United States Penitentiary, Marion
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The United States Penitentiary is a supermax classified prison located in Marion, Illinois. The prison was built in 1963 to replace Alcatraz which closed the same year.
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[edit] History
Marion is one of two Supermax prisons in the Federal Prison system, the other being ADX Florence in Colorado. Opened in 1963, the facility became the highest security prison by 1978.[1] It became the United States' first control unit when violence forced a permanent lockdown in 1983.
The prison was originally constructed to hold 500 inmates. In 1968, a behavior modification program was implemented, called Control and Rehabilitation Effort, or CARE. Inmates placed in CARE wound up either in solitary confinement, or were subjected to "group therapy", which involved psychological sessions.
On October 22, 1983, two correctional officers, Merle E. Clutts and Robert L. Hoffman, were killed by inmates at the unit.[2] Clutts was stabbed by Thomas Silverstein.[3] The lockdown of all inmates was imposed on October 27, 1983.
In March 2005, the federal government announced the inmate population at Marion would double by 2006, from 432 to upwards of 800 inmates.[4]
[edit] The prison
Marion has an all-male inmate population. The prison is located approximately nine miles outside of Marion, Illinois, which is roughly 300 miles from Chicago. The facility also controls a minimum security camp nearby.
Permanent lockdown, where prisoners remain in their cells 20 hours a day with little to no human contact, occurred in 1983 following an outbreak of violence. The lockdown remains in effect today. Most prisoners spend three to five years at Marion. Before being transferred to any other prison, they must exhibit good behavior.
The prison consists of nine living units, B through I, and K. Units D, E, and F are the most restricted; the prisoners are let out from their cells for ninety minutes each day. The H-Unit holds prisoners who are in long-term segration. The I-Unit holds prisoners who are in administrative or segregated custody. The K-Unit is also referred to as the Director's Unit. Inmates held here are by order of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons.
The cells at Marion are six feet by eight feet. Meals are eaten in the cell; there is no dining with other inmates. Beds consist of concrete slabs with pads atop them. Contact visits are prohibited, and any visits are conducted behind an acrylic glass partition via a telephone, while supervised and televised by an armed guard.
In 1996 a breakout occurred within this prison when almost every one of the inmates broke out of their cells after an electronics failure. 3 inmates were killed in the recapture of the prisoners and all of the staff had to act extremely quickly to get them all back. One man escaped and was never found.
[edit] Notable inmates
- John Gotti - (1940-2002) - US mobster and head of the Gambino crime family.
- Chevie Kehoe - (1973- ) -convicted white supremacist
- Tom Manning - convicted bomber and murderer
- Jonathan Pollard - Israeli spy
- Pete Rose - (1941- ) - athlete charged with filing false income tax returns (served August 8, 1990 through January 7, 1991)
- Thomas Silverstein - convicted murderer
[edit] References
- ^ "Control Unit Prisons". University of Massachusetts. Retrieved on October 23, 2006.
- ^ "Fallen Heroes". United States Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on October 23, 2006.
- ^ "America's Most Dangerous Prisoner?". BBC News. Retrieved on October 23, 2006.
- ^ ""Twice As Bad: Marion Penitentiary Population To Double"", Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved on October 23, 2006.
