On this day, Oct. 11, in 1972, inmates at the D.C. Jail seized control of a cellblock and held hostage 11 jail officials. The inmates used a loaded .38-caliber revolver and tied up their hostages, including Corrections Director Kenneth L. Hardy, and Washington Post reporter William Claiborne.
The inmates, shouting references to the Attica uprising that killed 39 people the year before, threatened to kill Hardy if they were not allowed to walk free. He suffered an apparent heart attack.
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They sent Claiborne out with their demands: improved jail conditions, $1 million and a jet airliner.
After receiving pledges of reform and no reprisals, the inmates released the hostages and surrendered.
Fourteen prisoners were convicted adding one to 10 years to their jail terms.
— Scott McCabe
