Ohio State Penitentiary
Encyclopedia
The Ohio State Penitentiary is a 502-inmate capacity supermax
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction prison
in Youngstown, Ohio
. The facility is designed to hold the state's most dangerous prisoners with poor conduct records.
Throughout the last two centuries, there have been two institutions with the name Ohio Penitentiary or Ohio State Penitentiary; the first prison
was in Columbus, Ohio
.
Level 5 inmates occupy cells that are 6 1/2 x 11 feet and include a sink, toilet, desk, stool, and a slab of concrete with a thin mattress. These inmates are in lock down for twenty-three hours per day in their cell. Inmates in Levels 5B and 5A are classified as those who fail to adapt or those who are active participants/ring leaders of security threat groups.
Level 4 inmates occupy similarly-designed cells but have additional freedom to move about within specific cell blocks. Inmates classified as Level 4B may also exercise within their specific cell block, but are also required to lock down before security staff enter the cell block to perform range checks, serve food, etc. Inmates classified as Level 4A are not subject to this restriction.
Death Row inmates reside in two cell blocks, one of which is an extended privilege block. To be placed in the extended privilege block an inmate must be free of conduct violations for at least three years. While the majority of Ohio's male death row inmates are currently held at OSP, it is expected that all but a few high security death row inmates will be transferred to the Chillicothe Correctional Institution
by January 2012.
Ohio State Penitentiary currently holds level 5, 4 and 1 inmates. Level 1 inmates are housed outside of the institutional fence in their own building. Inmates placed in segregation are locked down with the exception of showers.
. It was razed in 1998 to make way for the Arena District
. During its time of operation, the penitentiary hosted many notable prisoners including James H. Snook
and the novelist O. Henry
. During the American Civil War
, the prison housed members of John Hunt Morgan
's Confederate
cavalry
, who had been detained following Morgan's Raid
. Morgan and several of his men successfully escaped captivity and returned to the South.
Supermax
Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
in Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
. The facility is designed to hold the state's most dangerous prisoners with poor conduct records.
Throughout the last two centuries, there have been two institutions with the name Ohio Penitentiary or Ohio State Penitentiary; the first prison
Ohio Penitentiary
The Ohio Penitentiary, also known as the Ohio State Penitentiary, or less formally, the Ohio Pen or State Pen, was a prison operated from 1834-1983 in downtown Columbus, Ohio, in what is now known as the Arena District. The prison housed 5,235 prisoners at its peak in 1955...
was in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
.
Level 5 inmates occupy cells that are 6 1/2 x 11 feet and include a sink, toilet, desk, stool, and a slab of concrete with a thin mattress. These inmates are in lock down for twenty-three hours per day in their cell. Inmates in Levels 5B and 5A are classified as those who fail to adapt or those who are active participants/ring leaders of security threat groups.
Level 4 inmates occupy similarly-designed cells but have additional freedom to move about within specific cell blocks. Inmates classified as Level 4B may also exercise within their specific cell block, but are also required to lock down before security staff enter the cell block to perform range checks, serve food, etc. Inmates classified as Level 4A are not subject to this restriction.
Death Row inmates reside in two cell blocks, one of which is an extended privilege block. To be placed in the extended privilege block an inmate must be free of conduct violations for at least three years. While the majority of Ohio's male death row inmates are currently held at OSP, it is expected that all but a few high security death row inmates will be transferred to the Chillicothe Correctional Institution
Chillicothe Correctional Institution
Chillicothe Correction Institution, or CCI, is a state run medium security prison on the west bank of the Scioto River in Chillicothe, Ohio. It is located adjacent to Ross Correctional Institution and Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. The prison is a former military camp, named for Civil...
by January 2012.
Ohio State Penitentiary currently holds level 5, 4 and 1 inmates. Level 1 inmates are housed outside of the institutional fence in their own building. Inmates placed in segregation are locked down with the exception of showers.
Original prison
The original Ohio Penitentiary was located in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. It was razed in 1998 to make way for the Arena District
Arena District
The Arena District is a , mixed-use urban infill, master planned development located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. It is characterized by its New Urbanism layout, mixed-use, and neo-classical American design. The architecture is of the Chicago School style, being influenced by Daniel Burnham in...
. During its time of operation, the penitentiary hosted many notable prisoners including James H. Snook
James H. Snook
James Howard Snook was an Ohio athlete and physician convicted and executed for murder.-Biography:...
and the novelist O. Henry
O. Henry
O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter . O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.-Early life:...
. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the prison housed members of John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...
's Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, who had been detained following Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid was a highly publicized incursion by Confederate cavalry into the Northern states of Indiana and Ohio during the American Civil War. The raid took place from June 11–July 26, 1863, and is named for the commander of the Confederates, Brig. Gen...
. Morgan and several of his men successfully escaped captivity and returned to the South.
External links
- http://www.drc.state.oh.us/Public/osp.htm Ohio State Penitentiary
- http://www.drc.state.oh.us/public/deathrow.htm Ohio Death Row Inmates
- http://www.prisonersolidarity.org/TortureOSP.htm Bill Nichols, "Contemplating Torture," Prisonersolidarity.org, Jan. 27, 2006.
- http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/12807176.htm Andrew Welsh-Huggins, "Federal judge allows state to move death row to Youngstown," The Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, Oct. 4, 2005 - http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1132/is_3_53/ai_77150236 Staughton and Alice Lynd, "Prison Advocacy in a Time of Capital Disaccumulation," The Monthly Review, August 2001.
- http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&ItemID=8438 Daniel SturmDaniel SturmDaniel Sturm is a German-American progressive journalist, researcher and author. He holds a Master's degree in Comparative Literature and the Anthropology of Religion from the University of Tübingen. Originally from Germany, since moving to the United States, Sturm has worked as a reporter,...
, "Ohio's Abu Ghraib," ZNet, August 3, 2005.