Prosecutors will drop all remaining charges against men indicted for the 2017 fatal uprising at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna, saying they doubt the men would be found guilty at trial.

Attorney General Kathy Jennings on Wednesday announced her decision to stop proceedings against Obadiah Miller, Lawrence Michaels and Alejandro Rodriguez-Ortiz, the three Vaughn defendants with charges still pending.

The decision punctuates a string of trial losses in one of the most prominent cases in Delaware's recent history.

Prosecutors have failed to get murder convictions against seven of the eight Vaughn inmates tried in lengthy and costly court proceedings dating back to last year. One inmate was found guilty of lesser charges.

"We have heard the jury speak loud and clear that it would be futile to proceed forward with any trials," Jennings said in an interview Wednesday. "We don’t want to put witnesses, correctional officers, the woman who was held through the trauma of another trial."

The trials revolved around a riot that started the morning of Feb. 1, 2017, when inmates in Vaughn's C Building used coordinated violence to subdue the building's three correctional officers in closets. A counselor was also taken hostage and freed once police broke the standoff 18 hours later.

Two off the officers were released after being beaten and traumatized. The other, Steven Floyd, bled to death during the hostage negotiation.

"Our thoughts are completely with Lt. Floyd’s family and the victims who have to live with what took place," Jennings said.

Wilmington attorney Thomas Neuberger, who acts as a spokesperson for Floyd's family said, "There cannot be any justice for the loss of Steve Floyd’s life. No justice in our courts."

Less than a year after the uprising, 18 inmates from the building were indicted on charges including kidnapping, conspiracy, assault and riot. Sixteen of those faced charges of first-degree murder and a potential life sentence.

ON THE STAND: Vaughn defendant admits planning uprising

In three trials to this point, Dwayne Staats, who testified that he organized the uprising as a protest that would reach the ear of Gov. John Carney, is the only person to be convicted of murder.

Prosecutors had little to work with in terms of physical evidence directly tying individual defendants to the crime.

The cases have been largely dependent on the witness testimony of other inmates in the building. That body of evidence has been dogged by witnesses' stories evolving and sometimes contradicting their initial statements to police, their testimony at other trials and testimony of other witnesses.

With each trial, new cracks inevitably appeared that allowed defense attorneys to question the witness credibility.

"Cases like this that are dependent on inmate witness just don’t get better with time," Jennings said.

The failed prosecutions and lack of evidence has seen criticism from law enforcement interests as well as the defendants.

After the second trial in which the jury rendered no guilty verdicts, prosecutors dropped charges against several defendants and cited similar concerns about the prospect of convictions. That left Michaels, Miller, Rodriguez-Ortiz and Roman Shankaras with murder charges pending.

NOT GUILTY: Acquitted Vaughn uprising defendant calls charges 'almost diabolical'

Shankaras was acquitted of all charges in a trial last month and is the first of the Vaughn defendants to be released from prison.

In an interview earlier this week, he criticized prosecutors for pursuing murder charges against too many inmates, calling it an "abuse of discretion" and a failed gamble that the indicted inmates would cooperate with law enforcement in return for mercy.

On Wednesday, he described his reaction to the dropped charges as "jubilee."

"I’m happy for them brothers sitting down there still being oppressed," he said.

Jennings, who took office in January, said she holds the prosecutors involved in the highest regard. It was the first time anyone from her office has discussed the case. She said Wednesday was not the time for "second-guessing" prior decisions.

"They were made in good faith based on a belief at the time that the cases would result in successful verdicts," Jennings said. "I’m really dealing with the situation now."

Neuberger pointed a finger at state government, particularly former Govs. Jack Markell and Ruth Ann Minner for "running the prison system off the rails."

Without cameras in the building, Neuberger said there was no chance of securing convictions on the back of prisoner testimony.

Neuberger represented Floyd's family and prison workers held hostage during the incident in reaching a $7.5 million settlement with the state. He said Floyd's family will not be made available for interview.

While that case is settled and the criminal prosecutions ended, there are still a handful of civil lawsuits stemming from the uprising that have yet to be resolved.

The one with the largest number of plaintiffs is a federal lawsuit against state officials on behalf of the building's inmates. It claims corrections officials were negligent leading up to the takeover and then oversaw the violations of prisoners' civil rights in the months after.

Geoffrey Klopp, president of the Correctional Officers Union of Delaware, said the "one thing that's been consistent in this situation" is "it's been screwed up from start to finish."

"I am disappointed beyond belief that somehow we are expected to call this justice for Steve Floyd and his family," Klopp said.

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.