Blood in the Water

Thompson gives an overview of the perspective of Robert Douglass, assistant to Governor Rockefeller. He had believed the retaking by force was justified and that they had done it “with as little loss of life as possible” (223). Nevertheless, he realized the political significance for his boss of how the day following the assault went, especially with regards to the reaction of the media.

Despite their initial claims to success, it soon became obvious to Rockefeller that the Attica situation was a potential “disaster,” “one that would require significant public relations maneuvering” (225). He sent lawyer Anthony Simonetti to Attica to assess the legal side of the situation for him. Bad news for the Rockefeller camp also came from recently performed autopsies on dead prisoners and hostages. Conducted by a Doctor Edland, they revealed that there were no slashed throats or mutilated genitals, repudiating the state’s claims about prisoner brutality. Edland’s work revealed that the hostages had all died of gunshot wounds. Given that only state forces had firearms on the day of the assault, his findings contradicted claims that prisoners were responsible for those deaths. These findings were leaked to the local press, and Edland himself then gave a press conference on Tuesday, September 14 to disclose his findings.