4. Civilian Riot
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In 1821, in the first riot of its kind, ordinary citizens took to rioting at Auburn State Prison in New York to protest against the kind of treatment inmates were subjected too. The warden of Auburn, Elam Lynds was notoriously brutal and was said to have often whipped the prisoners, even his own staff was against his brutal methods. So one day three of the guards who refused to flog the prisoner were shot dead and when the news reached the local folks, all hell broke loose. The angry mob took hold of Lynds, poured tar over him and then adorning him with feathers, paraded him. Meanwhile the prisoners trying to take advantage of the situation, set fire at some places in the prison. But in spite of all that, Warden Lynds managed to prevail and ultimately brought the situation under control. Later he used this incident to demonstrate why severity was required at prisons. Following this the Auburn State Prison became a harsher place.
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