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In the tradition of the play, The Exonerated, comes Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison
Uprising. However, unlike the former death row prisoners in The Exonerated, the subjects of
this play are still sentenced to be executed, still pursuing their appeals and still struggling
against injustice.
Lucasville is a moving and powerful theatre presentation, written with the cooperation of the
five men who were sentenced to death for their alleged roles in the 1993 uprising that rocked
the maximum security prison in Lucasville, Ohio.
They have been called the Lucasville Five: Siddique Abdullah Hasan (fka Carlos Sanders), Jason
Robb, Namir Abdul Mateen (aka James Were), George W. Skatzes and Keith LaMar.
In April 1993 prisoners took over a cell block in the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Nearly
2,000 law enforcement officers and National Guard troops surrounded the prison. Hundreds of
news people from the national media, papers, radio and TV stations in Cincinnati, Cleveland,
Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Akron flocked to the area.
According to an article by Professor Bruce Porter, published after the uprising in the Columbia
Journalism Review, “Glaring mistakes were reported as fact and never corrected.
Reporters…vied for atrocity stories. They ran scary tales-totally false, it was later found-that
spread panic and paranoia throughout the region.”
The 11-day uprising ended with a negotiated settlement. Nine prisoners and a hostage
correctional officer had been murdered.
The play, Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising describes how the prisoners
worked together, black and white, Muslims and members of the Aryan Brotherhood, side by
side, to demand better conditions, and it tells how the State of Ohio engineered the
convictions. The remarkable solidarity among these five men continues to this day.
MURDERERS OR SCAPEGOATS?
The Lucasville Five were singled out as organizers of the uprising and spokesman for the
prisoners. The State sought and attained convictions and death sentences for four men
convicted of the murder of Correctional Officer Vallandingham, almost entirely on the basis of
snitch testimony. These convictions were handed down without any physical evidence and
despite compelling evidence of the defendants’ innocence.
Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, says of the book by Staughton
Lynd, on which the play is based, “Lucasville is one of the most powerful indictments of our
“justice system” I have ever read. What comes across is a litany of flaws deep in the system,
and recognizably not unique to Lucasville.”
The story of the Lucasville Five is a textbook case for what is wrong with the death penalty.
The ease with which the state has been able to bring these men to the point of execution will
make any viewer want to rethink not only the justification for these convictions, but the
legitimacy of the death penalty itself!
“Lucasville…. is a resounding affirmation of our common humanity.”
-- Michael Mello, author of The Wrong Man: A True Story of Innocence on Death Row
It is co-authored by Gary Anderson, Artistic Director, American Legends Theatre Works, with
the enormous source material that has been gathered for over ten years by attorneys Alice and
Staughton Lynd.
Uprising. However, unlike the former death row prisoners in The Exonerated, the subjects of
this play are still sentenced to be executed, still pursuing their appeals and still struggling
against injustice.
Lucasville is a moving and powerful theatre presentation, written with the cooperation of the
five men who were sentenced to death for their alleged roles in the 1993 uprising that rocked
the maximum security prison in Lucasville, Ohio.
They have been called the Lucasville Five: Siddique Abdullah Hasan (fka Carlos Sanders), Jason
Robb, Namir Abdul Mateen (aka James Were), George W. Skatzes and Keith LaMar.
In April 1993 prisoners took over a cell block in the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Nearly
2,000 law enforcement officers and National Guard troops surrounded the prison. Hundreds of
news people from the national media, papers, radio and TV stations in Cincinnati, Cleveland,
Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Akron flocked to the area.
According to an article by Professor Bruce Porter, published after the uprising in the Columbia
Journalism Review, “Glaring mistakes were reported as fact and never corrected.
Reporters…vied for atrocity stories. They ran scary tales-totally false, it was later found-that
spread panic and paranoia throughout the region.”
The 11-day uprising ended with a negotiated settlement. Nine prisoners and a hostage
correctional officer had been murdered.
The play, Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising describes how the prisoners
worked together, black and white, Muslims and members of the Aryan Brotherhood, side by
side, to demand better conditions, and it tells how the State of Ohio engineered the
convictions. The remarkable solidarity among these five men continues to this day.
MURDERERS OR SCAPEGOATS?
The Lucasville Five were singled out as organizers of the uprising and spokesman for the
prisoners. The State sought and attained convictions and death sentences for four men
convicted of the murder of Correctional Officer Vallandingham, almost entirely on the basis of
snitch testimony. These convictions were handed down without any physical evidence and
despite compelling evidence of the defendants’ innocence.
Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, says of the book by Staughton
Lynd, on which the play is based, “Lucasville is one of the most powerful indictments of our
“justice system” I have ever read. What comes across is a litany of flaws deep in the system,
and recognizably not unique to Lucasville.”
The story of the Lucasville Five is a textbook case for what is wrong with the death penalty.
The ease with which the state has been able to bring these men to the point of execution will
make any viewer want to rethink not only the justification for these convictions, but the
legitimacy of the death penalty itself!
“Lucasville…. is a resounding affirmation of our common humanity.”
-- Michael Mello, author of The Wrong Man: A True Story of Innocence on Death Row
It is co-authored by Gary Anderson, Artistic Director, American Legends Theatre Works, with
the enormous source material that has been gathered for over ten years by attorneys Alice and
Staughton Lynd.
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| LUCASVILLE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF A PRISON UPRISING |
| American Legends Theatre Works 530.243.9945 americanlegends@sbcglobal.net |
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