History is a reflection of the past and a compass that helps us to predict what will happen in the future. Blood in the water is a very sad historical incidents that happened in Attica prison on September 13, 1971. It was one of those stories that were left under the table until Dr. Heather Thompson dug the truth for 13 years to bring the story to Americans and the entire world. The prisoners at the time protested and took over the prison for four days demanding better conditions and facilities from the New York state government. Instead of dealing with the prisoners in a peaceful way, the government rather sent armed forces who sprayed tear gas and killed around 151 hostages. I was amazed to hear that that the president of the time, Richard Nixon, instead of addressing the issue and holding the governors accountable, he rather said “Was this black business?” This incident was a reflection of human right violation and racial injustice in the United States.

What struck me the most was to find out that the wives of the men who were killed were given stipends. Unfortunately, when signing the papers to take the money, they were rather signing a contract to not question the officials about the death of their loved ones. I consider this no different from a double murder.

Even now people who live near in Attica believe that the prisoners killed the hostages instead of the armed police officers. However, the true story is what Dr. Thompson has presented. She believes“Attica justifies injustice” in the U.S criminal system. I hope her book can lead to more questions that help to improve the current prison conditions.