Keith LaMar + The Lucasville Prison Riot Part 2

For eleven days, turmoil gripped the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Hostages were trapped, negotiations collapsed, and the violence only grew. Inside those same prison walls, Keith LaMar was forced to witness horrors that would shape the rest of his life. This is the story of how the riot ended, and how Keith’s reckoning began.

Want early access to every episode, all at once? Tenderfoot+ subscribers get the full case at the start of each month—plus ad-free listening and exclusive content from over 30 shows. Sign up at tenderfootplus.com.

Please be aware that today’s episode contains descriptions of violence and sexual assault. Please take care while listening.

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“A police car leads a parade of marchers down a hill approaching the Southern Ohio Correction Facility. The crowd expressed support for the guards being held hostage.”

“Inmates raise their hands in surrender on April 21, 1993, as armed guards watch on the recreation yard of Southern Ohio Correction Facility.”

“Prisoners used blankets to catch tear gas dropped through air vents during the riot.”

“Debris a few feet thick lined the floor of the cell block.”

“Furniture is seen piled up against a corridor wall on April 23, 1993, after the 11-day siege was over.”

“Robert B. Vallandingham was the only prison guard killed during the riot. Several others were taken hostage.”

Action Items Related to Today’s Episode:

At the heart of today’s episode are incarcerated people fighting to be heard. And in a system that often silences, storytelling becomes a form of resistance.

That’s why I want to highlight the Prison Journalism Project, an organization that trains and publishes incarcerated writers, giving them the tools to report on what’s happening behind bars. Their weekly newsletter, The Inside Story, features first-person accounts from people living through the realities of prison life every day.

It’s powerful, eye-opening, and deeply human work. You can subscribe, read past pieces, or support the project at prisonjournalismproject.org.

Audio Used:

YouTube: The Great Incarcerator, part 2: The Shadow of Lucasville uploaded by djones.

YouTube: Bloody history: 1993 Lucasville prison riots uploaded by Hearst Television.

YouTube: From the Vault: Lucasville prison riot killed nine inmates, one guard in 1993. Uploaded by WCPO 9.

Sound Cloud: Lucasville 1992 prison riot in Ohio from WTVN coverage uploaded by Dean6oh.

libcom.org: Black and White and Dead All Over: The Lucasville Insurrection by Staughton Lynd.

Sources Used:

The New York Times: Jazz Freed Keith LaMar’s Soul. Can It Help Him Get Off Death Row? By Laura Zornosa.

FindLaw: STATE v. LaMAR Supreme Court of Ohio. The STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. LaMAR, Appellant. No. 1998-1983. Decided: May 15, 2002.

Statement of Stacey Gordon, 8 September 1994.

Interview #1264 (PART 1) with Aaron Jefferson.