The Prison Guards Daughter, Deanne Quinn Miller
The Prison Guards Daughter, Deanne Quinn Miller
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The Prison Guard's Daughter
My Journey Through the Ashes of Attica

Author: Deanne Quinn Miller, Gary Craig

Narrator: Rosemary Benson

Unabridged: 9 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/07/2021


Synopsis

On September 13, 1971, armed troops and corrections officers at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York slaughtered twenty-nine rioting prisoners and ten hostages in a hail of gunfire. Negotiations for a peaceful resolution had stalled. The sticking point was the prisoners' final demand: amnesty for their murder of correctional officer William "Billy" Quinn, committed four days earlier during the takeover.

Deanne Quinn Miller was five years old when her father was killed, the only Attica employee to die at the hands of inmates. For nearly thirty years, authorities attempting to protect law enforcement fed Deanne Quinn Miller lies about Attica, its aftermath, and her father's death. Here she tells of her relentless quest for truth and justice—for herself, her family, and an entire community.

After the state settled a long-standing lawsuit with injured Attica inmates by awarding them $12 million, Miller cofounded the Forgotten Victims of Attica and succeeded in getting the same compensation for the hostages and their families—who had received no support from the state. As Miller lays bare the truth about her father's death, the world inside Attica, and the state's reckless raid and coverup, she conveys a narrative of compassionate humanity and a call for prison reform.

About Deanne Quinn Miller

Deanne Quinn Miller is cofounder of the Forgotten Victims of Attica and the daughter of correctional officer William Quinn, the first casualty of the Attica Prison Riot. With Miller's leadership, the Forgotten Victims secured $12 million in reparations for its members, counseling for all who sought it, and an annual memorial at the prison. The organization continues to push for other goals-the unsealing of the remaining thousands of pages of non-public riot records and an apology from the New York State.

Miller has previously worked as the executive director of the Genesee Veterans Support Network and received the state Women Veterans in the Justice System award in 2016 and the Women of Distinction Award in 2017 for her work with veterans. She graduated cum laude from the University of New York at Buffalo with a BS in consumer and family studies. Since 2014, she has been the program coordinator for the Veterans Defense Program of the New York State Defenders Association, a program that provides support and legal aid to struggling veterans who become involved in the criminal justice system. Miller lives in Batavia, New York, and is married with two daughters.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Claudia on October 04, 2021

This autobiographical account of the aftermath of the Attica riot was fascinating. Told from the perspective of the daughter of one of the guards who was killed in the hostage taking, she shares a very personal story of survival and struggle. She played a key role in the group of people who fought f......more

Goodreads review by Jean on September 13, 2021

Engaging, Balanced, and Moving Ms. Quinn-Miller looks at the myths and the truths of the Attica Correctional Facility uprising in 1971 not only through the eyes of the daughter of the only guard killed by the inmates in the uprising, but also through the eyes of an investigator searching the rubble f......more

Goodreads review by Lynn on October 04, 2021

Touching story about a daughter of a prison guard’s daughter in Attica. He died during the 1971 riots and fought for years with other victims to come to a $12 million settlement. This meant working with lawyers and courts, meeting with other victims and relatives as well as trying to understand what......more

Goodreads review by Mark on October 28, 2021

Deanne Quinn Miller (with expert writing help from Gary Craig) lends a unique perspective to the Attica tragedy: that of the only prison guard killed by inmates, and yet she split with the survivors who blamed everything on the inmates. The state's betrayal of the victims' families and the reconcili......more