[@jackiemack1908]

yes! there is supposedly at least 40 minutes worth of footage inside of the prison of inmates negotiating & talking to cameras during the riot filmed by reporter michael shugrue. i had heard that footage no longer exists & then i just came across this video.

[@Kriegter]

1. Secure the Keys 2. Ascend from darkness 3. Rain fire 4. Unleash the Horde 5. Skewer the Winged Beast 6. Wield a Fist of Iron 7. Raise Hell 8. FREEDOM

[@darthralik9835]

9: rape guards

[@brians7901]

I did time in medium security prison mostly but I have been in a maximum security prison too. Maximums are a whole different animal and to be 20 years old in that situation is terrifying to think about

[@tmsact]

What makes them a different animal?

[@moblack5883]

@@tmsactworst offenders , extreme violence , lifers , stabbing , rape , etc

[@throwball2248]

One guard was to lazy to lock one of the doors If that door was locked inmates would of been just contained to one cell block.

[@rawheadrex1972]

Half a cellblock, actually. It was a two story dormitory.

[@hankhillsnrrwurethra]

They weren't lazy they were terrified and leaving themselves an escape route. Just doing night count in the dorm.

[@robertmirabal4717]

During his time at the Santa Fe Penitentiary my brother Joseph (Joe Tony) Mirabal had escaped to El Paso, TX where he worked as a stocker in a supermarket and went under the assumed name of David Ortiz. He walked for 3 weeks to Cloudcroft, NM where he was able to get a ride to El Paso. He told me he really enjoyed that job at the supermarket and would continue doing that kind of work if he ever made it out of prison. His in-laws were able to get his address in El Paso and turned him in for the reward money through crime stoppers. A couple of agents from the FBI showed up one morning at his residence to take him back to prison in Santa Fe, NM. When he opened the front door he immediately knew who they were and he said, "I knew you guys would eventually show up". He invited them in, served them coffee while he put on some clothes for the trip back. He was returned to prison about November of 1979 just a few short months before the prison riot. I was on leave from the US Army in Germany when I went to see him with his wife on January 27th one week before the riot. In fact, we were the only two visitors that day. The rest were other inmates visiting their friends and relatives located throughout the facility. There were about 100 inmates in the visiting area which also served as a dining area. There was about 5 long tables with 20 inmates per table. The visitors were to sit on one side and the visited sat on opposite side. As Joe Tony walked over to my table I immediately noticed how much weight he had lost. I asked him if he was on a diet. He said he lost 50 lbs. during the long trek to Cloudcroft, NM from his escape. I asked him about his prison uniform and he stated they were US Navy dungarees which consisted of a light blue shirt, blue jean bell bottoms and black combat boots. He cracked a smile and said, "Who would have believed that I would be wearing a Navy uniform again in a place like this!"

[@brians7901]

Another crazy thing about this riot is that the staff was out numbered 87 to 1. Think about that only 12 officers for over 1000 Max convicts

[@brownbear6819]

The only way to truly control a human who is brutal like an animal, is to separate him from other human beings.

[@markstewart362]

Or put them down like animals. That gets My vote

[@spiralrose]

Solitary confinement will literally make people lose their grasp on reality. That doesn’t benefit the other inmates were the guards or the prisoner them self

[@mrz_lady_dukebay_area659]

They havent treated inmates right ever be real that's why the riot happened

[@kelsiiie9786]

@@dolo_ren wait what

[@jaelynnbrown4329]

@@dolo_ren when you treat humans like animals they will act like animals

[@johnnymartinez733]

​@@jaelynnbrown4329no excuses killers crying about being treated properly? Gtfoh dude smh no killer or rapist deserves nobody's respect that's beyond childish coming from killers smh nothing but cowards

[@16MedicRN]

I was a cadet at rhe prison as a prospective guard. The whole thing started over not being given basic items such as toilet paper. Horrific. I didn't make it thru due to not being able to lift my body weight. Greatest education I ever received.

[@bobbobsin3202]

I can't bench press my weight either 😂

[@GusFil-fq9gy]

I was there the year they closed the main in 1997

[@jejakamalaya1484]

They fire up the gymnasium They burn the bodies More than 33

[@josephduncan6362]

That was some crazy wicked shit I cant even imagine what those inmates were thinking when they were torching there way into there cells or dorms they new that 💀 a horrible fate was coming I mean even tho some may have deserved to die thats a fucked up way to go ....I can imagine how haunted that place is they should do a ghost 👻 hunters show there ....

[@californiacobra527]

Actor Scott Patterson took a midnight tour with the producer of the movie they were filming about a prison in Iraq and the producer asked him if he wanted to see the gas chamber that is located in the basement of the prison and they both went down there to take a look. He said that when they got down there, there was a red candle that was lit and he asked the producer if he did that and the guy said no. Scott sat in the chair of the gas chamber and he said that the producer was looking into the viewing gallery behind him with a look of absolute terror on his face. When he turned around to look, he saw dark shadows of "people" sitting in the seats of the viewing gallery. They both RAN as fast as they could, stumbling over themselves, and when they reached the third flight of stairs going up, they stopped and were TERRIFIED at what they saw. They saw a dark shadowy figure of a "man" with wings at the top of the stairs! He said that they turned off their flashlight and suddenly the demon emitted a REALLY BRIGHT light and VERY LOUD voices/screams/fighting! Then the demon stretched its wings as Scott and the producer cowered down on the floor covered themselves with their arms to protect themselves when the demon suddenly flew at and over them! He said he physically felt the wind as it rushed over them. You can hear him tell the story on the most recent upload of Celebrity Ghost Stories over on the LMN channel!

[@TomLeach-dd8cl]

U treat prisoners as animals and this is what u get!

[@rubensmith235]

Rey mysterio? 2:25

[@guapo1hunnid303]

Fuck u bitch

[@rubensmith235]

@@guapo1hunnid303 someone butt hurt lol

[@bankzoz8871]

It's 3:30 am right now on Feb2, 2022.... It's 42 anniversary of kaos and death and the most brutal prison riot in American history.... And sadly it will repeat itself (in America I. An American prison) somewhere..... Maybe not NM but somewhere.....

[@simonyip5978]

2/2/2022 (22:22).

[@Carla-tz7qw]

I have the book Devil's butcher shop. It is scary to read.

[@johnnymartinez733]

It is the deadliest ever 💯

[@madhurgairola]

Animals ..

[@californiacobra527]

Who's here from the Season 2, Episode 34, "The Most Frightening Moment of My Life" Celebrity Ghost Stories tv show?!? 🙋‍♀️

[@jessicarenae5107]

This is on House of Horrors Kidnapped! I never heard of this until yesterday and it's crazy!!

[@joseantoniomoch4006]

There are about a couple of full documentaries on KZbin about it. One on FB.

[@jessicarenae5107]

@@joseantoniomoch4006 ty

[@rbermea]

I was just watching that. A former corrections officer, Larry Mendoza, he was recalling what happened on that day of the riot. He saw a inmate's decapitated head in front of him. One of the inmates wanted him alive as a hostage so he could negotiate with the National Guard.

[@Him_Downstairs36]

Adam Sandler’s version of The Longest Yard was filmed there.

[@bp5439]

That's actually weird

[@bottle7443]

The guard looks like gomez from breaking bad lol

[@michaelowino228]

Hey

[@dopeexotics8029]

Sounds like you didn't have control what happen what went wrong ha ha shit happens...bottom line you better respect them inmate's they remember how you treat them you might be begging them for your life 1 day something to think about ..

[@terrancebastarachebastarac5649]

Warden

[@terrancebastarachebastarac5649]

Ah right this guys no more early 40