Iowa State Penitentiary

The Iowa State Penitentiary (ISP) is a maximum security prison for men located in the Lee County, Iowa community of Fort Madison. In Iowa the prison is known colloquially as Fort Madison and is usually referred to as such by people in the state. The Iowa State Penitentiary is Iowa's only maximum security institution, and used to house violent and repeat male prisoners.

ISP is part of a larger correctional complex. The ISP itself is a 550 person maximum security unit. Also on the complex is a John Bennett Correctional Center - a 169 person medium security unit. Two minimum security farms with about 170 people are located within a few miles of the main complex. The complex also has a ten person multiple care unit, and a 120 bed special needs unit for prisoners with mental illness or other diseases that require special medical care. In total there are currently about 950 inmates and 510 staff members.

The prison offers adult basic, general, and special education services. The prison offers vocational training in upholstering, commercial cooking, automobile repair, printing, and machining. Prisoners also provide cattle, and swine farms. For those with drug or alcohol problems a six month substance abuse program is offered. Alcoholics Anonymous also operates at the complex.

History

The prison was established in 1839, one year after Iowa became a territory, and seven years before it became a state in 1846. ISP was patterned after the penitentiary in Auburn, New York. In 1982 the prison was remodeled, and unitization was introduced at ISP. The unitization divided the large cell blocks into smaller units that were easier to manage.

Before the abolition of capital punishment in Iowa, executions were performed at Fort Madison. An interesting note in the history of the prison was the execution of Victor Feguer. Feguer was a drifter who had murdered Dubuque doctor Edward Bartels. After appeals that even went as far as President John F. Kennedy were denied, Feguer was executed by hanging on March 15, 1963. Feguer was the last inmate in the Federal prison system to be put to death for nearly 40 years until the execution of Timothy McVeigh at the Terre Haute, Indiana Federal Prison in 2002. Feguer also became the last person in Iowa to be executed, soon after his death Iowa abolished the death penalty. While Feguer's death attracted little attention at the time, the execution of McVeigh attracted renewed interest in the Feguer execution.

2005 Escape

On November 14, 2005 two inmates were the first to escape from the facility since 1979. The two men, Robert Joseph Legendre and Martin Shane Moon used upholstery webbing to scale one of the prison's limestone walls. This webbing was used by the prison industries program to make furniture. Both Legendre and Moon were serving life sentences. Moon was convicted of murdering his roommate in 1990. Legendre is serving a life sentence for attempted murder, weapons, and drug charges. Legendre is serving time at the prison as part of a program between the states of Iowa and Nevada.

Following the escape the prison was locked down. The pair was believed to have stolen a 1995 gold Pontiac Bonneville with the license plate number 776-NOW. After escaping the pair split up.

On November 17th, Moon was captured near Chester, Illinois. Authorities discovered him sleeping in a stolen vehicle near Menard State Prison. Around 3 A.M. law enforcement approached the car and asked Moon for his I.D. Moon instead started the vehicle and led police on a short chase. He later left the vehicle and tried to flee on foot, but was apprehended at that point. He waived extradition and was returned to the Fort Madison prison. The next day Legendre was captured in Caruthersville, Missouri. He has yet to be returned to Iowa, and remains in custody in Missouri.

The main reason the two inmates were able to escape was because the wall they scaled was unguarded - the nearest guard tower was unmanned due to low staff levels. Corrections officials have indicated that budget cuts had forced them to lower staffing levels. These escapes have already touched off a political debate in Iowa. Democratic state senator Gene Fraise of Fort Madison suggested that the staffing levels were the primary reason the escapes were successful. Republicans have countered that advances in technology have allowed for prison resources to be redirected.

Former Governor Vilsack had an investigation undertaken into this incident. Several employees were disciplined in the wake of the escapes, and warden Ken Burger was replaced by John Ault - who had been warden at the Anamosa, Iowa prison. Vilsack also asked for recommendations on whether or not a new maximum security institution should be built - which he estimates could cost up to $40 million dollars.

ee also

* List of Iowa state prisons