Book ~ "Murder on the Inside: The True Story of the Deadly Riot at Kingston Penitentiary" (2021) Catherine Fogarty

From Goodreads ~ On April 14, 1971, a handful of prisoners attacked the guards at Kingston Penitentiary and seized control, making headlines around the world. For four intense days, the prisoners held the guards hostage while their leaders negotiated with a citizens' committee of journalists and lawyers, drawing attention to the dehumanizing realities of their incarceration, including overcrowding, harsh punishment and extreme isolation. But when another group of convicts turned their pent-up rage towards some of the weakest prisoners, tensions inside the old stone walls erupted, with tragic consequences. As heavily armed soldiers prepared to regain control of the prison through a full military assault, the inmates were finally forced to surrender.

"Murder on the Inside" tells the harrowing story of a prison in crisis against the backdrop of a pivotal moment in the history of human rights. Occurring just months before the uprising at Attica Prison, the Kingston riot has remained largely undocumented, and few have known the details--yet the tense drama chronicled here is more relevant today than ever. A gripping account of the standoff and the efforts for justice and reform it inspired, Murder on the Inside is essential reading for our times.

I like reading true stories and Canadian stories so this book caught my eye. It's about the riot that happened at the Kingston Penitentiary in April 1971. I was young and don't remember it happening.

Kingston Penitentiary was a federal prison that opened in June 1835 and was the oldest prison in Canada before it closed in 2013 (now it's a museum). It was widely considered to be the harshest prison in Canada and in 1971 was overcrowded with 641 prisoners. Prisoners were not permitted to speak outside of their cells and solitary confinement was frequently used as a punishment for inmates. 

When the federal government started construction of a new prison at Millhaven to replace Kingston Penitentiary, there were rumors that Millhaven would be more harsh than Kingston Penitentiary. Billy Knight planned an uprising to protest conditions at Kingston penitentiary and it happened on April 14, 1971. Six guards were taken hostage but protected by a few inmates. Knight presented their demands which included better living conditions. Some prisoners eventually lost patience and, figuring they had nothing to lose, tortured the "undesirables" (child molesters, rapists, child killers and police informers). Eventually the prisoners, led by Barrie MacKenzie, surrendered. Many had to accept the consequences and were beaten by guards and/or faced their day in court for their actions.

If you're looking for a detailed account of the 1971 Kingston Penitentiary riot, you should read this book. In addition to information, there is also 24 pages of photographs.