The Nation - News from Dec. 18, 1985

As many as 80 inmates demanding better living conditions took control of two wings of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, stabbing three guards and seizing seven others as hostages, authorities said. Dozens of state troopers were sent to the maximum-security prison in McAlester, Okla., to try to regain control of the facility, where about 150 convicts were outside their cells. Hostage negotiators were in the two units and talking to the inmates, said Dan Reynolds, an administrative assistant to the warden.