NBC Nightly News open - 1993-04-12

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:02] Let's see shadow Ohio's toughest prison

[0:05] hostages and dead inmates tonight. In

[0:07] Los Angeles more cops on the street as

[0:09] the jury continues to deliberate.

[0:12] And a victim of the uprising a year ago

[0:14] speaks out. It's got it's got to stop

[0:16] somewhere and if someone doesn't have

[0:18] the courage to cut it out

[0:20] where does it end?

[0:25] This is NBC nightly news with Tom

[0:28] Brokaw.

[0:29] Good evening. That Ohio prison riot

[0:31] moves into a second night with no easy

[0:33] solution in sight. Eight guards still

[0:35] are being held hostage by rebellious

[0:37] inmates and six other inmates are dead

[0:39] tonight. Apparently they were beaten to

[0:41] death by fellow prisoners. All of this

[0:43] is going on in Lucasville in South

[0:45] Central Ohio and NBC's Sarah James is

[0:47] there tonight. Sarah, what's the latest?

[0:49] Tom, concern is growing tonight for the

[0:51] eight still held inside. While three

[0:53] hostages were released overnight, a

[0:55] prison spokesperson just told us that

[0:57] the inmates appear less interested in

[0:59] talking and there's no sign the standoff

[1:01] will be ending anytime soon.

[1:04] Emergency crews and law enforcement

[1:06] officers have surrounded Ohio's toughest

[1:09] prison in a ring of steel gray while

[1:12] inside negotiations drag on. Earlier

[1:15] today it seemed there was reason for

[1:17] encouragement. It was our understanding

[1:19] that we someone was coming out. We

[1:22] weren't sure who it was and we had no

[1:24] idea that it was a body. The body was

[1:27] that of the sixth inmate killed in the

[1:29] riots and like the others he had been

[1:31] severely beaten. Seventeen other people

[1:34] were injured in the uprising including

[1:36] 10 corrections officers. Prison

[1:39] officials have cut off electricity and

[1:41] water to the 450 prisoners in cell block

[1:44] L scene of the riot. They also haven't

[1:47] gotten a meal in more than 24 hours. The

[1:50] prisoners want to talk to the media. The

[1:52] corrections department chose this

[1:53] reporter to make the call.

[1:55] >> Okay, I'm ready to listen to your any

[1:57] complaints.

[1:59] Why did he hang up? Corrections

[2:01] officials said prisoners hadn't held up

[2:03] their end of the bargain accounting for

[2:05] the welfare of all eight hostages. Since

[2:08] then prison officials have learned that

[2:10] all eight guards are alive but know

[2:12] little else about their condition. All

[2:15] six inmates who died were white. I have

[2:18] no information that it was racially

[2:19] motivated.

[2:20] >> This woman's husband works inside the

[2:22] facility. Too many inmates. I think that

[2:24] needs to be addressed.

[2:27] Prison officials say their overriding

[2:29] concern right now is the safe release of

[2:32] all the hostages. Tom?

[2:34] Thanks Sarah. The prison is operating at

[2:35] about 120% of capacity but is there any

[2:38] talk there of storming the prison?

[2:40] You know, prison officials well remember

[2:42] Attica in 1971. That prison was stormed

[2:45] and nine guards were among the 40 people

[2:47] killed. The officials here tell us that

[2:49] despite all the firepower you see

[2:51] they've taken no aggressive action and

[2:53] in fact they are counting on

[2:54] negotiations to end this. Thanks very

[2:56] much. Sarah James tonight at Lucasville,

[2:58] Ohio. There was trouble today as well at

[3:00] Michigan's largest prison which is just

[3:02] west of Detroit. Four prison guards were

[3:04] stabbed by inmates during the morning

[3:06] recreation period. All the victims were

[3:07] hospitalized and a prison lockdown was

[3:10] then ordered. Prison officials do not

[3:12] believe the Michigan and Ohio incidents

[3:15] are related however.

[3:17] In Southern California tonight the jury

[3:19] watch continues. The Rodney King beating

[3:21] trial. The federal jury deliberated

[3:23] through the Easter weekend as law

[3:25] enforcement and community leaders work

[3:27] to keep the lid on whatever the verdict.

[3:30] California National Guard troops were

[3:31] sent to staging areas. Six hundred

[3:33] troops in all. Another 5,000 are

[3:36] available if it comes to that. Meanwhile

[3:40] all the attention is focused on the

[3:41] federal courthouse. NBC's George Lewis

[3:43] is there tonight. George, what's the

[3:45] latest where you are?

[3:46] Tom, the eight men and four women on the

[3:48] jury began their third day of

[3:49] deliberations at 8:30 this morning.

[3:51] There are a whole lot of people

[3:52] anxiously awaiting their decision.