State Correctional Institution - Rockview
Encyclopedia
The State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Rockview, commonly referred to as Rockview, is a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
prison located in Benner Township
, Pennsylvania
, 5 miles (8 km) away from Bellefonte
.
SCI Rockview, which began in 1912 and was completed in 1915, was intended to replace Eastern State Penitentiary
and Western Penitentiary. Instead it became a branch prison of Western housing lesser security risk prisoners employed in the extensive farm program outside the gates. Rockview is now a medium-security institution for men. Pennsylvania's execution chamber is located on the grounds of Rockview; however, there is no "death row" there. Condemned prisoners are transported to Rockview from death rows in maximum security prisons across the state several days before their scheduled execution.
Pennsylvania State University
at State College, Pennsylvania
began a research seminar class held at Rockview known as the Inside/Out Program led by Dr. Thomas Bernard. The first class was held in the Spring of 2007, and made up of 15 Penn State students. These students were taken right into the heart of the institution every week to attend class alongside of 15 low-security, hand chosen, Rockview inmates. The inmates and the students would work side by side discussing assigned criminology
theories to rate their validity and discuss ways in which policy and programs can reduce crime.
Many at nearby Penn State like to call this the State Penn, a word play with the synonym
penitentiary
.
and the electric chair took the place of the gallows.
At that time, the Pennsylvania State Legislature selected the new Western Penitentiary in Centre County, now known as Rockview, as the location of the chair. Neither the chair nor the institution were ready for occupancy until 1915.
Between 1915 and 1962, 348 men and two women died in Pennsylvania's electric chair. In 1972, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision Commonwealth v. Bradley invalidated the administration of the death penalty. In 1974, Pennsylvania drafted new capital punishment legislature but it was once again invalidated in 1977. The next year, yet again, new capital punishment legislature was drafted and signed into law.
November 29, 1990, amidst debate over whether electrocution was cruel and unusual punishment
, the Pennsylvania State Legislature barred further such executions and lethal injection
was approved.
The film "On The Yard" (1979) was filmed entirely at this prison and used actual inmates as extras in the film. It stars John Heard, Thomas Waites and Mike Kellin.
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is the Pennsylvania state agency that is responsible for the confinement, care and rehabilitation of approximately 51,000 inmates at state correctional facilities funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
prison located in Benner Township
Benner Township, Pennsylvania
Benner Township is a township in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, 5 miles (8 km) away from Bellefonte
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Bellefonte is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies about twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
SCI Rockview, which began in 1912 and was completed in 1915, was intended to replace Eastern State Penitentiary
Eastern State Penitentiary
The Eastern State Penitentiary is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located on 2027 Fairmount Avenue between Corinthian Avenue and North 22nd Street in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia and was operational from 1829 until 1971...
and Western Penitentiary. Instead it became a branch prison of Western housing lesser security risk prisoners employed in the extensive farm program outside the gates. Rockview is now a medium-security institution for men. Pennsylvania's execution chamber is located on the grounds of Rockview; however, there is no "death row" there. Condemned prisoners are transported to Rockview from death rows in maximum security prisons across the state several days before their scheduled execution.
Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
at State College, Pennsylvania
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre County. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, and roughly double...
began a research seminar class held at Rockview known as the Inside/Out Program led by Dr. Thomas Bernard. The first class was held in the Spring of 2007, and made up of 15 Penn State students. These students were taken right into the heart of the institution every week to attend class alongside of 15 low-security, hand chosen, Rockview inmates. The inmates and the students would work side by side discussing assigned criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
theories to rate their validity and discuss ways in which policy and programs can reduce crime.
Many at nearby Penn State like to call this the State Penn, a word play with the synonym
Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
penitentiary
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...
.
History
Construction of Rockview began in 1912, and the prison opened three years later in 1915. In 1913, the Pennsylvania State Legislature approved electrocutionElectric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
and the electric chair took the place of the gallows.
At that time, the Pennsylvania State Legislature selected the new Western Penitentiary in Centre County, now known as Rockview, as the location of the chair. Neither the chair nor the institution were ready for occupancy until 1915.
Between 1915 and 1962, 348 men and two women died in Pennsylvania's electric chair. In 1972, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision Commonwealth v. Bradley invalidated the administration of the death penalty. In 1974, Pennsylvania drafted new capital punishment legislature but it was once again invalidated in 1977. The next year, yet again, new capital punishment legislature was drafted and signed into law.
November 29, 1990, amidst debate over whether electrocution was cruel and unusual punishment
Cruel and unusual punishment
Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase describing criminal punishment which is considered unacceptable due to the suffering or humiliation it inflicts on the condemned person...
, the Pennsylvania State Legislature barred further such executions and lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
was approved.
The film "On The Yard" (1979) was filmed entirely at this prison and used actual inmates as extras in the film. It stars John Heard, Thomas Waites and Mike Kellin.