Following the 1993 Lucasville Prison Rebellion five men were sentenced to death for the murder of 9 prisoners and a guard killed during the rebellion. The rebellion was a reaction to the atrocious and violent conditions of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, OH. The prison takeover lasted 11 days after which five men, Namir Abdul Mateen, Siddique Abdullah Hasan, Bomani Hando Shakur, George Skatzes and Jason Robb were targeted for their leadership roles

The Archives' Lucasville/Skates collection is largely composed of bulletins representing George Skatzes, one of the Lucasville 5 currently on death row. Among the bulletins is the publication of "Big George: A Docudrama About the Lucasville Rebellion," a docudrama written by Staughton Lynd tracing the history, circumstances and aftermath of the rebellion. The docudrama uses recordings from the rebellion and other testimony, much of which was disallowed at the trials of George Skatzes, to inform the dialogue and narrative.

"Big George" was performed at Oberlin College and Bard College after its publication. The docudrama was eventually made into a play co-written by Staughton Lynd and Gary Anderson entitled "Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising" after Lynd's same-titled book on the subject and performed several times.

Namir Abdul Mateen, Siddique Abdullah Hasan, Bomani Hando Shakur, George Skatzes and Jason Robb are currently on death row and have continued to protest their convictions and advocate for prisoner rights.