Literary Branch
Fifty years ago this month, the deadliest prison riot in U.S. history erupted at the Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, N.Y. Longtime Ojai attorney Len Klaif began his career by representing one of the inmates charged in connection with the inmate uprising, which claimed the lives of 43 people. (Most of the victims were shot by state police and Attica guards when they retook the prison.) Klaif will join Literary Branch chair Mark Lewis to discuss the uprising, the court proceedings that followed, and prison conditions and racial justice.
When the Attica uprising took place in September 1971, Klaif was just starting his senior year of law school at the University of Iowa. After getting his degree, he returned to Buffalo, where he had lived while an undergraduate, and was sworn in as a member of the New York Bar. The next day he was appointed to represent one of the inmates charged in the uprising. Over the next three years, Klaif spent countless hours working with the Attica Defense team, until Governor Hugh Carey granted pardons to those charged, ending the prosecutions. Klaif and Lewis also will discuss some of the books that have been written about Attica, including “A Time to Die” by Tom Wicker.
The public is invited to this event, which will take place on Sunday, Oct. 3rd, at 4:00 p.m. on the back patio of the Art Center, 113 S. Montgomery Street. There is a suggested donation of $5, which goes to the Art Center.
When the Attica uprising took place in September 1971, Klaif was just starting his senior year of law school at the University of Iowa. After getting his degree, he returned to Buffalo, where he had lived while an undergraduate, and was sworn in as a member of the New York Bar. The next day he was appointed to represent one of the inmates charged in the uprising. Over the next three years, Klaif spent countless hours working with the Attica Defense team, until Governor Hugh Carey granted pardons to those charged, ending the prosecutions. Klaif and Lewis also will discuss some of the books that have been written about Attica, including “A Time to Die” by Tom Wicker.
The public is invited to this event, which will take place on Sunday, Oct. 3rd, at 4:00 p.m. on the back patio of the Art Center, 113 S. Montgomery Street. There is a suggested donation of $5, which goes to the Art Center.
