Prison guards' use of force is rarely deemed excessive by federal courts and judges, analysis shows

New York law enforcement officers in riot gear after they regained control of prisoners following the Attica prison revolt in September 1971. The retaking killed 39 people. A federal judge found law-enforcement actions were not "malicious and sadistic."

AP Photo, File

It rained heavily the night before the retaking of New York's Attica Correctional Facility. A guard, William Quinn, had been killed. Negotiations had ended. The men on the D yard waited for the inevitable.

Four days earlier...