Riot in Litchfield Penitentiary

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The Litchfield Riot was a 3-day period in which the prisoners rebelled against the death of inmate Poussey Washington, the hostile treatment from Corrections Officers and MCC's policies within the prison. It began at the end of Season Four, when CO Humphrey brings a gun into the prison that ends up in the hands of Dayanara Diaz, and serves as the main plot for all of Season Five.

Timeline

Background

Tension is rising in the prison due to the increased mistreatment of inmates by the new guards. Inmates begin creating a group with the intention of taking down these guards, CO Piscatella in particular. After he throws Red to the floor on the cafeteria in "The Animals", Blanca Flores gets up and stands on her table. Eventually, every inmate in the cafeteria is standing on either a table or a chair. Hapakuka tells him they won't get down until he no longer works at the prison. COs begin pulling inmates down, and Suzanne becomes violent, frightened by what's happening. Poussey grabs CO Bayley to keep him away from her, but pushes her down and holds his knee to her back. Suzanne continues to hit him and he doesn't hear Poussey telling him she can't breathe until she's already dead. Taystee gets free from the guard who's holding her and runs to her friend's body.

Orange-is-the-new-black-season-4-photos-ss09 — The inmates begin to take a stand- literally.

During the last episode of Season Four, "Toast Can't Never Be Bread Again", the prison is still shaken from the death of Poussey Washington. CO Humphrey brings a gun to work, which COs Blake and Stratman agree to ignore after he insists it's for his and their safety.

After hearing Caputo's public statement on Poussey's death, an enraged Taystee runs back to the dorms, yelling about what he's said. Her friends jump up and begin making their way to Caputo's office, and other inmates start to join. At the same time, Piper and Alex are burning the last of Alex's notes in a trash can. The crowd of angry inmates knocks over the burning can. Upon seeing the group, Humps pulls out his gun, but it's knocked out of his hand when Maritza pushes him over. It's then grabbed by Daya. Maria asks if she wants to give it to someone else, but Daya turns her down. The other inmates cheer and chant for her to shoot him.

Course of the Riot

Season Five opens where Season Four left off. Daya is holding a gun pointed at CO Humphrey's head. Humps attempts to reason with her, telling her about himself in spanish. Daya shoots a warning shot and yells "I don't fucking speak spanish!" She ends up shooting him in the upper thigh, which is followed by inmates kicked and pushing him.

The prison erupts into chaos, guards are rounded up as hostages and tortured, and then locked in the bubble. Inmates have new found freedoms they don't normally experience in Litchfield. The first day or so is rough. The halls are wild, and aside from a few women doing their best to help and keep things running, it's every inmate for herself. It's at one point described as "The Purge". Law enforcement wants to avoid entering the building due to the guards being held as hostages. They instead ask to hear the women's demands, which Taystee, Alison, Janae, and Black Cindy tally, compile and list on a pieces of paper taped to the window of the main enterence.

The prison begins to become more calm as everyone gets into the grove of things. Ouija, Pidge, and the white supremacists start a coffee shop, with an open mic, which keeps everyone calm and peaceful until the remainder of the coffee is stolen by Leanne and Angie.

Snacks and tampons, #10 of 10 on the list of demands, are give to the inmates. However Taystee soon realizes that this is the only demand they have any intention of meeting, and with the help of Piper and her friends, the supplies rounded back up and burnt outside in front of the public and the media.

[...]

Demands

Alison insists that the demands list be made up of ideas from all of the inmates, rather than just their group, saying that the worst thing you can do to another woman is take away her voice. They encourage the other inmates to write down their demands, so they can be counted and tallied, the top 10 making up the list they will show to the media/public/MCC.

Replace all current COs with properly trained ones
Reinstate the GED program
Better healthcare
Conjugal visits
Amnesty for all involved in the riot, provided there are no casualties
End to unnecessary searches and the use of solitary confinement
More work opportunities, a fair wage, and equal treatment
Internet access
CO Bayley's arrest and trial for the death of Poussey Washington
Hot Cheetos and Takis in the commissary, free tampons, and more nutritious food

Characters Present

Oitnbmain — Piper, Taystee, Janae, Black Cindy, and Alison burning the snacks and tampons they were given and learning there was no plans to meet their other demands.

Negotiators

Tasha Jefferson (leader) - Taystee takes on the role of lead negotiater after realizing she has a talent for it. Together, she and her friends compile a list of demands. When Fig arrives, Taystee has already done her homework and refuses to allow her to claim the demands were unmeetable.
Piper Chapman
Black Cindy
Janae Watson
Alison Abdullah
Natalie Figueroa - Fig was sent in to negotiate the inmates' demands in an attempt to end the riots, much to everyone's disappointment.
Joe Caputo - Eventually, Taystee needed help from someone who actually worked for the prison and MCC, at which point she let Caputo out of the porta-potty he was locked inside on the condition that he would help their side negotiate.

Guards

Maria Ruiz (former) - Maria started out quite involved with the riot and the hostages, but after learning from Caputo that her sentence may not have actually been extended (due to her used panty business in Season Four), she distanced herself from the chaos.
Ouija Aziza
Ramona Contreras
Michelle Carreras
Zirconia
Gloria Mendoza (former) - Gloria wanted out to see her son, who was gravely ill in the ICU, and MCC told her they would consider it if the hostages were released. She earned Ouija and Pidge's trust and posed as a guard, while trying to get the COs all together and release them.

Infirmary

Adarsh (former) - The only staff in medical during the riot, after everyone else fled, fearing for their safety.
Sophia Burset (self exiled) - After bringing Humps to medical, Sophia offered to stay and help Adarsh because as a former firefighter she had some knowledge of medicine.
Maureen Kukudio
Suzanne Warren
Elsie
Thomas Humphrey (deceased) - Sophia and Gloria wheeled him to Medical after being unable to treat his bullet wound themselves. While there, Maureen blew bubbles in his IV, causing him to have a stroke.

Other participants

Hostages

Joe Caputo (former)
Josh
Artesian McCullough
Lee Dixon
Joel Luschek
Ryder Blake
B. Stratman
CO Davis
Adarsh
Blanca Flores - Kidnapped by Piscatella
Nicky Nichols - Kidnapped by Piscatella
Big Boo - Kidnapped by Piscatella
Piper Chapman - Kidnapped by Piscatella
Alex Vause - Kidnapped by Piscatella
Red Reznikov
Desi Piscatella (deceased) - Eventually captured by Red and her friends, only to be released and fatally shot by an officer who was sweeping the prison.

Final Report

Injured or Killed
Thomas Humphrey	Shot by Dayanara Diaz Death from stroke caused by Maureen Kukudio
Flaca Gonzales	Slipped in Thomas Humphrey's pool of blood
Zirconia	Hit by shrapnel after Dayanara shot the ceiling
Brandy Epps	Kicked in the groin by Ryder Blake Fought Ouija Aziza
Kasey Sankey	Dragged by the hair by Stratman
Helen Van Maele	Pepper sprayed by Blake
Alana Dwight	Rebounded in the face by a door when trying to open it and escape the prison. Hit in the face by a porta-potty door when Stratman tried to force it open from the inside. Was struck on the face by Natoli at the end of the riot.
Judy King	Beaten and tortured by Kasey Sankey, Brandy Epps, Helen Van Maele, Erica Jones, Anita DeMarco and Black Cindy
Maureen Kukudio	Wounds from her fight in "The Animals" became infected due to lack of medical attention. She seemingly started to suffer from sepsis.
CO Stratman	Kicked several times by Maria Ruiz Molested by Angie Rice and Leanne Taylor
Leanne Taylor	Fingertip accidentally shot off by Charlie Coates when Pennsatucky threw him the gun
Angie Rice	When trying to fight with Tiffany Doggett, was wounded in the nose
Michelle Carreras	She started a fight in the hall and soon was also attacked.
Rhea Boyle	Battle in the hallway while trying to keep her crafts from being destroyed
Ouija Aziza	Fought Brandy EppsSuffered adverse effects from snorting coffee.
Alex Vause	Was captured by Piscatella along with the rest of Red's family. When she got her hands free and tried to attack him, he broke her arm.
Blanca Flores	Injured by Piscatella when he entered the prison.
Galina Reznikov	Partially scalped by Piscatella
Linda Ferguson	Beaten in the face by Tiffany Doggett.Hit by various objects thrown by Jennifer Digori, Stephanie Hapakuka and Rhea Boyle
Ramona Contreras	Slapped by Ouija Aziza intentionally to keep them both awake. Suffered adverse effects from snorting coffee.
Janae Watson	Contained with a stun gun by a police officer
Weeping Woman	Was beaten by a police officer
Maritza Ramos	Pepper sprayed
CO Piscatella	Posioned with a dart by Frieda, then tied up in the pool. After Red released him he walked into the hallway and was shot in the eye by a riot police officer, killing him.