Southern Ohio Correctional Facility
Encyclopedia
The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison
in Lucasville
, Ohio
, United States
. The prison was constructed in 1972 and currently contains the death house for Ohio where death row
inmates are executed. The current warden is Donnie Morgan.
and Gangster Disciples
, rioted and took over the facility for 11 days. The main causes apparently were serious overcrowding and mismanagement of the facility and discontent in the general population that the authorities were going to force Muslim
prisoners to undergo tuberculosis
vaccinations in violation of their religious beliefs. Investigations conducted after the riot found that the gangs were also collaborating to murder inmates accused of being informants. Nine inmates and one corrections officer were killed.
During negotiations, the inmates did not feel they were being taken seriously, and there was discussion of killing a guard in retaliation. Though the group never reached a decision on the killing, one of the prisoners decided it was time to take action. Officer Robert Vallandingham, who they had taken hostage, was handcuffed and strangled with a dumbbell from the prison weight room. Testimonies vary as to which prisoner was responsible for his murder. During those eleven days, representatives from the Sunni Muslims, Aryan Brotherhood, and Gangster Disciples met every day in an improvised leadership council.
Five prisoners, including Bomani Shakur (Keith Lamar), Siddique Abdullah Hasan (Carlos Sanders), Jason Robb and Namir Abdul Mateen (James Were), were sentenced to death as a result.
Since the riots, death row has been moved three times. The first move was to the Mansfield Correctional Institution in Mansfield
with the majority of inmates being moved later to the Ohio State Penitentiary
, a supermax
facility in Youngstown
while a few remained at Mansfield. Currently, the death row unit at Mansfield, along with the majority of death row cells at OSP, is being reassigned with all but eight condemned inmates being moved to a new death row unit at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution
in Chillicothe
(six will remain at OSP and two will be housed at the Franklin Medical Center in Columbus
.
There is a song by the band Blackbird Raum about the riots titled Lucasville.
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
in Lucasville
Lucasville, Ohio
Lucasville is a census-designated place in Scioto County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,588 at the 2000 census. The village of Lucasville was laid out by Captain John Lucas in June 1819 and recorded August 7, 1819. Captain Lucas built the first tavern in the village and kept it until...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The prison was constructed in 1972 and currently contains the death house for Ohio where death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmates are executed. The current warden is Donnie Morgan.
1993 riot
On Easter Sunday, April 11, 1993, 450 Lucasville prisoners, including an unlikely alliance of the Aryan BrotherhoodAryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...
and Gangster Disciples
Gangster Disciples
The Black Gangster Disciple Nation is a gang which was formed on the South-side of Chicago in the late 1960s, by David Barksdale, leader of the Black Disciples, and Larry Hoover, leader of the Supreme Gangsters. The two groups united to form the Black Gangster Disciple Nation .The gang has made...
, rioted and took over the facility for 11 days. The main causes apparently were serious overcrowding and mismanagement of the facility and discontent in the general population that the authorities were going to force Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
prisoners to undergo tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
vaccinations in violation of their religious beliefs. Investigations conducted after the riot found that the gangs were also collaborating to murder inmates accused of being informants. Nine inmates and one corrections officer were killed.
During negotiations, the inmates did not feel they were being taken seriously, and there was discussion of killing a guard in retaliation. Though the group never reached a decision on the killing, one of the prisoners decided it was time to take action. Officer Robert Vallandingham, who they had taken hostage, was handcuffed and strangled with a dumbbell from the prison weight room. Testimonies vary as to which prisoner was responsible for his murder. During those eleven days, representatives from the Sunni Muslims, Aryan Brotherhood, and Gangster Disciples met every day in an improvised leadership council.
Five prisoners, including Bomani Shakur (Keith Lamar), Siddique Abdullah Hasan (Carlos Sanders), Jason Robb and Namir Abdul Mateen (James Were), were sentenced to death as a result.
Since the riots, death row has been moved three times. The first move was to the Mansfield Correctional Institution in Mansfield
Mansfield, Ohio
Mansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau, approximately southwest of Cleveland and northeast of Columbus....
with the majority of inmates being moved later to the Ohio State Penitentiary
Ohio State Penitentiary
The Ohio State Penitentiary is a 502-inmate capacity supermax Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction prison in Youngstown, Ohio...
, a 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...
facility in Youngstown
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
while a few remained at Mansfield. Currently, the death row unit at Mansfield, along with the majority of death row cells at OSP, is being reassigned with all but eight condemned inmates being moved to a new death row unit at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution
Chillicothe Correctional Institution
Chillicothe Correction Institution, or CCI, is a state run medium security prison on the west bank of the Scioto River in Chillicothe, Ohio. It is located adjacent to Ross Correctional Institution and Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. The prison is a former military camp, named for Civil...
in Chillicothe
Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
(six will remain at OSP and two will be housed at the Franklin Medical Center in Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
.
There is a song by the band Blackbird Raum about the riots titled Lucasville.