The Old Concord Reformatory Building at MCI-Concord |
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| Location | Concord, Massachusetts |
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| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Medium |
| Capacity | 614 (Houses 1,308) |
| Opened | May 1878 |
| Managed by | Massachusetts Department of Correction |
| Director | Superintendent Bruce Gelb |
The Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord (MCI-Concord) is a medium security prison for men located in Concord, Massachusetts in the United States. Opened in 1878, it is the oldest running state prison for men in Massachusetts. This prison is under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Correction.
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MCI Concord is a level 4, medium level security prison.[1] The prison is located in Concord, Massachusetts on state Route 2. A Massachusetts State Police barracks (Troop A-3) and the Northeastern Correctional Center (Minimum Security) are located across the highway from the prison. The prison houses over 1,350 medium, maximum, and protective custody inmates. This prison was visited in 1988 by Mother Theresa on her trip touring all MA prisons and also by Cardinal Sean O' Malley in 2008.
MCI Concord opened in May 1878 as the New State Prison at Concord with Mexican War veteran General Chamberlain as its warden.[2][3] The State Reformatory at Concord was established in 1884 as a facility where prisoners under 30 years of age could learn a trade to be used on their return to society. In 1893, additional construction added 230 cells to the existing facility. In 1955, the Concord Reformatory was abolished and the prison was renamed to the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord. MCI-Concord served as the department's Reception and Diagnostic Center for all new court commitments of the male offender until June 2009. Currently, it is designated as a medium security facility.
Timothy Leary's Concord Prison Experiment was conducted at MCI Concord during the early 1960s.[4][5]
In early July, 1882 at 12 AM inmates at the Concord Reformatory began to cause a disturbance by shouting and banging on doors. The noise went on for hours and the prison's warden decided to punish the inmates by revoking their yard privileges for July 4. This caused the disturbance to escalate with inmates breaking down wooden doors and furniture being destroyed. The riot stopped three days later.
On November 22, 1972, inmates in E Building began rioting and causing a major disturbance. Correction officers requested assistance and seventy-five state police officers (along with four sharpshooters) were sent to the Concord Reformatory to put down the uprising.
MCI-Concord
965 Elm Street
P.O. Box 9106
Concord, MA 01742
Phone: (978) 405-6100
List of Massachusetts state correctional facilities