Lucasville History

Lucasville: A Brief History

  Based on the official account, the uprising was the result of a discrepancy between the warden and Muslim inmates who refused to submit to mandatory tuberculosis testing. Apparently the serum being used to determine whether or not inmates were infected contained an alcoholic substance called phenol which, due to Islamic doctrines, Muslims were prohibited from ingesting. In an effort to resolve this dilemma, several Muslims met with the warden to suggest alternative ways in which the tests could be given. However, for reasons I will explain later, the warden refused to listen to their suggestions and gave them an ultimatum demanding complete compliance or automatic lock-down and forced inoculation.
  Faced with something of an impasse, the Muslims decided to stage what was supposed to have been a peaceful demonstration, to protest the against what they perceived as unfair treatment. Since it was known that alternatives, (chest x-rays, urinalysis, sputum samples, etc.), were being offered to Muslims at other institutions, the Muslims at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF), felt that protesting would force the Administration to yield in their behalf. However, after physical forced was used to strip guards of their keys and weapons to release prisoners from their cells, the protest quickly erupted into what is now known as the longest prison riot in history. But that's only part of the story. In truth, what happened on April 11 1993 was a long time coming…….
In the fall of 1990, three years before the uprising, a schoolteacher by the name of Beverly Taylor, was viciously murdered by a black inmate. Allegedly, after a botched rape attempt, which turned into a hostage situation, the inmate panicked and cut Beverly Taylor's throat. This caused a tremendous uproar in the surrounding community and led to calls for the inmate to be put to death. The inmate was put on trial, but because of his diminished mental capacity, was barred from receiving the death penalty. This reignited the anger in the community, who then began calling for the complete lock down of the institution. Ultimately, a new warden was appointed.