Associated Press
SHIRLEY, Mass. — Fifteen inmates at a maximum-security prison in Massachusetts are facing charges in connection with a riot earlier this year that destroyed a housing unit.
The Springfield Republican reports the inmates were indicted on charges including vandalism, malicious destruction and disturbing a correctional institution.
The riot at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in January started with a fight between two inmates and escalated when 47 other inmates refused to return to their cells. Officials say inmates used fire extinguishers to destroy computers and camera systems.
Prison officials say the disturbance ended three hours later after a state police response team filled the unit with pepper spray.
Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez had been an inmate at the prison at the time. Hernandez killed himself in April.