- Northern Correctional Institution
-
Northern Correctional Institution is a high-security state prison in Somers,[1][2] in the northern part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The prison houses the state's male death row inmates and convicts serving long sentences for violent crimes.
It is the designated restrictive housing facility for the Connecticut Department of Correction, managing those inmates who have demonstrated a serious inability to adjust to confinement. Particularly those that pose a threat to the safety and security of the community, staff, and other inmates.
The institution Group Safety Threat Member program was relocated from the Garner Correctional Institution in order to centralize restrictive housing functions. In response to this, and with a commensurate increase in the number of young offenders, the facility more than doubled the size of its educational staff in order to serve those inmates who fall under federal mandates and require special education.
Contents
History
The Northern C.I. was completed in January 1995 and received its first inmates in March 1995.[citation needed] Also in 1995, Connecticut's death row inmates were moved to the Northern C.I. from the Osborn Correctional Institution.[3]
In February 1997, the Chronic Disciplinary Unit arrived at Northern.
In November 1999, the Special Risk Group Threat population arrived.
In August 2000, Warden Larry J. Myers's face was slashed by inmate John Barletta, leaving him seriously injured. Barletta was serving 60 years for a 1992 drive-by shooting murder in Norwalk and life in prison without parole for the murder of his cellmate in 1999 at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown, Connecticut.
In November 2000, the Chronic Disciplinary Unit was removed from the facility.
In September 2004, the Chronic Disciplinary Unit was returned to the facility.
As of July 1, 2007, the prison has 453 inmates. The prison is controlled by 310 personnel from the Connecticut Department of Correction under the supervision of Warden Jeffrey E. McGill and Deputy Wardens Terence Rose, Valerie Light and Neftali Rodriguez.[4]
List of past wardens
- 1995-1995 David May
- 1995-1996 Robert Kupec
- 1996-1999 Giovanny Gomez
- 1999-2003 Larry J. Myers
- 2003-2006 Wayne Choinski
- 2007-2009 Jeffrey E. McGill
- 2009-2011 Angel Quiros
Current - Edward Maldonado
Death row and "Old Sparky"
Connecticut legislated lethal injection as its sole method of execution in 1995.[5] The last person executed by electrocution was Joseph "Mad Dog" Taborsky in May, 1960.[6] Connecticut's "Old Sparky" has not been tested since it was moved from Wethersfield to the {Somers State Prison 1962-1994} {Osborn Correctional Institution 1994- present]] in Somers in 1962, and prison officials claim the prison's electrical system cannot handle it.[7]
Notable prisoners
- Steven Joseph Hayes, perpetrator of the Cheshire, Connecticut, home invasion murders[8]
References
- ^ "Somers town, Connecticut." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.
- ^ "Zoning Map." Somers, Connecticut. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.
- ^ "Northern Correctional Institution." Connecticut Department of Correction. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.
- ^ Connecticut Department of Corrections, Northern Correctional Institution Website
- ^ http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/rpt/2005-R-0136.htm
- ^ http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/10/18/news/doc4cbbd3b030403738863502.txt?viewmode=fullstory
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/27/nyregion/execution-would-be-the-first-since-1960.html
- ^ " HAYES,STEVEN JOSEPH." Connecticut Department of Correction. Retrieved on November 10, 2010.
External links
- Northern Correctional Institution (Connecticut Department of Correction)
Coordinates: 42°01′00″N 72°29′49″W / 42.0166°N 72.4969°W
Categories:- Prisons in Connecticut
- Somers, Connecticut
- Buildings and structures in Tolland County, Connecticut
- Capital punishment in the United States
- United States prison stubs
- Connecticut building and structure stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
