The Prison Guard’s Daughter

Attica. For many Americans, the very name reverberates with dread and disaster down the years. This autumn marks the 50th anniversary of the deadliest prison uprising in our nation’s history, a brutal riot in a brutal environment that led to a brutal response from New York authorities.

William Quinn was a Corrections Officer at Attica State Penitentiary when the uprising began. He was the only one of eleven prison employees killed during the uprising who died at the hands of prison inmates. The others were slain by gunfire in the September 13th seizure of the prison by New York State police. Meanwhile, 32 inmates lost their lives.

Deanne “Dee” Quinn Miller was five years old when her father died. Throughout her life, she has sought to learn the truths of the riot, the state’s ultimately disastrous response, and more about her father’s life and death. Her long journey became one of racial reconciliation and persistence, as she befriended former Attica inmates and pushed and prodded the state to release records, confront and change prison policies, and atone for its horrifying treatment of the survivors of the riot and the families who lost loved ones. She was a driving force in the creation of Forgotten Victims of Attica, which was eventually awarded $1.2 million in restitution by the state.

Her efforts have now culminated in the release of a new memoir, co-written with Rochester Democrat & Chronicle Investigative Reporter Gary Craig, entitled “The Prison Guard’s Daughter: My Journey Through the Ashes of Attica”. Her words and experience are deeply moving as New York State remains haunted by the spectre of Attica fifty years later.

Gary Craig, a reporter with the D&C since 1990, has written extensively about Attica since the 2000 court settlement with inmates brutalized after the retaking of the prison. He is the author of the highly regarded “Seven Million”, the story of Rochester’s infamous Brink’s heist. His sparkling career with the D&C includes many ground-breaking stories about the Rochester region’s critical issues and the corruption or government inertia that often surrounds them.

WXXI radio host Evan Dawson will lead the discussion as our program moderator.

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