The facility was originally known as the Kansas State Penitentiary (KSP) and was built by prison labor in the 1860s. The name was changed to Lansing Correctional Facility in 1990. Construction of the cell houses was completed in 1867. The facility began housing Kansas inmates felons in July 1868 and housed felons from Oklahoma from 1889 to 1909.
The prison stopped admitting prisoners temporarily in the spring of 1896 and January 1900 as a result of the spread of smallpox in Kansas.
A New Cemetery for the Kansas Penitentiary at Lansing
Leavenworth, Dec. 6,1899 Warden Tomlinson of the Kansas penitentiary has a force of prisoners moving the "convict graveyard." This graveyard is close to the northeast corner of the main prison wall, and within a stone's throw of the women's department. It became necessary to use the ground and part of the clay in the graveyard for the new penitentiary brick plant. The work of moving the bodies has been in progress several days, and if the weather continues pleasant, it will be completed during the week. In all, 130 bodies of convicts were buried in the Kansas penitentiary graveyard. Everybody except one is that of a convict. The exception is that of a stranger who died near the prison walls where he was trying to seek shelter from the cold two years ago. The new graveyard is on a ridge a quarter of a mile southeast of the prison walls, and is a beautiful place overlooking the surrounding country.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the facility was unable to control spread of the virus. On 9 April, inmates began to riot citing the lack of health care. Reports indicated the inmates were armed with edged weapons. Video of the unrest reached the national media. By 29 April, two prisoners had died of the disease.[1] In late April, large-scale testing began indicating over three-quarters of the inmates were infected. The Department of Corrections asked the governor to release prisoners near the end of their sentences in order provide some level of social distancing. Governor Laura Kelly took no action.[2]
Facilities
LCF consists of two units with different levels of security. The Central Unit includes an 11-acre (45,000m2) maximum security facility and a 46-acre (190,000m2) medium security facility. The East Unit includes an 85-acre (340,000m2) minimum security facility.
Lansing Correctional Facility East A detailed description
Known locally as "The Hill" due to its location on top of the higher terrain east of Lansing Correctional Facility main compound. It comprises 10 structures. The dorms or units "R", "S", "T", "W", and "X". The designation of "S dorm" and "X Unit" are used to reduce confusion in radio traffic. Each inmate is required to wear a color-coded ID card at all times; staff can quickly identify in which dorm an inmate lives by the ID color.
DORMS: "S" & "W" Each share the same basic layout of 2 floors, 96 inmates housed in a dormitory setting of 48 per floor. Each Floor separated by a Dayroom and shower area. Each side houses 24 inmates in 6 cubicles of 4 inmates each. Inmates have access to T.V. at their bunks if they can purchase one from the canteen/property or in the Dayroom. All entertainment devices require use of personal sound equipment (headphones) This is only available to Level 2 and 3 inmates. "W" currently houses the "Brothers in Blue" program formally known as "IFI". "S" Is general population and has no special housing designation. "S" basement contains the compounds "Work Recall Center" where inmate workers who leave the compound for facility work crews or private industries are screened for contraband prior to leaving or reentering the facility. "W" basement houses the compound library that is handicapped accessible. This is also the location of the East Unit Minimum Maintenance Crew Office and Shop.
"R" & "T" Dorms. These are not laid out like the others and they are specially modified to accommodate services. "R" dorm second floor is pretty much standard with the exception of having individual shower stalls. "R" dorm first floor Houses inmates and a secured door separates them from the "Visitation Reception" area. This is where all non-disabled visitors are screened prior to entering the compound. During the week on Tuesday and Thursday Evening this area is used by the Staff an inmate workers to distribute property purchased by inmates or large mail not receivable by the normal mail system. "R" Basement houses the Crew 11 office and Bike Shop.
"R" & "T" also house mainly "private industry" or hourly workers. Hourly workers include KCI (Kansas Correctional Industries), Aramark Food Service, and a select few Facility maintenance jobs. Private industry inmates from East Unit include Impact Design LLC Warehouse, Heatron, Zephyr, and Laser Apparel. These PI jobs pay minimum wage and more and allow the inmate to pay fines and child support while serving his sentence. "T" also is where the Unit Team Managers office, Resource Center, and GED classroom are located. In the event that an inmate should lose his job he is moved out of these dorms to make room for other workers. "T" dorm because of its location is the only dorm to have air conditioning.
"X" Unit comprises 4 pods housing 64 inmates each. Pod 1 is known as the "dog run," as this is where the dog resocialization program is housed. This is also the pod that houses disabled inmates and their inmate aides.
Other Structures: Barber Shop and Sheet Exchange. Very much self-explanatory.
Admin building- houses administrative staff and classrooms for programs and reentry. Basement houses the East Clinic/Sick Call and the upper floors are offices and East hill Chapel. The admin building and Chow hall are physically connected, although clearly of different construction. In between is the inmate canteen, a small dining hall (mainly used as a classroom) and the main chow hall and kitchen facility. "T" dorm being located in the basement of the Chow Hall.
Phillips hall is the compound gym and visit center. A multi-use area that has a basketball court, concession area for visit and available to inmates during the week (Castle Cuisine). This also has a stage that is utilized for programs and entertainment from time to time. Out in front is the "outside visit area". This area has picnic tables and a small play structure for kids to play on during visitation.
Next to Phillips hall is the Annex Building that houses the "BIB" computer lab. Behind those is the compound Laundry that opened in 2012.
The final Structure is the East Control Center. This houses the central control and security staff offices (Captain, Lt, Etc.). In the "basement" of the control building accessible only via the outside is the Dilution room where all cleaning supplies to the porters are issued and the Recreational yard equipment room.
INMATE JOBS: There are too many individual inmate jobs to list. The general list is as follows with some examples: Utility work crews: mowing and clean up crews KCI: Farm, Warehouse, Finishing, Etc. Maintenance crews: Plumbing, Electrical, Construction, Concrete Vehicle maintenance and Heavy Equipment. Paint storage and Small Appliance Repair Communications (Cable, phone, security system repair and installations) Steam plant and Fire and Safety.
Inmates at East unit populate the Work crews of the Richard Christy Memorials Maintenance Complex located in the valley between the compounds. These crews perform maintenance in all areas of all 3 security areas and must meet security requirements before being allowed on these crews. This houses the majority of the maintenance and construction crew shops and storage areas. Also in this valley are KCI farm main farm area, K9 kennels for security, staff gym and the gun range.
East Unit has a yard with weight pit and track and a multi use field for sports. There are two basketball courts and a horseshoe pit as well. These units have since been closed down due to the opening of the newly built minimum facility as well as a newly built Maximum and Medium housing units built where the old medium once was.
Capital punishment
Executions of state, federal, and military prisoners were performed by hanging at KSP until 1965.[3] When the death penalty was reinstated in Kansas in 1994, it was determined that executions would be performed at LCF by lethal injection.[4] No executions have been conducted since it was reinstated, although a lethal injection chamber was constructed in 2001.
Programs
The InnerChange Freedom Initiative is offered at LCF.[5] Since PrisonFellowship has withdrawn funding, the program has continued on under the name Brothers in Blue.
Notable prisoners
Lowell Andrews, murdered his parents and sister on November 28, 1958, a crime for which he was later executed.
Perry Smith and Richard Hickock were convicted for the 1959 murder of four members of the Herbert Clutter family and hanged in 1965. The story of the Clutter murders and the execution of Hickock and Smith drew national attention as a result of the Truman Capote novel, In Cold Blood.
The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) is a state agency of Mississippi that operates prisons. It has its headquarters in Jackson. As of 2020 Burl Cain is the commissioner.
The United States Disciplinary Barracks (USDB), colloquially known as Leavenworth, is a military correctional facility located on Fort Leavenworth, a United States Army post in Kansas. It is one of two major prisons built on Fort Leavenworth property, the other is the military Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, which opened on 5 October 2010. It reports to the United States Army Corrections Command and its commandant usually holds the rank of colonel.
The United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth is a medium security U.S. penitentiary in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It also includes a satellite federal prison camp (FPC) for minimum-security male offenders.
Saskatchewan Penitentiary is a Medium Security Facility with Maximum Security areas. It is located on a walled 20-acre parcel of land in the Rural Municipality of Prince Albert No. 461, one kilometre west of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. It opened in 1911 built on the site of a former residential school run by the Anglican Church of Canada.
A super-maximum security (supermax) or administrative maximum (ADX) prison is a "control-unit" prison, or a unit within prisons, which represents the most secure level of custody in the prison systems of certain countries.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Thomson, formerly United States Penitentiary, Thomson and Thomson Correctional Center, is a low-security federal prison located in Thomson, Illinois. It has an area of about 146 acres (59 ha) and comprises 15 buildings. The facility is enclosed by a 15-foot (4.6 m), 7000 volt electric fence surrounded by an additional 12-foot (3.7 m) exterior fence covered with razor wire. Thomson has eight cellhouses with a rated capacity of 2,100 beds—1,900 high-security SMU beds and 200 minimum-security beds at the onsite camp—and according to BOP officials, the potential to use some of its high-security rated capacity to house up to 400 ADX inmates. From its completion in 2001 to 2006, it remained empty. By 2009, only the minimum-security section housed prisoners.
The El Dorado Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison located east of the city of El Dorado in rural Prospect Township, Butler County, Kansas, United States.
The New Jersey State Prison (NJSP), formerly known as Trenton State Prison, is a state men's prison in Trenton, New Jersey operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. It is the oldest prison in New Jersey and one of the oldest correctional facilities in the United States. It is the state's only completely maximum security institution, housing the most difficult and/or dangerous male offenders in the inmate population. NJSP operates two security units and provides a high level of custodial supervision and control. Professional treatment services, such as education and social work, are a priority at the facility. The Bureau of State Use Industries operated the bedding and clothing shops that were once located in Shop Hall at the facility. These industries have been relocated to South Woods State Prison.
Thomas Edward Silverstein was an American criminal who spent the last 42 years of his life in prison after being convicted of four separate murders while imprisoned for armed robbery, one of which was overturned. Silverstein spent the last 36 years of his life in solitary confinement for killing corrections officer Merle Clutts at the Marion Penitentiary in Illinois. Prison authorities described him as a brutal killer and a former leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. Silverstein maintained that the dehumanizing conditions inside the prison system contributed to the three murders he committed. He was held "in a specially designed cell" in what is called "Range 13" at ADX Florence federal penitentiary in Colorado. He was the longest-held prisoner in solitary confinement within the Bureau of Prisons at the time of his death. Correctional officers refused to talk to Silverstein out of respect for Clutts.
Menard Correctional Center, known prior to 1970 as Southern Illinois Penitentiary, is an Illinois state prison located in the town of Chester in Randolph County, Illinois. It houses maximum-security and high medium-security adult males. The average daily population as of 2007 is 3,410.
The Oklahoma State Penitentiary, nicknamed "Big Mac", is a prison of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections located in McAlester, Oklahoma, on 1,556 acres (6.30 km2). Opened in 1908 with 50 inmates in makeshift facilities, today the prison holds more than 750 male offenders, the vast majority of which are maximum-security inmates. They also hold many death row prisoners.
The Kentucky State Penitentiary (KSP), also known as the "Castle on the Cumberland," is a maximum security and supermax prison with capacity for 856 prisoners located in Eddyville, Kentucky on Lake Barkley on the Cumberland River, about 4.8 kilometres (3 mi) from downtown Eddyville. It is managed by the Kentucky Department of Corrections. Completed in 1886, it is Kentucky's oldest prison facility and the only commonwealth-owned facility with supermax units. The penitentiary houses Kentucky's male death row inmates and the commonwealth's execution facility. As of 2015 it had approximately 350 staff members and an annual operating budget of $20 million. In most cases, inmates are not sent directly to the penitentiary after sentencing, but are sent there because of violent or disruptive behavior committed in other less secure correctional facilities in the commonwealth. This was Kentucky's second penitentiary: the first was made uninhabitable from a flood in 1937.
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is an agency of the state of Oklahoma. DOC is responsible for the administration of the state prison system. It has its headquarters in Oklahoma City, across the street from the headquarters of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. The Board of Corrections are appointees: five members are appointed by the Governor; two members are appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate; and two members are appointed by the Speaker of the house of Representatives. The board is responsible for setting the policies of the Department, approving the annual budget request, and working with the Director of Corrections on material matters of the agency. T. Hastings Siegfried is the current chairman of the board. The director, who serves at the pleasure of the governor, is the chief executive of the department. The current director of Corrections is Scott Crow, who was appointed after Director Joe Allbaugh resigned his post on June 13, 2019. Crow was confirmed by the Oklahoma State Senate as director in May 2020.
The Union Correctional Institution, formerly referred to as Florida State Prison, Raiford Prison and State Prison Farm is a Florida Department of Corrections state prison located in unincorporated Union County, Florida, near Raiford.
The Missouri State Penitentiary was a prison in Jefferson City, Missouri, that operated from 1836 to 2004. Part of the Missouri Department of Corrections, it served as the state of Missouri's primary maximum security institution. Before it closed, it was the oldest operating penal facility west of the Mississippi River. It was replaced by the Jefferson City Correctional Center, which opened on September 15, 2004.
The Tucker Unit is a prison in Dudley Lake Township, unincorporated Jefferson County, Arkansas, 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Pine Bluff. It is operated by the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC). Tucker is one of the state of Arkansas's "parent units" for male prisoners; it serves as one of several units of initial assignment for processed male prisoners. It is in proximity to, but not within, the Tucker census-designated place.
The South Dakota State Penitentiary is a state prison located in South Dakota's largest city, Sioux Falls. The building's industry shop makes several things for the state, including woodwork and license plates. The State Penitentiary also houses South Dakota's death row for men and the state's execution chamber.
A prison cemetery is a graveyard reserved for the dead bodies of prisoners. Generally, the remains of inmates who are not claimed by family or friends are interred in prison cemeteries and include convicts executed for capital crimes.
The British Columbia Penitentiary was a federal maximum security prison located in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. The BC Penitentiary operated for 102 years, from 1878 until it was decommissioned in 1980. It was the first federal penal institution west of Manitoba. The Gatehouse was sold on September 8,2021 and was renamed Governors Castle by new owners. Colliers international Appraised the Building at $8,950,000, additional open space for $4,500,00, totalling $13,450,000 at time of purchase by Governors Court Inc.
The Leavenworth Detention Center was a privately run maximum-security federal prison located in Leavenworth, Kansas. The facility was owned and operated by CoreCivic formerly named Corrections Corporation of America under contract with the United States Marshals Service.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
