20 people charged in Nevada prison brawl in which three inmates were killed

ELY, Nev. — Nevada prosecutors say 20 people have been charged in connection with a brawl at a maximum-security prison in eastern Nevada last year in which three inmates were killed and others were injured.

The Nevada Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday the final arrest in the investigation was made on March 5.

Prisoners Anthony Williams, 41, Connor Brown, 22, and Zacharia Luz, 42, were killed in the July 30 fight at Ely State Prison. No officers were injured. Authorities say the charges in the case include first-degree murder and attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon with intent to promote or assist a criminal gang. It’s not clear how many of the 20 defendants face those charges.

Ely State Prison is one of six Nevada prisons. It has almost 1,200 beds, houses the state’s death row for convicted killers and a lethal injection chamber that has never been used. Nevada has not carried out an execution since 2006.

Conditions behind bars in the state have drawn criticism from advocates, particularly during hot summers and cold winters. In December 2022, several people incarcerated at Ely State Prison held a hunger strike over what advocates and some family members described as unsafe conditions and inadequate food portions.