Rhode Island Maximum Security Prison, formerly known as Howard Prison, is a

Rhode Island Department of Corrections The Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) is a state agency of Rhode Island operating state prisons. It has its headquarters in Cranston.

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second largest in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island ...

. It is the state's oldest operational prison, with a current capacity of 430. The facility was first completed in 1878 as the State Prison and Providence County Jail. The design, based on New York's

Auburn system The Auburn system (also known as the New York system and Congregate system) is a penal method of the 19th century in which persons worked during the day in groups and were kept in solitary confinement at night, with enforced silence at all times. ...

of confinement and including a distinctive octagonal stone tower, was the work of Providence architects Stone and Carpenter. Warden Nelson Viall, who during the Civil War had commanded the

14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored) The 11th United States Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment, previously designated the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment (Colored), was an African American artillery regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Servi ...

, managed the facility until his death in 1903. The prison was expanded in 1924. The prison is also the oldest element of the state correctional complex which includes the adjacent High Security Center (HSC), the

Anthony P. Travisono Intake Service Center The Anthony P. Travisono Intake Service Center is a maximum-security state men's prison in Cranston, Rhode Island, owned and operated by the Rhode Island Department of Corrections The Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) is a state age ...

, and the

John J. Moran Medium Security Facility The John J. Moran Medium Security Facility is a medium-security state men's prison in Cranston, Rhode Island, owned and operated by the Rhode Island Department of Corrections The Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) is a state agency ...

. Rhode Island has no death penalty and no death row.

References

External links

Rhode Island Maximum Security Prison
Prisons in Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Cranston, Rhode Island 1878 establishments in Rhode Island {{RhodeIsland-stub