A well-researched nonfiction account of a prison riot at the Colorado State Prison in Oct. 1929.  In terms of lives lost, this was the most violent prison uprising in the nation's history until New York's Attica experience.  Text is energized by 30 photographs, many of which were released to the public for the first time in this publication. Often, in their own words, or in a combination of statements made by guards and convicts in post-riot interviews, the anatomy of the 1929 melee is told by the survivors who participated in or observed the death and destruction that occurred.  There were an amazing number of unbelievable events which took place during the course of the turmoil, i.e., a Catholic priest and coal miner run across the prison yard dodging convict bullets carrying 50 lbs. of dynamite in a futile attempt to blast open a wall in the occupied cell block.  The Warden (who was considered by the public and the convicts as a "Civil Servant" with no stomach for dangerous confrontations) proved to be "rock hard" in negotiations--refusing to submit to the demands of the convicts despite being assailed by families of the captured guards who were being systmatically shot and their bodies dumped into the prison yard.  Local citizens line up on a ridge overlooking the compound firing rifles and shot guns prison yards. Sadly, 13 people loose their lives in this botched prison escape, eight of which were guards.  A quick but exciting read suitable for both the general public or as supplementary material in Criminal Justice classrooms.

Slaughter in Cell House 3: The Anatomy of a Riot

Politics & Social Sciences

Alt, Betty L.

Patterson, Wayne K.

Social Sciences

vanderGeest Publishing and Distribution

Recounts the memories of the men and women Wayne K. Patterson knew and worked with during the 40 years he served in the Colorado Correction system. Supplementing the stories are pictures of prison breaks, execution orders, prison life along with politicians and other men and women that the remarkable Warden Patterson lived and worked with. The book is an easy read full of amusing, sad and sometimes dangerous stories of the Warden's experience. Readers enjoy it because it can be read all in one setting or story by story.

Keeper of the Keys: A Warden's Notebook

My Friend The Printer

Wayne K. Patterson served more than 30 years in the Colorado Correctional System. He was warden of both of the original penal institutions in the state at Buena Vista and Canon City. He was Executive Director of the first Department of Parole in Colorado, was later Chairman of the Parole Board and Director of Corrections for the City and County of Denver. Patterson held national offices in professional associations and was a past president of the American Correctional Association, the American Association of Wardens and Superintendents and of the West Central Wardens' Association. Patterson began his career in law enforcement with the Colorado State Patrol, was selected to be both driver and body guard for Colorado governors, Ralph Carr and John Vivian, and served in the Navy from 1944-1946. Betty L. Alt is author or co-author of fourteen books, including Uncle Sam's Brides; Campfollowing; Weeping Violins: The Gypsy Tragedy in Europe; Black Soldiers/White Wars; Keeper of the Keys: A Warden's Notebook; Wicked Women; Fleecing Grandma &amp; Grandpa; Policewomen: Life With the Badge; The Proteus Agenda; Following the Flag; Mountain Mafia: Organized Crime in the Rockies; Mountain Murders: Homicide in the Rockies; When Caregivers Kill. She has a B.A. in sociology from Colorado College, an M.A. in history from Northeast Missouri State University, and currently is an instructor in sociology at Colorado State University - Pueblo in Pueblo, Colorado.

Biographies & Memoirs

True Crime

Dog Ear Publishing, LLC

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