Summary

While the state focused the majority of its efforts and resources on the investigation of prisoners, there were some on the state’s staff determined to hold law enforcement officials accountable as well. Malcolm Bell, one of the state’s criminal prosecutors, was tasked specifically with “collecting and presenting evidence to Attica’s grand jury of any crimes committed by law enforcement during the retaking and rehousing at Attica” (402). Bell faced a daunting task from the start; the entirety of the evidence from the prison was collected under the supervision of the very troopers responsible for planning the retaking. A “clean-up operation” had been completed before any independent investigators arrived on scene, meaning bodies were moved, bullet casings were picked up, and routine witness interviews were not conducted (409). Furthermore, troopers had intentionally not recorded the serial numbers of weapons on the day...