Robert B. McKay (August 11, 1919 – July 13, 1990) was a dean of New York University Law School, a former president of the New York City Bar Association, and the chair of McKay Commission, which investigated the 1971 Attica Prison riot.
[1] McKay joined the United States Army three months before the attack on Pearl Harbor as a private, and served in the Philippines.
[1] The Commission was critical of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller[1] for not visiting the prison before ordering an armed assault on the facility, and was also critical of state prison authorities for not having proper procedures in place to respond to riots.
But after a whistle-blower revealed possible collusion involving Rockefeller, State Police, and state prosecutors to obstruct prosecution of the reckless use of deadly force and torture of inmates by law enforcement, McKay in 1976 urged Gov.
McKay served in a number of prominent positions in civic life, including chairman of the New York Civil Liberties Union, president of the Legal Aid Society, and chairman of the Citizens Union.