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40 YEARS AGO
Riot erupted at state penitentiary By SHAUN HITTLE OKLAHOMA WATCH
Associated Press/ Oklahoma News Executives
OKLAHOMA
Appeals Court rejects appeal from Okla. death row OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday refused to overturn an Oklahoma City motel manager’s murder conviction and death sentence, saying that even if errors occurred at his trial, they didn’t add up to anything that should void the results. Richard Eugene Glossip was convicted twice in the Jan. 7, 1997, death of Barry Alan Van Treese, 54. Prosecutors said Glossip feared Van Treese would fire him for failing to properly maintain the Best Budget Inn in south Oklahoma City. SUNDAY’S FORECAST Partly sunny, with a high near 90. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. More weather — Page 2A.
On July 27, 1973, “Big Mac,” as it’s commonly called, became a mini-hell of fire and black smoke, stabbing victims, beatings, hostages and looting. The National Guard and Oklahoma Highway Patrol were called in. The governor, David Hall, implored rioters to give up and met with some to hear their demands. When the siege ended three days later, three inmates were dead, more than 20 people had been injured, and 24 buildings had been destroyed. Total damage was estimated at more than $20 million. An outside consultant brought in by the governor to advise on how to rebuild the facility after the riot called the incident “one of the most disastrous events in American correctional history.” The McAlester riot also highlighted issues that had been brewing for years behind the gates of the state’s oldest prison, built in 1908. Overcrowding, filthy and degraded facilities, untrained and low-paid guards, bad communication and other factors had combined to sow the seeds of the revolt. Although the riot’s death toll was far short of the 39 who died in the Attica Prison riot in New York two years earlier, it gutted most of Big Mac and reinforced claims in a lawsuit filed the previous
FORTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, A PENT-UP RAGE AMONG INMATES AT THE OKLAHOMA STATE PENITENTIARY IN MCALESTER ERUPTED IN MURDEROUS VIOLENCE.
Photo courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society Oklahoma Collection
Inmates set much of the penitentiary on fire during the 1973 riot. year that engulfed the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for decades to come.
The Riot In the months and years leading up to the 1973 riot, signs of trouble at the prison were evident.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30
By KANDRA WELLS EDITOR
ALMANAC Saturday’s Lake Eufaula level: 585.43’ Sunrise Sunday: 6:30 a.m. Sunset Sunday: 8:30 p.m.
OKLAHOMA LOTTERY 7/2613
3-4-2 7/24/13
INSIDE TODAY Obituaries........................ 2A City Bits............................ 4A Opinion............................ 9A Sports ............................... 1B Scoreboard....................... 2B Classifieds ........................ 1C Comics .............................. 2C
132 PAGES, 5 SECTIONS VOL. 117, NO. 283
health care, racial discrimination, and censorship of mail, according to “History of Corrections SEE RIOT I PAGE 10A
Arkansas fugitive arrested in Kiowa
FROM THE BIBLE
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Earlier in the year, prisoners organized a threeday hunger strike protesting a wide variety of problems within the prison, including poor
Staff photo by KEVIN HARVISON
Linda Ozan of the State Historic Preservations Office Oklahoma Historical Center is pictured during a rededication ceremony of the International Order of Rainbow for Girls Temple on Thursday.
Rainbow girls from 47 states come to McAlester for rededication ceremony By JEANNE LEFLORE STAFF WRITER
It was a colorful day in McAlester as Rainbow girls from 47 states came to help rededicate the Supreme Temple of the International Rainbow for Girls on Carl Albert Parkway. Supreme Worthy Advisor Mary Adeline Bradford led the program. “It’s a wonderful time to be a Rainbow
girl,” Bradford said to a cheering audience of several hundred men and women. The re-dedication of McAlester’s Rainbow for Girls Supreme Temple was held to celebrate the building being listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior. The building at 315 E. Carl Albert Pkwy. SEE CEREMONY I PAGE 5A
An Arkansas man who police say left his girlfriend bloodied on the side of a highway Christopher Hemingway Thursday night was arrested in Kiowa early Friday morning in a motel parking lot. Christopher Lee Hemingway, 34, was arrested at the request of Washington Co., Ark., police in connection with an attack in that state. Kiowa Police Chief Tony Runyon said Arkansas police want Hemingway in connection with a case involving a woman who showed up at a man’s home in the southern Arkansas county late Thursday night. “Apparently this young lady showed up at this man’s house soaked in
blood,” Runyon said of information received by his department from Washington Co. authorities. “The man let her in and called 911, and she was in and out of consciousness at the time.” Runyon said Arkansas police were told the woman was thrown from her sisters van by Hemingway as it traveled down a highway there. “According to this (information), she is in critical condition and on a ventilator right now,” Runyon said. According to the Kiowa police chief, Arkansas police found a highway crime scene with blood, hair and skin, and were able to identify Hemingway as a suspect in the case. With a warrant, Runyon said police worked with Hemingway’s cell phone provider to “ping” his phone to find his location. The “ping” placed him SEE FUGATIVE I PAGE 5A