A New York judge on Thursday approved a request to allow a fuller history of the nation’s bloodiest prison riot to be revealed, including a look into whether there was any cover-up by authorities, says the Associated Press. But Justice Patrick NeMoyer excluded from release grand jury transcripts that were part of the investigation into the 1971 Attica prison rebellion, raising questions about whether victims’ families who have fought for years to see the full report will get all the answers they’re seeking.
NeMoyer said it’s now up to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has the document known as 1975 Meyer Commission report, to publicly release its two remaining volumes after removing evidence from grand jury investigations into possible crimes. The judge acknowledged the evidence was central to the report findings, but that doesn’t trump the general requirement for grand jury secrecy. Schneiderman had sought court permission to reveal the deeper report of the riot, in which 11 staff and 32 inmates were killed — all but four shot by state police and corrections officers retaking the prison.