Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Cedar Junction
Encyclopedia
The Massachusetts Correctional Institution—Cedar Junction (MCI-Cedar Junction), formerly known as MCI-Walpole, is a maximum security prison with an average daily population of approximately 800 adult male inmates under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Correction
. It was opened in 1956 to replace Charlestown State Prison
, the oldest prison in the nation at that time. MCI-Cedar Junction is one of two extremely high security (supermax
) prisons for male offenders in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
. 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.
In 1988, the prison was host to Mother Teresa
for two hours on her tour through the state's prisons.
As of June 2009, MCI-Cedar Junction is now the Department of Correction's reception and diagnostic center which receives all new male court commitments within the Commonwealth.
Route 1A
P.O. Box 100
South Walpole, MA 02071
Phone: (508) 660-8000
Massachusetts Department of Correction
The Massachusetts Department of Correction is responsible for operating the prison system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, US Massachusetts houses over 11,500 inmates throughout 18 correctional facilities and employs over 5,000 employees...
. It was opened in 1956 to replace Charlestown State Prison
Charlestown State Prison
Charlestown State Prison was a correctional facility in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts operated by the Massachusetts Department of Correction. The facility was located between Austin and Washington Streets and in proximity to the Boston and Maine Railroad tracks that intersected with the...
, the oldest prison in the nation at that time. MCI-Cedar Junction is one of two extremely high security (supermax
Supermax
Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...
) prisons for male offenders in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. 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.
In 1988, the prison was host to Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
for two hours on her tour through the state's prisons.
As of June 2009, MCI-Cedar Junction is now the Department of Correction's reception and diagnostic center which receives all new male court commitments within the Commonwealth.
Notable prisoners
- Tom ManningTom Manning (prisoner)Born to a Boston postal clerk, Thomas "Tom" William Manning is known for his involvement in the murder of a police officer during a routine traffic stop, and for his involvement with the United Freedom Front who bombed a series of US military and commercial institutes in the 1970s and early...
was sentenced to 58 years imprisonment for a series of bombings against targets he believed represented American imperialism. - Stanley Ray BondStanley Ray BondStanley Ray Bond was a former convict who enrolled at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He was arrested for a bank robbery conducted to obtain funds for anti-Vietnam War efforts. Previously, he had served as a Private First Class in the United States Army in the Vietnam War...
, bank robber, died in prison. - Albert DeSalvoAlbert DeSalvoAlbert Henry DeSalvo was a criminal in Boston, Massachusetts who confessed to being the "Boston Strangler", the murderer of 13 women in the Boston area. DeSalvo was not imprisoned for these murders, however, but for a series of rapes...
, otherwise known as the Boston StranglerBoston StranglerThe Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, investigators of the case have since suggested the murders were not committed by one person.-First Stage...
, was imprisoned at Walpole. He died of multiple stab wounds at the prison. - Richard Colvin Reid, the "Shoe-bomber", was held at Cedar Junction, while awaiting federal prosecution.
- Joseph DruceJoseph DruceJoseph Druce is a convicted murderer best known for having killed John Geoghan - the former Roman Catholic priest who was convicted of sexually abusing children, and who had also been at the center of the Catholic sexual abuse scandal.In August 2003, while in protective custody at the...
was sentenced to life in prison, later becoming known for murdering convicted sex offender John GeoghanJohn GeoghanJohn J. Geoghan was a key figure in the Roman Catholic sex abuse cases that rocked the Boston Archdiocese in the 1990s and 2000s and led to the resignation of Boston's archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, on December 13, 2002.-Career Summary:...
while incarcerated. - Tony CostaTony CostaAntone Charles "Tony" Costa was a Cape Cod, Massachusetts carpenter who achieved notoriety for committing murders in the town of Truro in 1969.-1969 murders:...
was sentenced to life in prison, where he later committed suicide, for the murders of three Cape CodCape CodCape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
women in 1969. - Clark RockefellerClark RockefellerChristian Karl Gerhartsreiter is a German man who moved to the United States as a teenager to study, and thereafter assumed many aliases. Using the false name Clark Rockefeller, he married a Harvard Business School graduate student named Sandra Boss...
convicted in June 2009 of the kidnapping of his daughter off the streets of Boston; he has many aliases all over the world and is a person of interest in two unsolved murders in Los Angeles County.
Facility Address
MCI-Cedar Junction at WalpoleRoute 1A
P.O. Box 100
South Walpole, MA 02071
Phone: (508) 660-8000
External links
- MCI-Cedar Junction—Mass. Executive Office of Public Safety