Michigan State Prison

Michigan State Prison
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	Armory Court and Cooper St., Jackson, Michigan
Coordinates:	42°15′27″N 84°24′21″W / 42.2575°N 84.40583°W / 42.2575; -84.40583Coordinates: 42°15′27″N 84°24′21″W / 42.2575°N 84.40583°W / 42.2575; -84.40583
Built:	1842
Architect:	Scott & Co.; Lake,Robert
Governing body:	State
NRHP Reference#:	79001156[1]
Added to NRHP:	August 10, 1979

Michigan State Prison or Jackson State Prison, which opened in 1839, was the first prison in Michigan. The first permanent structure was constructed there in 1842. In 1926, the prison was relocated to new building, and soon became the largest walled prison in the world with nearly 6,000 inmates. The prison was renamed the State Prison of Southern Michigan in 1935. Beginning in 1988, the prison was carved up into several correctional facilities. The Southern Michigan Correctional Facility, which contained the heart of the 1926 prison structure, was finally closed on November 17, 2007.[1] The prison may remain open to the public for tours. [2] The original 1842 site was used as a Michigan National Guard armory for some time, and now houses residential apartments.

The original prison

The first prison was built in Jackson, Michigan, and became the original nucleus of the city. The enclosed area of the old prison was about 20 acres (81,000 m²). Almost from the beginning, the old prison was chronically overcrowded. In 1876, the problem was mitigated when new prisons were erected in Marquette and Ionia; this only somewhat eased the overcrowding. Throughout its history, new buildings were added continuously. At its peak capacity, the prison housed around 2,200 inmates in four cell blocks and a dormitory. In the older blocks, the cells were very small at only 7 feet (2.1 m) long, by 3 1/3 feet wide, by 6 ½ feet high. In the newer blocks built in 1904, the cells measured 9 feet (2.7 m) x 5 ½ feet x 7 feet (2.1 m). Women prisoners were confined at the Michigan State Prison up until 1852; there had been 10 female prisoners committed up until that date. ^[2]

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  East side gate

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  Northeast tower

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  Building set; note northwest tower in background.

Escapes and riots at the old prison

During the first year after the prison was opened, 35 inmates were admitted, of whom seven managed to escape over the walls. The first mass break happened in 1840. Ten convicts overpowered two of the guards and broke free from the prison walls. They fled to Spring Arbor where they ran into a farmer, James Videto. He attempted to stop them, but the inmates took Videto’s shotgun, beat him with it and left him on the road. After a few days, George Norton, the leader of the escape, was killed by another farmer. All but two of the rest of the convicts were eventually caught. ^[3]

On September 1, 1912, a riot that is described by many as the worst riot in the prison’s history began. The first sign of trouble was when inmates starting throwing plates against the walls of the dining halls. Many fights followed after this and the riot lasted for six days. On the sixth day, the 90 or so inmates that were leading the riot were beaten and the riot eventually came to an end, but not until after the governor had called in the National Guard. ^[4]

The new prison

Despite additions to the old prison, it was evident that eventually a new prison would need to be built. In 1924, a new prison with a capacity of 5,280 inmates was built three miles (5 km) north of the city in Blackman Township. In 1926, 625 prisoners were moved from the old prison to cell block one of the new penitentiary. The name of the prison was changed to the State Prison of Southern Michigan in 1935. The new prison was built on 3,469 acres (14.04 km²) with an enclosed area of 57.6 acres (233,000 m²). The prison was enclosed by a concrete wall that was 33.9 feet (10.3 m) high. The wall stretched around the entire prison, with parts joined together at the ends of the cell houses. There were 12 watch towers and 16 cellblocks. Inmates were housed in 2,090 inside cells, 2,072 medium security cells, 1,312 outside cells, and 268 quarantine and detention cells, for a total of 5,742 cells. All of the cells were 10 feet (3.0 m) long, by 6 feet (1.8 m) wide, by 7 ½ feet high. ^[5]

Riots and escapes at the new prison

In 1975 inmate Dale Remling attempted a daring escape from the prison by flying out of the prison in a helicopter. Morris Colosky, a friend of Remling’s, paid helicopter pilot Richard Jackson to fly him from Plymouth to Lansing. Five minutes into the flight, he pulled a knife on the pilot and told him to change his course and head towards Jackson. They flew to the prison and landed in the yard where they picked up Remling. They then flew six miles (10 km) away to where two getaway cars were located. Once on the ground, Remling sprayed mace in the pilot’s eyes to disable him, but he still managed to fly the helicopter and follow one of the cars while radioing for help. The car was caught by police only a few minutes later. The original escapee got away but surrendered himself to authorities over the weekend at a bar just north of Jackson. ^[6]

On May 26, 1981, a riot took place at the prison around 10:00 in the morning and did not end until nightfall. Around 800 inmates from the maximum-security block took over two of the cell blocks at the prison and set fire to many parts of the prison. The inmates refused to go back into their cells. A retired corrections officer by the name of Big Joe Jackson was called in to hear the inmates grievances because he was someone they respected/trusted to speak on their behalf. Two hundred corrections officers and 165 local law enforcement officers worked to keep the riot under control. When it was finally ended without loss of life, the riot had lasted for almost 11 hours, partially due to Big Joe Jackson, whose thoughts on dealing with people were "Often times force is not needed when common sense and simple respect will do." ^[7]

As a result of the riot, two corrections officers and the deputy warden at the prison were fired. Also, fourteen corrections officers were suspended for their actions during the riot. The deputy dismissed was Willie Cason, deputy warden of the northside unit. He was dismissed because it was discovered that he had prior knowledge that the riot might happen after a small riot that had taken place three days earlier. ^[8]

Controversy

In 2006, an inmate’s death at the Southern Michigan Correctional Facility gained national attention. Timothy Joe Souders died on August 6, 2006, after spending four days in a segregation cell. Souders, who suffered from a severe mental disorder, was originally transferred to the segregation cell and placed in soft restraints on July 31 for disobeying orders. After he broke out of the soft restraints three days later, prison guards restrained him on a concrete slab. Souders went through the days being restrained in a cell lying naked in his own urine with temperatures rising higher than 100 degrees. After the incident, prison officials made a change to restraint policies so that misbehaving inmates could only be shackled for a maximum of six hours. A federal judge later said that the conditions Souders went through were “torture.” The judge also said that the six hour maximum was too much and put a complete ban on any punitive restraints in Jackson prisons.^[9]

Michigan Stands on Principle

Despite the foregoing difficulties in maintaining and controlling violent offenders, Michigan remains steadfast in its opposition to the death penalty, as it was the first U.S. state to abolish the death penalty by legislation (in 1846) and the first english speaking territory in the world to do so, and the Michigan Constitution currently contains a prohibition on the enactment of any law providing for the penalty of death.^[10]

References

Michigan portal

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ "Handbook of American Prisons, 1926
3. ^ "Southern Michigan Prison Century Old", Jackson Citizen Patriot, March 22, 1937
4. ^ "Southern Michigan Prison Century Old", Jackson Citizen Patriot, March 22, 1937
5. ^ Handbook of American Prisons, 1933, Volume 1
6. ^ "Jailbreaks: Help From Hollywood", Newsweek, June 16, 1975
7. ^ "State Police Quell 2D Riot in 5 Days by Inmates at a Prison in Michigan", The New York Times, May 27, 1981
8. ^ "3 Dismissed, 14 Suspended After Michigan Prison Riots", The New York Times, June 16, 1981
9. ^ "Inmate's Death in Solitary Cell Prompts Judge to Ban Restraints", The New York Times, November 15, 2006
10. ^ Mich. Const. art. IV, s. 46