From Publishers Weekly
When the time came for law officers to retake Attica Prison on Sept. 13, 1971, the head of the New York state police troop charged with that task told his men he did not want a "turkey shoot." That, however, is precisely what he got, asserts this powerful expose by a former chief assistant to the special Attica prosecutor. Police use of excessive force, charges Bell, set in motion a conspiracy on the part of the state to cover up for the lawmen involved. Loyal to his superior, Bell was reluctant to believe in official wrongdoing, but when he saw his efforts to prosecute the police undermined, he felt he had to resign. He suggests that the cover-up originated in the office of Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz who was eager to protect the reputation of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, named U.S. Vice-President just as the grand jury investigation of the case was climaxing. A major contribution to the Attica story.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A New York State special prosecutor's investigation into the 1971 Attica prison riot and killings (39 shot to death, including 10 hostages) failed to indict any police officers or prison guards, despite strong evidence that they acted with homicidal intent. Indeed, according to Bell, a lawyer who served as a member of the prosecutor's team during 1973-74 but resigned in protest, the investigation deliberately suppressed the truth about Attica so as not to jeopardize the presidential ambitions of the late Nelson Rockefeller, the man who had ordered the assault on the prison. Tom Wicker, author of A Time To Die ( LJ 4/1/75), thus far the best book on the subject, calls Bell "an American hero" for blowing the whistle on the Attica whitewash. For larger social science collections. Kenneth F. Kister, Pinellas Park P.L., Fla.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
