Thomas Townsend and Roosevelt Terry v. C. Murray Henderson, Warden, Tennessee State Penitentiary

COMBS, Circuit Judge.

In 1958, several prisoners attempted to escape from Fort Pillow Prison Farm in Tennessee. The appellant Terry and others, whose identity is not important here, attempted to overpower Deputy Warden Hunt in his office, apparently with intent to use him as a hostage. Appellant Townsend was also involved. After a brief struggle, the rebellious prisoners were subdued and the uprising was quelled. One prisoner was killed; Terry was knocked unconscious by a blow on his head and placed in a solitary confinement cell; others believed to be involved in the insurrection were placed…