However, the conditions at the prison worsened through the years, as the facility would be ranked on the
United States Department of Justice's Top Ten Most Violent Correctional Facilities list.
[3] One of the more infamous locations in the prison, with instances of gambling, fighting,and raping, was a recreation room known as "The Sugar Shack".
[3]A notable inmate in the early 20th Century was
Eugene V. Debs, who served time here from April 13 to June 14, 1919 (at which time he was transferred to an
Atlanta prison) for violating the
Espionage Act of 1917.
In 1929, the state decided to double the size of the penitentiary because overcrowding was a problem. The 5 x 7-foot (2.1 m) cells were too small to hold three prisoners at a time, but until the expansion there was no other option. Two prisoners would sleep in the bunks with the third sleeping on a mattress on the floor.
[3] The state utilized prison labor once again and completed this phase of construction in 1959. The construction had been delayed by a
steel shortage during
World War II.
[1]In total, thirty-six homicides took place in the prison.
[3] One of the more notable ones is the butchering of R.D. Wall, inmate number 44670. On October 8, 1929, after "
snitching" on his fellow inmates, he was attacked by three prisoners with dull
shivs while heading to the boiler room.
[3]In 1983,
Charles Manson requested to be transferred to this prison to be nearer to his family. His request was denied.
[4]
