Southport Correctional Facility
Encyclopedia
The Southport Correctional Facility is an ultra-maximum-security, or "supermax," prison in New York State, USA. It is located in the town of Southport, New York
, in upstate Chemung County
.
Opened on October 11, 1988, Southport became the scene of a riot on June 26, 1990, when fighting broke out among a group of approximately 250 inmates, eight of whom were injured in the melee, along with 19 members of the prison's staff. Another incident, this one involving the taking of four employees as hostages, followed on May 28, 1991. Prisoners and correctional officers injured that day received care at nearby Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital in Elmira, NY.
It is rare for a prisoner to be sent directly to Southport from the outside; virtually all of its inmates have been transferred there after committing serious disciplinary infractions at some other prison in the state. On occasion, however, a particularly notorious inmate may be sent there for "protective custody;" that is to say, to prevent him from being attacked by other inmates (all of whom are male). One example was convicted child-killer Joel Steinberg
.
Michael Alig
was transferred to Southport in 2000 and in an interview with New York Magazinehttp://nymag.com/news/people/24365/index2.html said:
Southport, New York
Southport is a town in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 11,185 at the 2000 census.The Town of Southport is located in the southwest corner of Chemung County and is southwest of the City of Elmira...
, in upstate Chemung County
Chemung County, New York
Chemung County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Chemung County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 88,830. Its name is derived from the name of a Delaware Indian village . Its...
.
Opened on October 11, 1988, Southport became the scene of a riot on June 26, 1990, when fighting broke out among a group of approximately 250 inmates, eight of whom were injured in the melee, along with 19 members of the prison's staff. Another incident, this one involving the taking of four employees as hostages, followed on May 28, 1991. Prisoners and correctional officers injured that day received care at nearby Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital in Elmira, NY.
It is rare for a prisoner to be sent directly to Southport from the outside; virtually all of its inmates have been transferred there after committing serious disciplinary infractions at some other prison in the state. On occasion, however, a particularly notorious inmate may be sent there for "protective custody;" that is to say, to prevent him from being attacked by other inmates (all of whom are male). One example was convicted child-killer Joel Steinberg
Joel Steinberg
Joel Steinberg , a former New York criminal defense attorney, attracted international media attention when he was accused of murder and convicted of manslaughter in the November 1, 1987, death of a six-year-old girl, Elizabeth , whom he and his live-in partner Hedda Nussbaum had illegally adopted...
.
Michael Alig
Michael Alig
Michael Alig is the co-founding member of the Club Kids, a group of young clubgoers led by long time best friend James St. James and Alig in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
was transferred to Southport in 2000 and in an interview with New York Magazinehttp://nymag.com/news/people/24365/index2.html said:
"What Southport is famous for is the shit and the piss throwing. Because the inmates have no access to each other, what they do is fill cups up with shit and piss and throw it at each other. You get caught doing it once, they keep your hands handcuffed behind your back so you can’t throw anything. So if you really still want to get your neighbor with shit, guess what you do? You put it in your mouth and when you get to the yard, you spit it on someone."