History East Jersey State Prison

1 history

1.1 new jersey reformatory
1.2 transition adult prison
1.3 riots , escapes
1.4 notable inmates
1.5 prison name change

history

in 1895, new jersey legislature voted establish state’s first reformatory. year later, construction began @ rahway on state property known edgar farm. rahway state prison opened in 1901 , housed first-time male offenders between ages of 16 , 30.

the first superintendent, j. e. heg, served year. succeeded joseph w. martin, led institution until death in 1909. martin succeeded dr. frank moore, retired in 1929.

the prison features large walled compound 21 acres (85,000 m) in size, contains administration building, cell houses, schoolrooms, chapel, shops, , other buildings. prison surrounded hundreds of acres of farmland inmates worked. 1908, there 2 four-tiered cell houses. 1 cell house contained 256 cells measuring 9’x5’x8.6’h, while other had 384 cells 7.1’x5’x8’h. 1928 inspection reported cells equipped “with fair quality of toilet , lavatory.”

new jersey reformatory

when institution opened in 1901, called new jersey reformatory , held 193 men. number of inmates had increased 525 1912 , 745 1928. of 514 prisoners admitted during 1928, 304 (59%) under twenty years of age, 164 (32%) twenty twenty-four, , 46 (9%) twenty-five twenty-nine years old, racial breakdown of 406 (79%) white , 108 (21%) african-american.

rahway run on conduct “grading” system. book of rules , regulations supplied each inmate when arrived discussed expected of him , consequences of violating rules. inmates entered prison in “second grade” , had opportunity advance or demoted depending on behavior. inmates in different grades granted different privileges.

the inmates days @ rahway consisted of school , work. woke @ 5:45 a.m. lights out @ 9 p.m. had attend school went classes half day , worked other half. prison offered vocational training , jobs, including tailoring, cooking, shoe-making, printing, electrical work, farming/gardening, plumbing, , painting.

transition adult prison

in 1929, opening of nearby reformatories @ annandale (1928) , bordentown (1937), rahway state prison changed reformatory prison adult males.

in 1930, construction began on additions institution. between 1931 , 1932, industrial , laundry buildings added. new dormitory wing, “two wing,” built in 1932. contained 2 dormitories housing 150 men each, thereby increasing prison’s capacity 900 inmates. in 1951, rahway’s capacity furthered increased 1,000, when last wing, “three wing,” constructed. years passed, renovation on institution continued. in 1967, 1 of old buildings improved , made “five wing.” 1985 1988, trailers erected , old buildings renovated (textile , laundry) housing , dining facilities. these new additions became “six, seven, , 8 wings.”

riots , escapes

from april 17–22, 1952, prisoners took officers hostage during riot after officers beat inmates nightsticks. riot ended when inmates gassed. on thanksgiving day in 1971, 500 inmates held 6 hostages, including warden, 24 hours. 6 officers injured, 3 stab wounds in hours of riot. inmates demanded more sufficient diet, regulation of commissary prices, improvement of educational system , vocation training, better discipline of officers, , additional medicine supplies including aspirin. ultimately, prison retaken no loss of life , captives set free without use of firearms.

on august 11, 1972, 3 convicted murderers escaped sawing through bars of third-floor window. 3 officers held responsible escape , suspended. in august 1980, in effort reduce numbers of escapes, prison issued gray prison uniforms prisoners.

notable inmates

rubin hurricane carter - (prison #45472) carter spent on 18 years @ rahway (1967-1985). well-known, former heavyweight fighter before being convicted , sentenced 2 life terms murder. rubin wrote autobiography while serving time @ rahway titled, sixteenth round, published in 1975. book became instrumental in having convictions overturned, inspiring many take rubin s cause. in fact made rubins s struggle of cause célèbre, motivating legendary boxer, muhammad ali, lead march of 1600 people new jersey state capital on behalf on october 17, 1975. carter s book inspired song popular folk rock singer-songwriter, bob dylan in 1975. dylan held concert on rubin s behalf, called night of hurricane , playing 20,000 people in december 1975, 3 months before carter s first conviction overturned. movie, portraying rubin s story , starring denzel washington released in 1999. best-selling biography, hurricane: miraculous journey of rubin carter, written james s. hirsch in 2000.

robert reldan - serving life sentence 2 counts of murder.

prison name change

on november 30, 1988, @ request of citizens of rahway, nj, rahway state prison renamed east jersey state prison. residents claimed being identified prison stigmatized city , affected property values. however, residents in region surrounding still refer building former name.