By Shannon Prather
Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
St. Paul, Minn. — It was the day after Christmas 2004 and the bars of the segregation unit in the nearly century-old Stillwater prison couldn’t contain the inmates’ fury.
Convicts -- some of the most disruptive and dangerous in the prison -- plugged their toilets and sinks, flooding the wing. A fire burned on one of the cellblocks. Inmates laughed, booed and bellowed from their cells as correctional officers tried to contain the damage.
Today, inmates will file into the new state-of-the-art segregation unit at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater that prison officials say will prevent future mayhem.
Crews finished construction of the 60,000-square-foot segregation unit this summer. The unit, with 150 cells, increases segregation capacity by 40, improves guard safety and better prevents inmates from wreaking havoc. The state Legislature funded the $19.6 million project.
Problems With The Old / The old segregation unit was in a cellblock in the original prison built in 1914. Segregated inmates were housed in four levels of barred cells overlooking an open area.
“We had staff getting assaulted through the bars,” said Stillwater Prison Warden John King. “Offenders would throw water or urine through the bars.”
Correctional officers had to manually lock the cells with a key, which was both time-consuming and fraught with risk.
The old unit wasn’t equipped with cameras. Older pipes and electrical wiring made the utilities more vulnerable to tampering. And
there wasn’t enough space.
Innovations / The new segregation unit is built like a wheel, with a control room in the center and cellblocks branching off. The unit features more than 100 security cameras, wider hallways and solid cell doors that prevent inmates from throwing items, grabbing at guards or passing items to neighboring prisoners. The cells now lock electronically from the control bubble. Water and power to each cell can be controlled electronically, and correctional officers can speak to inmates in their cells via intercom.
Videoconferencing facilities mean guards no longer must escort inmates to see visitors.
The cells are slightly bigger, measuring 7 by 11 feet, compared with the older cells at 6 by 10 feet. That’s to meet updated codes for health and living standards.
Unlike the rest of the prison, the new segregation unit includes air conditioning as part of its climate-control system. The warden said climate control was necessary because of the solid doors, which severely limit airflow. The new electronic equipment also could overheat without climate control.
The cells’ amenities haven’t changed much. Each is equipped with a cot, a sink and a toilet.
Life In Segregation / About 110 of the prison’s 1,382 inmates are in segregation. Inmates land there for a variety of offenses, including tampering with security devices, assaulting staff, possessing contraband and disobeying orders. Inmates go before an outside hearing officer for due process before being ordered into segregation.
The average Stillwater prison inmate spends as many as 15 hours outside his cell each day to dine, work, attend classes and exercise. Segregated inmates are allowed out one hour a day for five days to shower, make phone calls and to sit in an empty segregation exercise room.
“We don’t want it to be too comfortable in segregation,” King said. “We want to attempt to correct their behavior.”
Copyright 2008 Pioneer Press