Blyden had been one of the most outspoken men during the Tombs jail rebellion, and the aftermath of that uprising had shown him firsthand how prisoners who took on the state needed as much information as they could get about how the law might eventually be used against them.
-- Heather Ann Thompson (chapter 4)

Importance: Because many of Attica's inmates would eventually be taking on the state, this quote is prophetic toward the kind of preparation necessary to provide a strong legal front.

They were each handed waivers they had to sign to the effect that neither they, nor their 'heirs and estate,' could hold the state of New York liable 'for any and all physical injuries or damages to me personally which may result from my voluntary participation in these negotiations.' 'Suddenly, I was scared to death,' Arthur Eve later remembered. 'I saw what the state was willing to do. Sacrifice me...
-- Heather Ann Thompson (chapter 17)