'San Quentin Six' member killed during prison riot
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
A riot broke out Wednesday afternoon at California's Folsom State Prison, resulting in the death of one well-known inmate, prison officials said.
Five inmates at the maximum-security prison have been hospitalized for stab wounds, NBC Bay Area reports. No guards or prison employees were injured during the riot. Authorities say that the prisoners began to fight in the general population yards, and some had weapons that they likely made themselves. Guards used pepper spray and other "less-than-lethal force options" in an attempt to subdue the inmates, and two warning shots were fired.
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."
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
