prison garage and had access to gasoline, a crucial part of Myles' plans. Myles assured Alton that they would use Deputy Warden
Rothe as a shield and hostage to gain exit from Tower 7, and from there to freedom. Myles also strong-armed Harold Laureys, a
known lockpicker, or "gopher man" in prison lingo, into being ready for an escape attempt, but gave him few specifics other than
that.
Myles, Smart, and Alton constructed a reservoir in one of the shelves in Smart's cell, and Alton regularly filled that space with
gasoline he smuggled out of the garage. The trio waited until they had filled the container before enacting their plans.
At about 3:30 p.m. on 16 April 1959, guard Gus Byars was alone on the catwalk of Cellblock 1 across from where Myles and
Smart were loitering. Byars turned to open a window to the brisk spring wind when he heard someone call his name. He turned
into a splash of gasoline which hit him in the face and chest, soaking his shirt.
Lee Smart had tossed the gasoline as Jerry Myles lit a match to a torch he had constructed from a mop. He thrust the mop at
the guard, who froze in fear. Smart and Alton lit a broom and tossed it onto the catwalk behind Byars, who, with his vision blurred
by the gasoline, saw he was surrounded by fire. He quickly surrendered his keys and rifle and allowed himself to be led to the
hole.
While Myles, Smart, and Alton were securing the rifle and keys, other inmates ambushed the only other two guards in Cellblock 1, threatening them with knives. The guards surrendered their keys and were also led to the hole.
At this point, the inmates were in full possession of three guards, a rifle, and keys to the facility, though they still had no ammunition for the weapon. They quickly moved over to Cellblock 2, where they knew the ammunition was stored, and were in possession of that building within minutes, even after a tense standoff between a guard holding a loaded rifle and an inmate with a
knife. The guard hesitated and received a slashed hand in return. Had he fired on the inmate, the riot may not have progressed. As
it was, the inmates were now in control of two rifles, seventeen rounds of ammunition, and both cellblocks. Over the course of the
next ten to fifteen minutes, several more guards would walk into Cellblock 1, be immediately and quietly overwhelmed, and led
into the hole.
By 4:00, Myles, Smart, and Alton had control over the whole facility except for the minimum security housing outside the
southern wall and the upper floor of the administration building, called "Inside Administration." This portion of the facility housed
offices for the warden, the deputy warden, the sociologist, and other prison infrastructure. The only woman working within the
prison walls, Babe Lightfoot, held an office in Inside Administration, but by the time the rioters reached this area of the prison, she
had already evacuated upon orders from an inmate.
Ted Rothe had been across the street attending a meeting with Warden Powell and some architects who were designing the
new facility Powell wanted to build. Rothe returned to his desk inside the prison at a few minutes before 4:00, oblivious to the inmate takeover. Up to this point, there had been almost no noise, few scuffles, and no casualties. He chatted with a guard for a few
minutes before sitting behind his desk, which was in view of the door where inmates came to receive their medication. Myles,
Smart, and a third inmate named Toms came up to the door, where Myles asked to receive some pills for his migraines. The guard
on duty, Officer Cox, turned to retrieve them as another guard opened the door to let a third guard out. As soon as the door opened,
Myles rushed through, brandishing a meat cleaver he had acquired from the kitchens. Toms threatened the other guards with a
knife, and they allowed themselves to be herded into a nearby lavatory. Myles burst into Deputy Warden Rothe's office and attacked Rothe with the cleaver. Rothe deflected the blow with a plywood letterbox.
The struggle continued for a few seconds. Cox grabbed a chair and raised it to hit Myles, but Lee Smart unveiled the rifle he
had had wrapped in a cone of leather and fired once, hitting Rothe in the chest, killing him instantly. Myles turned on Cox and
slashed with his cleaver, slicing Cox along his arm. The inmates quickly herded the guards into the lavatory, along with a civilian
mail-sorter, and locked them in. Another guard, Officer Simonsen, was coming up the steps to Inside Administration, and Myles
and Smart took him hostage and had him call the warden.
At a little after 4:00, Officer Simonsen phoned Warden Powell, who was across the street at his residence. Simonsen told the
warden there was a disturbance inside the prison and that someone had been knifed. Under duress from Myles and Smart, the officer told the warden little else, and Powell rushed through Tower 7 along with two guards to see what the "disturbance" was. As
soon as he entered Inside Administration, he was yanked through the doorway. His escort realized something was wrong and retreated, escaping back through Tower 7. The guards on top of this tower knew something was wrong and h ???????????????)??????????????????????????????????????????????????)%??????]?????A?????????????????????????5??????M???????????????????????A???????????? ????????????)!???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????A???????????????????????)??????????????????????????????A???????9??????????????????????????9???????????????????????????????)????????????????]?????A?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????)????????????A???????????????????????5?????
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