High Desert Blood

The 1980 New Mexico Prison Riot and the Tragedy of the Williams Brothers

By: Andrew Brininstool

Narrated by: Michael Puttonen

When a cocksure father hatches a simple insurance fraud scheme, he has no idea its failure will lead his family into the maelstrom of America’s most violent prison riot. High Desert Blood takes you inside the walls of the Penitentiary of New Mexico, offering a gripping true crime journey through the heart of a system that failed its inmates, its staff, and the society it was meant to protect.

Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, Andrew Brininstool unveils the conditions that led to the infamous 1980 riot, a catastrophic event that left a permanent scar on the American penal landscape. Snaking through the storyline, we meet Gary Williams, a nonviolent first-time offender thrust into a world of chaos, and his brother, Jeff, a career criminal who mysteriously vanishes during the riot. After his release, Gary’s relentless quest for the truth about his brother’s disappearance leads him to a similar tragic fate.

This book offers an unflinching look at the brutality and corruption that plagued the prison, shedding light on the systemic issues that made such a disaster inevitable. High Desert Blood is not just a chronicle of violence and despair; it’s a call for reform.

©2025 Andrew Brininstool (P)2025 Post Hypnotic Press Inc.

HORRIBLE NARRATOR

Of the dozens of books I’ve listened to and enjoyed on Audible I’m extremely disappointed with this work. Although the content and subject of the book were interesting and informative the narrator ruined this book experience for me. The unusual delivery and speech pattern of the narrator was painful to listen to. The reading sounded like an intoxicated person struggling to get a sentence out. If you’re interested in this book purchase a hard copy and read it. You’ll save yourself from the pain of listening to horrible narration!!!!!

Fascinating Story well written

What a great listen! This is a true-crime narrative that sheds light on a forgotten piece of American penal history, the New Mexico prison riot of 1980. If you're drawn to stories that combine personal tragedy with institutional critique, this is a deeply worthwhile listen. Warning: there are graphic descriptions of violence, but it isn't gratuitous.

The narrative structure isn't exactly linear, but I enjoyed the way Brininstool wove together the personal stories of those impacted or connected to this event, in particular the Williams brothers and how they ended up caught up in the riot. Drawing from personal family connections (a grandmother was a judge, an aunt worked in prison classification), local lore, public records, and interviews with people connected to or impacted by the riot, Brininstool interweaves the broader historical and institutional context of the prison with these personal stories.

Brininstool tackles systemic failures with clarity and depth (warnings ignored, protocols unheeded...), and he situates those institutional failings in the significant departure of the American penal system from rehabilitative incarceration to the more punitive, tough-on-crime stance of the 1970s, which continues to this day. This got me interested in looking at why rehabilitative incarceration was abandoned. Behind the change was a pessimistic "nothing works" attitude toward rehabilitation originating with "American sociologist Robert Martinson" who "published, without the consent of his collaborators, his own interpretation of the findings of their landmark study on violent crime" in a neoconservative journal. These claims were immediately challenged by his colleagues and many others, yet Martinson's erroneous conclusions were embraced by conservatives and liberals alike, helping to justify punitive prison policies. If you want to learn more about this, this article is a good starting place: https://ksj.mit.edu/news/2021/05/05/recidivism-misinformation/

Michael Puttonen's narration was GREAT. His deep, gravelly voice and delivery suited this book well. His use of character voices was fantastic. His voice just fits this book.

There is a review here on audible claiming names are mispronounced throughout, but if that is the case, I didn't notice this AT ALL. Brininstool notes the trouble he had obtaining information and that some people in New Mexico didn't like the fact that he was telling this story, even all these years later. I don't think anyone who isn't personally connected to this book with an axe to grind would have this same complaint.

If you like true crime or are interested in the American penal system, you'll love this audiobook.

Terrible narration

If you are going to have someone narrate, please ensure that individual can pronounce names and other words accurately. . Shameful