Prison guard death ignites safety issue

By Corinne Reilly / Merced Sun-star It was 3:30 in the afternoon -- count time on housing unit 5A at U.S. Penitentiary Atwater. Jose Rivera was a half-hour short of finishing his shift. He had just announced the count, ordering the inmates under his charge -- all 110 or so -- to return to their cells. He began locking them down one by one, as he did every time he worked the 8-to-4. It would be the last inmate count he'd conduct. The two prisoners moved in, at least one of them clutching a sharp handmade shank. Rivera, a 22-year-old Navy veteran who'd started at USP Atwater less than 11 months earlier, hit the panic button on his radio. The other correctional officers were quick to respond. But the attack was quick, too. By the time the officers got there, it was too late. Probably chosen by his attackers for no other reason... [read full story]