State Correctional Institution – Pittsburgh

State Correctional Institution – Pittsburgh (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, located[1] 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.

State Correctional Institution – Pittsburgh
Location in Pennsylvania
LocationPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°28′13″N 80°2′28″W
StatusClosed
Security classLow-Security, Medium-Security
Population1,500
Opened1826
1882 (Present location)
Closed2005–20
Former nameWestern Penitentiary
Managed byPennsylvania Department of Corrections
GovernorTom Wolf
WardenMark V. Capozza

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

History

Western Penitentiary was originally built in 1826 a few blocks east of the current facility by the architect Strickland.[3]

During Charles Dickens visit to the city March 20–22, 1842, he visited the original prison and some scholars believe he based the classic A Christmas Carol on conditions at the facility.

Group of "Morgan's Men" while prisoners of war in Western Penitentiary, Pennsylvania: (l to r) Captain William E. Curry, 8th Kentucky Cavalry; Lieutenant Andrew J. Church, 8th Kentucky Cavalry; Lieutenant Leeland Hathaway, 14th Kentucky Cavalry; Lieutenant Henry D. Brown, 10th Kentucky Cavalry; Lieutenant William Hays, 20th Kentucky Cavalry. All were captured with John Hunt Morgan in Ohio. 1863

The original location is also famous for housing 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] It houses low and medium security inmates who require substance abuse treatment.

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]
  • 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".

Fictional Portrayals

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

References
  1. PA Dept. of Corrections – SCI Pittsburgh Webpage(Retrieved: 5/4/2011)
  2. McConville, Emily (Jun 9, 2017). "As shutdown of SCI Pittsburgh nears, inmates and staff move elsewhere". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  3. n° 295 de la revue : Architecture intérieure, CREE - 1977
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2004-01-19. Retrieved 2011-05-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Fayette residents hope prison holds promise of better future Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Retrieved:5/4/2011)
  6. PA Dept. of Corrections – SCI Pittsburgh Webpage(Retrieved: 5/4/2011)
  7. "G-20 Summit vandal found guilty of all charges". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 26, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  8. "Twitter Crackdown: NYC Activist Arrested for Using Social Networking Site during G-20 Protest in Pittsburgh". Democracy Now!. 2009-10-06. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  9. "Man Arrested for Twittering Goes to Court, EFF Has the Documents". Electronic Frontier Foundation. 2009-10-05. Archived from the original on 26 November 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  10. Amy Goodman (2009-10-06). "Watch What You Tweet". truthdig. Archived from the original on 29 November 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  11. Lynch, Charles; Tkach, Harry (8 August 1983). "No arrests made in botched breakout". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  12. "Cast of figures in sewer escape cult". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 6 Aug 1983. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
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