All arrests are thrown out by the courts. On Sept. 13, some 1,500 armed policemen kill 31 prisoners and nine hostages while retaking control of Attica State Prison in New York. Home Box Office introduces its pay-TV service to cable in 1972. New FCC rules pave the way for community access channels. Polaroid introduces a camera that can focus itself.
Digital television comes out of the lab.
Sony introduces a portable video recorder. On May 15, Alabama Gov. George Wallace is shot by a man named Arthur Bremer and paralyzed while campaigning for president in a Maryland shopping center. Five men are arrested while burglarizing Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate hotel complex in Washington on June 17. On June 29, the Supreme Court outlaws capital punishment until new guidelines can be written. George McGovern, the Democratic nominee for president, picks Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri as his running mate.