Crowded Prison’s Inmates Set Fires in Bid for Freedom

Inmates set fire to an overcrowded prison operated by the District of Columbia in suburban Virginia on Thursday in what District Mayor Marion Barry Jr. termed an ill-conceived attempt at freedom.

After more than 12 hours of raging fires and fighting among inmates--and between inmates and guards--more than 40 people had been injured and 13 buildings set ablaze, including three dormitories officials said were damaged beyond repair.

Authorities said all the facility’s 4,100 prisoners had been accounted for. The prison, which has no air conditioning, was designed to house about 3,500 inmates. Barry said there were 1,295 prisoners housed in the area where the trouble began--about 200 over its capacity.

Prison Consultant’s Report

The mayor said there had been indications of unrest the night before, which he said may have been heightened by news accounts Wednesday of a prison consultant’s report on overcrowding at the Lorton Reformatory

“Our prison experts have said some things become self-fulfilling prophecies . . . “ said Barry. “We think the report and the way it was reported added to the prophecy of guys wanting to be free and burning their homes down.”

City Administrator Thomas Downs said some prisoners had put their belongings in garbage bags in anticipation of being let out of the dorms after the fires were set in a medium security section of the 2,970-acre prison complex.

“Nobody even approached the fence,” said Downs. “It was an assumption that if they burned the prison down and there was nowhere else to go, they would be freed.”

‘Tense and Dangerous’

A special master appointed by a federal judge to oversee the prison said Wednesday that overcrowding at Lorton was causing “tense and dangerous” conditions and likely “will result in a disturbance that will be costly in terms of human life and property.”

The mayor said a newspaper clipping about the report had been tacked on a bulletin board for inmates to see. The consultant’s report was a prominent local news story that day, receiving extensive television as well as newspaper coverage.

Shortly after midnight Thursday, inmates set fires in 11 dormitories and two administration buildings. As fast as the fires were put out, others were set.

About 120 firefighters battled the blazes until about 7 a.m. when all fires were brought under control.