Unanswered Questions

Where can I find more about the riot?

The 1968 report by Vernon Bounds discusses the riot at length. The Papers of Governor Dan K. Moore at the North Carolina State Archives and the 1968 Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 90th Congress, Second Session, both mention the riot.

There is no mention of the riot in any annual/biannual state reports (1968 and beyond) from the North Carolina Department of Corrections, the North Carolina Board of Public Welfare, or the office of the Attorney General.

What do we know?

We know that the riot occurred on April 16-17, 1968. We know that 6 prisoners died from injuries inflicted during the riot and that 72 people were injured.

Every piece of information that we have on the riot disseminates from the mouth of Vernon Bounds, Commissioner of Corrections at the time. This includes information from Governor Moore and Governor Scott, as well as information reported in newspapers at the time. A reflection piece by local news station WRAL on the 32nd anniversary of the riot is the only exception. This article includes statements from David Norris and William Phelps, who were both incarcerated at Central Prison during the riot. The former was directly involved, while the latter was sick and in the prison’s hospital at the time. Their statements, while informative, do not provide any substantive additional information on the riot.

Questions that need to be answered:

Who organized the protest? Who started the riot? What were their actual motivations?

Over the last half-century, several prisoner testimonies have documented cases of retaliatory mistreatment from guards at Central Prison. How were the inmates treated after the riot? Were there any civil/constitutional/human rights violations?