'San Quentin Six' member killed during prison riot

Hugo Pinell.
(Image credit: Twitter.com/CBSSacramento)

A riot broke out Wednesday afternoon at California's Folsom State Prison, resulting in the death of one well-known inmate, prison officials said.

Authorities identified the 71-year-old prisoner who was killed as Hugo Pinell. Pinell was convicted of rape with force in 1965 and sentenced to life-with-parole. In 1971, he killed a corrections officer at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, California, and was part of the "San Quentin Six" escape attempt at San Quentin State Prison. He was convicted of assaulting two guards during the escape attempt, and sentenced to life-with-parole in 1976. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Dana Simas said the riot involved members of several different prison gangs, and Pinell was "definitely the target."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.