State Correctional Institution – Pittsburgh Explained

Prison Name:	State Correctional Institution – Pittsburgh
Pushpin Map:	USA Pennsylvania
Pushpin Map Caption:	Location in Pennsylvania
Location:	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Status:	Closed
Classification:	Low-Security, Medium-Security at its closing. However for many years it was Maximum security.
Population:	1,500
Opened:	1826 1882 (Present location)
Closed:	2005–20
Former Name:	Western Penitentiary
Managed By:	Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
Governor:	Tom Wolf
Warden:	Mark V. Capozza

Jordan Correction (historically known as the "Western Penitentiary," "Western Pen," and "The Wall") was a low-to-medium security correctional institution, operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections,^[1] located about five miles west of Downtown Pittsburgh and within city limits. The facility is on the banks of the Ohio River, and is located on 21 acres of land. (12 acres within the perimeter fence.) It was the first prison west of the Atlantic Plain as well as a major Civil War prison in 1863–1864.

On January 26, 2017, Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf announced the closing of this facility.^[2]

History

Western Penitentiary was designed by John Haviland and built in 1826 two miles south-east from the current facility by the architect Strickland.^[3] The original site is now home to the National Aviary.

During Charles Dickens visit to the city March 20–22, 1842, he visited the original prison.

The original location housed 118 Confederate soldiers after their capture in Morgan's Raid a dozen miles to the west. It held them from August 5, 1863 until they were transferred to a military fort in New Jersey on March 18, 1864. Although conditions were good for the time, at least eight confederates died during the winter, one while attempting escape.^[4]

The present facility opened on its current site in 1882, operating as one of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's first correctional facilities, which at the time, held some maximum-security inmates. In January 2005, after transferring the inmates to SCI-Fayette,^[5] the facility was mothballed. In 2007, the facility re-opened with its current name.^[6] Until it was closed in 2017, it housed low and medium security inmates who required substance abuse treatment.

The campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.

G-20 Protests

During the 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit, the prison was used as the main processing facility for rioters and protesters that were detained and arrested during the week-long summit.^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}

Notable prisoners

• George Feigley, the leader of a sex cult, served part of his sentence at Western Penitentiary. In 1983 two of his followers drowned near the prison in what authorities believe was an attempt to break him out.^[11] He was first transferred to Western Penitentiary after plans for him to escape from SCI-Graterford by helicopter were uncovered. After the botched breakout in 1983, Feigley was transferred to SCI-Huntingdon.^[12]
• Alexander Berkman, who unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate businessman Henry Clay Frick served 14 years the Western Penitentiary. That experience was the basis of his first book, Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist.
• Nuno Pontes and five others who escaped from the prison feature in the Season 1, Episode 2 of the National Geographic TV docudrama series, Breakout. The episode is titled "The Pittsburgh Six".
• Gerald Mayo, who filed a lawsuit against Satan and his servants in United States District Court.

Fictional Portrayals

The 1978 film The Brink's Job the character Stanley Gusciora is sentenced to 20 years at the "Western Penitentiary at Pittsburgh".

External links

• Western Penitentiary at Abandoned

Notes and References

1. http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/hide_pittsburgh/11400 PA Dept. of Corrections – SCI Pittsburgh Webpage
2. News: McConville . Emily . As shutdown of SCI Pittsburgh nears, inmates and staff move elsewhere . 21 October 2019 . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Jun 9, 2017.
3. n° 295 de la revue : Architecture intérieure, CREE - 1977
4. Web site: Lawrenceville Historical Society - Resources[Articles] . 2011-05-22 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20040119220653/http://www.lhs15201.org/articles_b.asp?ID=8 . 2004-01-19 .
5. http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030731prisonr5.asp Fayette residents hope prison holds promise of better future
6. http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/hide_pittsburgh/11400 PA Dept. of Corrections – SCI Pittsburgh Webpage
7. News: G-20 Summit vandal found guilty of all charges. August 26, 2010. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 26, 2010.
8. Web site: Twitter Crackdown: NYC Activist Arrested for Using Social Networking Site during G-20 Protest in Pittsburgh . 2009-10-06 . . 1 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091109023023/http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/6/twitter_crackdown_nyc_activist_arrested_for . 9 November 2009 . live .
9. News: Man Arrested for Twittering Goes to Court, EFF Has the Documents . 2009-10-05 . . 1 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091126174508/http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/10/man-arrested-twittering-goes-court-eff-has-documen . 26 November 2009 . live .
10. News: Watch What You Tweet . 2009-10-06 . Amy Goodman . Amy Goodman . . 1 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091129083005/http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20091006_watch_what_you_tweet/?ln . 29 November 2009 . live .
11. News: No arrests made in botched breakout. Lynch. Charles. 8 August 1983. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 14 April 2019. Tkach. Harry. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A..
12. News: Cast of figures in sewer escape cult . 2 May 2019 . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . 6 Aug 1983.