The Massachusetts Correctional Institution—Cedar Junction (MCI-Cedar Junction), formerly known as MCI-Walpole, is a maximum security prison under the jurisdiction of the
Massachusetts Department of Correction
The Massachusetts Department of Correction is responsible for operating the prison system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The Massachusetts Department of Correction is responsible for the custody of about 8,292 prisone ...
. It was opened in 1956 to replace
Charlestown State Prison
Charlestown State Prison was a correctional facility in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts operated by the Massachusetts Department of Correction. The facility was built at Lynde's Point, now at the intersection of Austin Street and New Rutherf ...
, the oldest prison in the nation at that time. MCI-Cedar Junction is one of two (the other one being
Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center
Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SBCC) is a maximum security prison in Lancaster, Massachusetts (though it receives mail through a post-office box in the town of Shirley). It is operated by the Massachusetts Department of Correction. It is cl ...
) maximum security prisons for male offenders in the
. As of January 6, 2020 there was 346 Maximum and 65 Medium inmates in general population beds.
MCI-Cedar Junction also houses the Departmental Disciplinary Unit (DDU). During the 1970s, Cedar Junction (then known as Walpole) was one of the most violent prisons in the United States. It is located on both sides of the line between the towns of
Walpole and
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, and has a South Walpole mailing address (South Walpole is not a political entity).
In 1955,
Richard Cardinal Cushing
Richard James Cushing (August 24, 1895 – November 2, 1970) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970 and was made a cardinal in 1958. Cushing's main role was as fundraiser and builder ...
,
Archbishop of Boston
The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...
, built Our Lady of the Ransom Chapel at the center of the prison. As of June 2009, MCI-Cedar Junction serves as the reception and diagnostic center, which receives all new male court commitments for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Department of Correction.
Uprising
In 1973, after the
Attica Prison riot
The Attica Prison Riot, also known as the Attica Prison Rebellion, the Attica Uprising, or the Attica Prison Massacre, took place at the state prison in Attica, New York; it started on September 9, 1971, and ended on September 13 with the high ...
, a branch of the National Prisoner Reform Association (NPRA) was established. The NPRA, which became the prisoners' legitimate representative, organized committees which ran the prison for three months, monitored by neutral civilian observers and other volunteers from local communities. During that time the murder rate in Walpole fell from the highest in the country to zero. The strike ended in the prisoners' favor as the superintendent of the prison resigned. The prisoners were granted more visitation rights and work programs.
Notable inmates
*
Tony Costa
Antone Charles "Tony" Costa (August 2, 1944 – May 12, 1974) was an American serial killer and carpenter who achieved notoriety for committing serial murders in and around the Massachusetts town of Truro in 1969.
Early life and crimes
A ...
- Serial killer believed to have brutally murdered and dismembered four women (possibly more than nine). He died by
suicide by hanging
Suicide by hanging is the intentional killing of oneself (suicide) via suspension from an anchor-point such as an overhead beam or hook, by a rope or cord or by jumping from a height with a noose around the neck.
Hanging is often considered t ...
in his cell on May 12, 1974.
*
Wayne Lo
Wayne Lo Wen (; born November 14, 1974) is an American citizen born in Taiwan who perpetrated the shooting at Bard College at Simon's Rock on December 14, 1992, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He murdered one student and a professor, and wou ...
- School shooter who perpetrated the shooting at Bard College at Simon's Rock.
*
Albert DeSalvo
Albert Henry DeSalvo (September 3, 1931 – November 25, 1973) was an American rapist and suspected serial killer in Boston, Massachusetts, who purportedly confessed to being the "Boston Strangler," the murderer of thirteen women in the Boston ...
- Serial rapist widely believed to be the
Boston Strangler
The Boston Strangler is the name given to the murderer of 13 women in the Boston, Massachusetts, area during the early 1960s. The crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo based on his confession, details revealed in court during a separate case, ...
. He was stabbed to death by an inmate in 1973.
*
John Salvi
John C. Salvi III (March 2, 1972 – November 29, 1996) was an anti-abortion extremist who carried out fatal shootings at two abortion facilities in Brookline, Massachusetts on December 30, 1994. The shootings killed two and wounded five. An in ...
- Abortion opponent who killed two and wounded five at abortion clinics in Brookline, Massachusetts. He died by suicide by asphyxiation on November 29, 1996.
In popular culture
In ''
Ray Donovan
''Ray Donovan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ann Biderman for Showtime. The twelve-episode first season premiered on June 30, 2013.
The pilot episode broke viewership records, becoming the biggest premiere of all t ...
'' TV series, the main character’s menacing father Mickey Donovan (
Jon Voight
Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, he ...
) spent 20 years in 'Walpole' prison, before he was released in 2013.
Closure
As of April 2022, Cedar Junction is planned to be shut down within the next two years due to reduced incarceration rates (currently the lowest in 35 years) and the high costs of maintenance. The Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) estimates the cost to repair the infrastructure of Cedar Junction at 30 million dollars; the DOC plans to move the money towards delivering effective care and services for the people under their supervision. The process of closing the prison is split into three main phases. First phase plans to start around the summer of 2022, moving any newly sentenced men to the
Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center
Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SBCC) is a maximum security prison in Lancaster, Massachusetts (though it receives mail through a post-office box in the town of Shirley). It is operated by the Massachusetts Department of Correction. It is cl ...
, a maximum security prison located in
Lancaster, Massachusetts
Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441.
History
In 1643 Lancaster was first ...
. In the second phase, prisoners in the Behavioral Management unit will be moved to other facilities. Lastly, in the third phase, the Department Disciplinary Unit is set to be dissolved around 2024. The removal of the Disciplinary Unit is an attempt by the DOC to reform their approaches to discipline.
References
External links
MCI-Cedar Junctionwebsite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Cedar Junction
1955 establishments in Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Cedar Junction
Supermax prisons
Walpole, Massachusetts