James T. Vaughn Correctional Center

James T. Vaughn Correctional Center
Location Smyrna, Delaware
Status Open
Security class maximum, medium, and minimum
Capacity 2600
Opened 1971
Managed by Delaware Department of Correction

The James T. Vaughn Correctional Center (JTVCC), formerly the Delaware Correctional Center (DCC), is a state prison for men in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, USA, near Smyrna.[1][2] It is the Delaware Department of Correction's largest correctional facility.

JTVCC houses some 2,500 minimum, medium, and maximum security inmates. It is also the primary facility for housing the Kent County pre-trial (detainee) population.

The state's death row for men is in located here, while the death row for women is in the Delores J. Baylor Women's Correctional Institution.[3] Executions occur at JTVCC.[4]

The facility is named for former Delaware State Senator James T. Vaughn, who died in 2007.[5]

History

In 1996, construction began on a $110 million, 888-bed addition which included 600 maximum security cells in six units. The new addition houses the Security Housing Unit (SHU) and the Medium-High Housing Unit (MHU).

Inmates in the SHU, which includes the prison's death row, occupy single-bunked cells in which they are locked down and receive three hours a week out of their cell for recreational purposes. Inmates, other than those sentenced to the death penalty, may earn their way out of the SHU through good behavior.

In 2015, the prison became a subject of an ACLU lawsuit, due to the use of solitary confinement for mentally ill inmates.[6] Further lawsuits have been filed due to the Delaware State Correction's decision to feed some inmates "baked slop," while other states have discontinued the use of such meals.[7]

Incidents

On July 12, 2004, 45-year-old inmate Scott Miller, armed with a shank, took a 27-year-old female prison counselor hostage. Miller raped the woman who he held for seven hours before being shot and killed. Miller, a convicted serial rapist, was serving a 694-year sentence at the time.[8]

On February 1, 2017, inmates took control of Building C, initially holding five correctional officers as hostages according to media reports. This building houses about 100 inmates. The incident was first reported by a correctional officer's radio call for "immediate assistance" at 10:38 a.m. The prison, and all other prisons within Delaware, were placed on lockdown. One hostage was released a few hours later, and taken to a hospital with 'non-life threatening' injuries. Later that evening, two other hostages were reportedly released.[9] When the hostage situation ended, one hostage, identified as correctional officer and 16-year veteran Sgt. Steven Floyd,[10] was killed and another was injured.[11] The incident led to a proposal to reinstate the state death penalty.[12][13]

Notable inmates

References

  1. ↑ "James T. Vaughn Correctional Center." Delaware Department of Corrections. Retrieved on May 29, 2010. "1181 Paddock Road Smyrna, DE 19977"
  2. ↑ "James T. Vaughn Correctional Center" (Map). Delaware Department of Corrections. Retrieved on November 16, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Death Row Fact Sheet Archived August 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.." Delaware Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.
  4. ↑ "JAMES T VAUGHN CORRECTIONAL CENTER (formerly DELAWARE CORRECTIONAL CENTER)." Delaware Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.
  5. ↑ Smyrna Clayton Sun Times "Naming of the facility". " Retrieved on July 18, 2017.
  6. ↑ "CLASI and ACLU File Lawsuit on Behalf of Prisoners with Mental Illnesses in Solitary Confinement - Community Legal Aid Society, Inc". August 6, 2015.
  7. ↑ Press, Associated. "'Baked slop': Delaware sticks to prison loaf; others end use".
  8. ↑ "Delaware AG's Office Full Report on the Use of Deadly Force in Prison Hostage Incident". WBOC-TV. 2004-08-30. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  9. ↑ "Official: Correctional Officers Taken Hostage by Inmates at Vaughn Prison in Smyrna". WBOC-TV. 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  10. ↑ "Corrections officer killed in Del. hostage situation ID'd". February 1, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Prison Employee Killed, Second Rescued as Hostage Situation Ends at Delaware Correctional Facility". February 2, 2017.
  12. ↑ Albright, Matthew (3 May 2017). "Delaware death penalty supporters pass first test". The News Journal. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  13. ↑ Kelkar, Kamala (5 May 2017). "Delaware returns to death penalty debate after prison uprising". San Francisco Bay View. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  14. ↑ "Billy Glaze, convicted in Minneapolis serial killings in the 1980s, has died". Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
  16. ↑ Fisher, James (2016-06-13). "Earl Bradley moved to prison out of state". The News Journal. Retrieved 2016-12-09.

Coordinates: 39°19′59″N 75°35′58″W / 39.333°N 75.5995°W / 39.333; -75.5995

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