The New Jersey State Prison (NJSP), formerly known as Trenton State Prison, is a state men's prison in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.New Jersey Department of Corrections. It is the oldest prison in New Jersey and one of the oldest correctional facilities in the United States. It is the state's only completely maximum security institution, housing the most difficult and/or dangerous male offenders in the inmate population. NJSP operates two security units and provides a high level of custodial supervision and control. Professional treatment services, such as education and social work, are a priority at the facility. The Bureau of State Use Industries operated the bedding and clothing shops that were once located in Shop Hall at the facility. These industries have been relocated to

South Woods State Prison South Woods State Prison is a state prison for male offenders located in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. It is operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. History In the 1990s state officials planned to open ...

. NJSP also housed New Jersey's

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ...

for men and

execution chamber An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death r ...

until the state abolished

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

in 2007. One notable inmate is

Jesse Timmendequas The murder of Megan Nicole Kanka (December 7, 1986 – July 29, 1994) occurred in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Seven-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas, after he lured h ...

, who was formerly on death row for the rape and murder of 7-year-old

Megan Kanka The murder of Megan Nicole Kanka (December 7, 1986 – July 29, 1994) occurred in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Seven-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas, after he lured h ...

. This crime inspired the passing of Megan's Law, which requires communities to be notified when a convicted sex offender moves into their area.

History

New Jersey State Prison is a complex that consists of three separate but interconnected physical plants from three different eras of prison construction that took place on the property. The three sections are the 1798 Penitentiary House, the 1832 Fortress Penitentiary, and the 1982 contemporary prison facility. The 1798 NJ Penitentiary House, which was the first State Prison in New Jersey and the third in the nation after the

Walnut Street Jail Walnut Street Prison was a city jail and penitentiary house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1790 to 1838. Legislation calling for establishment of the jail was passed in 1773 to relieve overcrowding in the High Street Jail; the first prison ...

in Philadelphia and Newgate in New York City is also the oldest building still in operation as part of an active, working prison in the United States. This allows NJSP to lay claim to being the oldest continuously operating State Prison in the US. The only surviving portion of the 1798 Penitentiary House is the original Front House, which functioned originally as the living quarters for the Keeper of the State Prison, the four Assistant Keepers (The first 4 men who served in the capacity of what are known today as State Correction Officers), the Armory, administrative office space on the first floor and a row of cells for the confinement of disruptive prisoners in the basement. Since the Penitentiary House stopped housing prisoners within a few years after the 1832 Fortress Penitentiary opened,

Auburn Correctional Facility Auburn Correctional Facility is a state prison on State Street in Auburn, New York, United States. It was built on land that was once a Cayuga village. It is classified as a maximum security facility. History Constructed in 1816 as Auburn Pr ...

can lay claim to having the oldest continuously operating cell house in the US. After completion and the relocation of the Penitentiary House inmates to the new John Haviland-designed Fortress Penitentiary compound in 1836, the 1798 facility alternately served as the Mercer County jail facility during construction of their

Workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

in Titusville, NJ, and then as the State Arsenal until 1929, when all

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

equipment and services that were based there were transferred to the newly completed ANG base at Sea Girt, at which time control of the empty compound was returned to the State Prison. In 1930, all of the Penitentiary House buildings were demolished, with the exception of the Front House, which was remodeled into a residence for the Keeper of the State Prison, a use for which it is still designated today. The cleared land on which the Penitentiary House cell houses and shop buildings had stood previously were enclosed in a 22 foot high reinforced concrete wall and opened as the Big Yard in 1930. This new, large recreation yard eased the cramped conditions inside the walls of the main compound, which up until that time had limited space to devote to outside recreation. The second oldest portion of New Jersey State Prison, the Fortress Penitentiary, was constructed between 1832 and 1836, when the inmates from the Penitentiary House next door were moved over. The 1832 facility was constructed on a contiguous plot of land already owned by the State and controlled by the Penitentiary House, under the supervision of the Keeper of the State Prison, and made use of inmate labor during the four years of construction. Consequently, the 1836 Fortress Penitentiary compound is considered to be an addition to the existing State Prison on the property. This assertion is valid because the two compounds coexisted on the same property and were managed and controlled by the Keeper as a prison complex in which the same inmate population worked and were housed. As the State Prison is operated as a unified complex composed of separate distinct compounds today, this conclusion is defensible. The Survey October 1917-March 1918 (1918) (14594709667)

The Survey October 1917-March 1918 (1918) (14594709667)

In his 1917

Master's Thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

, published as "History of the Penal, Reformatory and Correctional Institutions of New Jersey" the late Dr. Harry Elmer Barnes, the noted American historian published a history and analysis of the State Prisons, Reformatories and Penal Institutions of NJ up to that time. His work was an analysis of the application of the various penal philosophies and their successes, failures and changes from 1798 to 1917. He separated the Penitentiary House and the 1832 Fortress Penitentiary into two "Systems" in this work. The term "System" as used by Dr. Barnes was at that time used as we use "Paradym" today- His "First Prison System in NJ" as applied to the Penitentiary House and "Second Prison System in NJ" as applied to the 1832 facility did not describe two separate prisons nor did it indicate two separate prison agencies. This was a history and description of New Jersey's transition away from the Congregate System of confinement, wherein all persons regardless of age, sex or mental state were simply confined in the Penitentiary House, to the Pennsylvania System of confinement, which consisted of keeping prisoners confined in single cells, completely isolated from other prisoners and the Keepers. The authority and management of the State Prison as an agency did not change – The Keeper as the agency head supervised the Penitentiary House, oversaw and contributed inmate labor to the construction of the Fortress Penitentiary between 1832 and 1836, and supervised the transfer of all inmates from the old to the new compound in 1836 and continued on in the new compound. This construction, transfer and continuation of operations from one side of the property to the other provides a link between the old and new compounds, and demonstrates that the New Jersey State Prison has existed and continuously operated in the same location since 1798. Thus, Dr. Barnes described a change in penal theory and practice, not the abolition of the old buildings and governing agency and the substitution of a new one. No break in operation or management occurred. The 1832 facility was expanded several times throughout the 19th Century with new construction adding wings in the years between 1859 and 1907, and larger Shop Hall buildings as well. In 1895–96 when 6 Wing was constructed, the original walls were extended to the corners of the old Penitentiary House compound to enclose that wing as well as the newer Shop Hall building, which heretofore had been outside the main walls. Capital Punishment was moved from the County Jails to NJ State Prison in 1907, when the first execution was carried out using the new Electric Chair, built by Carl Adams of Trenton, in the shops of his Adams Electric Company. The last such electrocution took place in 1963. In 1979 the Death House (8 Wing), along with the old Hospital wing were demolished to make way for a new Gymnasium. Ground was broken for the contemporary facility in 1979, and it was completed in 1982. No additions have been made since that time.

Death row

Prior to the 2007 repeal of the death penalty, the death row for men and execution chamber was in the Capital Sentence Unit (CSU) at the New Jersey State Prison. This unit was first established in 1907. The first death by electrocution occurred on December 11, 1907.Historical Data on Capital Sentence Unit at New Jersey State Prison

. New Jersey Department of Corrections. May 18, 2005. Retrieved on March 21, 2016. In 1999 death row inmate Robert "Mudman" Simon, who was convicted of killing a police officer, died during a fight. The lethal injection chamber at the prison was never used, and the death penalty was repealed in December 2007.Amick, George.
Amick: After Georgia debate, looking back on repeal of New Jersey's death penalty

. ''

Times of Trenton ''The Times'' is a daily newspaper owned by Advance Publications that serves Trenton and the Mercer County, New Jersey area, with a strong focus on the government of New Jersey. The paper had a daily circulation of 77,405, with Sunday circulati ...

''. October 10, 2011. Retrieved on March 21, 2016. Therefore, the final execution to take place at the prison was a January 22, 1963 electrocution. The former lethal injection room now serves as an office.

Notable inmates

* Sundiata Acoli, former member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army who was sentenced to life in prison in 1974 for murdering a New Jersey state trooper. * Max B (2009–present) Rapper/former member of Byrdgang. Refused a 10-year plea deal hoping to beat the charges and return to rapping. Sentenced to 17 to 20 years for first degree aggravated manslaughter. *

Anthony Balaam Anthony Balaam (born July 9, 1965), known as The Trenton Strangler, is an American serial killer who raped and murdered four prostitutes between 1994 and 1996 in Trenton, New Jersey, luring them with sex-for-drugs encounters. Balaam was captured ...

, serial killer who murdered four sex workers. *

Richard Fran Biegenwald Richard Fran Biegenwald (August 24, 1940 – March 10, 2008) was an American serial killer and arsonist who committed his crimes in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Between 1958 and 1983, Biegenwald killed at least six people (four women and two ...

(1940–2008), serial killer who killed at least nine and is suspected in at least two other murders. Operated in

Monmouth County, New Jersey Monmouth County () is a county located on the coast of central New Jersey. The county is part of the New York metropolitan area and is situated along the northern half of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population wa ...

in the early 1980s. *

Rubin Carter Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (May 6, 1937 – April 20, 2014) was an American-Canadian middleweight boxer, wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for murder, until released following a petition of habeas corpus after almost 20 years in prison. In ...

(1957–1966, 1967–1985), boxer wrongly convicted of murder. He was released in 1985 and went on to become an activist for the wrongly convicted. *

Ricardo Cepates Ricardo Cepates (born April 26, 1971) is a Honduran former construction worker and convicted serial rapist and kidnapper. From September 2001 through December 2003, Cepates attacked seven women and girls in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His modus o ...

(1971–present), Honduran immigrant who raped multiple women and young girls in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

between 2001 and 2003. *Vernon Collins (1950–present),

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

narcotics hit man; the inspiration for the character Wee-Bey Brice of ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

''. *

Richard Cottingham Richard Francis Cottingham (born November 25, 1946) is an American serial killer and rapist who murdered at least 17 young women and girls in New York and New Jersey between 1967 and 1980. His confirmed killings include nine convictions and a fur ...

(1946–present), serial killer from New Jersey who tortured, killed and dismembered at least six women and possibly many more from 1967 to 1980. *

Charles Cullen Charles Edmund Cullen (born February 22, 1960) is an American serial killer. Cullen, a nurse, murdered dozens – possibly hundreds – of patients during a 16-year career spanning several New Jersey medical centers, until being arrested in 20 ...

(1960–present), New Jersey's most prolific serial killer. Admitted to killing at least 35 people while working as a nurse in numerous New Jersey and Pennsylvania hospitals. * Jerome Dennis, serial killer who murdered five women and teenage girls. *

Bruno Hauptmann Bruno Richard Hauptmann (November 26, 1899 – April 3, 1936) was a German-born carpenter who was convicted of the abduction and murder of the 20-month-old son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The Lindbergh kidnap ...

, executed for the kidnapping and murder of

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

's toddler son. *

James Koedatich James Jerold Koedatich (born June 12, 1948) is an American serial killer who was sentenced to death for the killings of two women in Morris County, New Jersey, which he committed during the final months of 1982, after having been previously paro ...

(1948–present), was sentenced to death for raping and murdering two women in two months in late 1982. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment *

Peter Kudzinowski Peter Kudzinowski (August 13, 1903 – December 21, 1929) was an American serial killer whose known victims were Harry Quinn, five-year-old Julia Mlodzianowski, and seven-year-old Joseph Storelli, for whose murder he went on trial. An alcoho ...

(1903–1929), serial killer who killed a man and two children. He was executed in 1929. * Richard Kuklinski (1935–2006), mafia hit man known as "The Iceman" who was connected to the

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as th ...

. * John List killed his entire family. Nicknamed "The Boogeyman of Westfield." * Frank Masini (1944–present), serial killer who murdered four elderly people. Active around

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wor ...

and Essex County. *

John Martini John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(1930–2009), kidnapper and murderer of Bergen County businessman Irving Flax in 1989. Martini and accomplice picked up the ransom money, murdered Flax and were able to give the FBI the slip. Arrested several days later. * Robert O. Marshall (1939–2015), originally sentenced to death for hiring a hit-man from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

to kill his wife, his sentence was commuted to life in prison. * Joseph Vincent Moriarty (1910?–1979), numbers racketeer. *

Fred Neulander Fred J. Neulander (born August 14, 1941) is a Reform rabbi from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, who was convicted of hiring two men to murder his wife, Carol Neulander, in 1994. He is currently serving a prison term of 30 years to life at New Jersey S ...

The Cherry Hill rabbi who paid Len Jenoff and drifter Paul Daniels $18,000 to kill his wife Carol on November 1, 1994. *

James Allen Paul James Allen Paul (April 19, 1947 – March 3, 2000) was an American spree killer who murdered three people during a seven-day rampage across three states during May 1984. Paul was born on April 19, 1947, in Norfolk, Virginia. Little is known abou ...

(1947–2000), sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 47-year-old Virginia Vickory. Additionally believed to have murdered two others in Vermont and Connecticut for which he was not brought to trial. *

Ahmad Khan Rahimi On September 17–19, 2016, three bombs exploded and several unexploded ones were found in the New York metropolitan area. The bombings left 31 people wounded, but no fatalities or life-threatening injuries were reported. On the morning of Sep ...

(2016–present), suspected perpetrator of the

2016 New York and New Jersey bombings On September 17–19, 2016, three bombs exploded and several unexploded ones were found in the New York metropolitan area. The bombings left 31 people wounded, but no fatalities or life-threatening injuries were reported. On the morning of Sept ...

. *

Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...

, serial killer who murdered and dismembered at least two gay and bisexual men between 1992 and 1993. * Edgar Smith, convicted murderer *

Leroy Snyder Leroy Snyder (February 13, 1931 – October 1, 2001) was an American serial killer who committed the murders of seven people in Camden, New Jersey over seven months in 1969. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison with a chance of parol ...

(1931–2001), serial killer who killed seven people within a year in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...

. *

Elmer Edward Solly Elmer Edward Solly (September 5, 1945 – November 30, 2007) was convicted of manslaughter in 1970 for the death of two-year-old Christopher Welsh. Solly escaped from custody in 1974 and spent the next 27 years living under numerous pseudonyms ...

(1945-2007)- convicted of manslaughter and best known for his escape from prison and twenty-seven years as a fugitive. *

Jerry Spraggins Jerry Jerome Spraggins (born December 17, 1954) is an American murderer, rapist and suspected serial killer. Convicted and sentenced to a 40-years-to-life imprisonment for the 1983 murder of a woman at an apartment in Montclair, New Jersey, he ...

(1967–present), convicted for the 1983 sexual assault and murder of an elderly woman at her apartment in Montclair. Tried, but acquitted, for two similar deaths at that same apartment from 1981 to 1983. *

(1961–present), who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of seven-year-old

, which led to the passage of Megan's Law. *

Lloyd Woodson Lloyd R. Woodson (born January 31, 1966) is an American man whose arrest in central New Jersey on January 25, 2010, received national attention in the United States. Woodson was armed with a semi-automatic rifle and was wearing a ballistic vest a ...

, sentenced to 14.5 years in 2012 for attempted armed robbery (second degree), possession of a firearm for unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a rifle, possession of a defaced firearm, possession of hollow-point bullets, and possession of high-capacity ammunition magazines. *

Khalil Wheeler-Weaver Khalil Wheeler-Weaver (born April 20, 1996) is an American serial killer. An Orange, New Jersey, resident, Wheeler-Weaver lured his victims using Tagged and murdered three women and attempted to kill a fourth between August 2016 and November 2 ...

, serial killer sentenced to 160 years in prison for killing three women and trying to kill a fourth.

References

External links

1952: The powder keg blows
{{Authority control 1836 establishments in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Trenton, New Jersey Prisons in New Jersey

History

Death row

Notable inmates

See also

References

External links