Joliet Correctional Center
The Joliet Correctional Center (also known as the Joliet Prison ) is a prison in Joliet , Illinois . It was in operation from 1858 to 2002. It was later the location of the first and second seasons of the US television series Prison Break .
history
The prison was built just outside the city limits with the help of inmates and cost a total of $ 75,000. It could accommodate a maximum of 761 inmates. Right next to the prison there was a limestone deposit from which the stones for the building were extracted. In 1858 the reformatory went into operation. It replaced the Alton prison, which was used from 1833 to 1860. The limestone buildings were designed by William W. Boyington, who also designed the Chicago Water Tower , the Hegeler Carus Mansion and the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield . At the time it was the largest prison in the United States and became a model for other new prison buildings. The first 33 prisoners arrived in May 1858.
In the American Civil War , prisoners of war and convicted criminals were imprisoned at the same time . In 1865 the first law enforcement officer was killed, his name was Joseph Clark. In 1872 the number of inmates rose to 1,239, which was the highest number in a single prison at the time.
In 1896 a women's prison was added to the facility, but it was closed again in 1932. The modernization of the prison was slow. Until 1910 there were neither toilets nor running water. The Stateville Correctional Center , built from 1917 to 1925, was supposed to replace the Joliet, but that never happened. Both prisons continued to operate.
The number of prisoners rose in 1990 to a high of 1,300. In 2000 it was 1156 with a staff of 541 people.
Budget cuts and the dilapidated condition of the buildings led to the closure of the Joliet Correctional Center in February 2002 . All inmates and most of the staff were taken to the newly built section of the Stateville Correctional Center maximum security in Crest Hill . The Joliet served as a temporary prison for new convicts until February 21, 2011.
Executions
For years, the majority of Illinois executions were carried out at Joliet, and the most widely used electric chair in Illinois was located here. In addition, the first electric execution in Illinois took place at Joliet.
Known inmates
- George Moran (1893-1957); Mobster of the North Side Gang in Chicago , Moran was incarcerated from 1918 to 1921 and tried to escape prison with the help of accomplices and dynamite.
- Ottilie Klimek (1876–1936); was a serial killer in Chicago.
- Nathan Leopold Junior (1904–1971) and Richard Loeb (1905–1936) ; In 1924 they both murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks. Her act was noteworthy because it was mainly motivated by the students' ambition to commit the perfect crime. The crime also played a role in the US debate on the death penalty.
- John Wayne Gacy (1942-1994); was an American serial killer convicted of the rape and killing of 33 boys and young men between 1972 and 1978.
Location for film and television
The Joliet Prison was filming location for:
- 1980: Blues Brothers (The Blues Brothers)
- 1988: Red Heat
- 2005: Derailed (Derailed)
- 2005–2006: Prison Break (TV series)
- 2006: Let's Go to Prison (Let's Go to Prison)
- 2017: Mindhunter (TV series, episode 1x09 Terrifying Interview )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Illinois' Electric Chairs 1928 - 1962 ( Memento of May 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English).
- ^ First man to die in Illinois' electric chair ( Memento of May 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ Other locations for the Blues Brothers: Chicago Filming Locations ( Memento from May 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English).
Coordinates: 41 ° 32 ′ 49 " N , 88 ° 4 ′ 27" W.