Mid-State Correctional Facility

Mid-State Correctional Facility is located in the Town of Marcy, between the cities of Rome and Utica in New York State.

Before Mid-State was a prison, it was a hospital for both the mentally ill and mentally handicapped. There was a so-called “25-year building spree” in the prison system, when the number of prisoners dramatically increased. This was when Mid-State opened in 1983.

Mid-State has grown and now includes maximum security blocks. These blocks are called "S" blocks, and consist of prisoners living in little box-shaped rooms. These prisoners are let out for only one hour during the day, and remain isolated for the remaining 23. The place where they are allowed to go outside mimics their room except that it is outside, and surrounded by a fence. Even though Mid-State has a maximum security building it is still considered to only be a medium security prison. Mid-State cleared the way for its neighbor, Marcy Correctional Facility located across the street, and two others the Oneida Correctional Facility and Mohawk Correctional Facility. Some of the buildings at Mid-State date back 70 years.

Phase One

During the first phase of the prison, Mid-State shared its place with a hospital that took care of the criminally insane. The hospital was known as the Central New York Psychiatric Center.

Phase Two

The second phase took place in 1986. This increased the size of the site that the hospital and Mid-State had to share. Eventually the whole site was left to Mid-State and the Central New York Psychiatric Center. Since 1983 there have not been any escapes or other troublesome incidents. There are 87,100 feet (26,500 m) of coiled razor sharp wire to prevent prisoners from escaping.

Mid-State today

Mid-State has provided many jobs to people in New York. Mid-State consists of over 1,000 acres (4.0 km²) of land, with buildings dating back to the 1920s. Among the older buildings, there are many new and improved facilities as well. The structures of the new buildings maintain the same look as the original, consisting of red brick. There are two new buildings, the medical building and the "S" block, which is the only maximum security part of the prison. There is also a large recreation yard that has a racquetball court, basketball court, football field, and also a gym, which the prisoners use the most. In addition to the outdoor area there are many other things to keep up around the prison, and it is the inmate’s responsibility to take care of and maintain them all. For the good prisoners and the ones who are only in for a short time, they are taken out on a prison bus around Oneida County. They help clean up the city and surrounding areas by picking up garbage along the sides of the roads, mowing church lawns, and helping with other outdoor maintenance.

Driving to Mid-State one enters a long line of trees on both sides of the entrance road. There are also underground tunnels that were once used to transport difficult patients. They are no longer used today. Recently in the news there will be 300 dangerous sex offenders of New York transported into the Central New York Psychiatric Center and Mid-State by 2008, as Mid-State is now a level one maximum facility.

Notable prisoners

• Gerald Garson, former New York Supreme Court Justice, convicted of accepting bribes
• Chinx Drugz, hip-hop artist
• Cormega, hip-hop artist
• Prodigy, hip-hop artist
• Dennis Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco International
• Alan Hevesi, former Comptroller of the State of New York, convicted of taking bribes in return for investing in firms for the New York State Retirement Fund
• Jeffrey Atkins (Ja Rule), rapper and actor that has sold over 40 million records worldwide. In July 2007, Ja Rule was arrested for gun and drug possession charges.r

References

1. New York State Department of Correctional Services. Retrieved October 9, 2006, from http://www.docs.state.ny.us/