Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Cedar Junction

The Massachusetts Correctional Institution—Cedar Junction (MCI-Cedar Junction), formerly known as MCI-Walpole, is a maximum security prison under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Correction. It was opened in 1956 to replace Charlestown State Prison, the oldest prison in the nation at that time. MCI-Cedar Junction is one of two (the other one being Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center) maximum security prisons for male offenders in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As of January 6, 2020 there was 346 Maximum and 65 Medium inmates in general population beds.[2]

Massachusetts Correctional Institution—Cedar Junction
LocationWalpole / Norfolk, Massachusetts (South Walpole postal address, ZIP code 02071)
Coordinates42°6′20.1″N 71°17′23.9″W
Security classLevel 6 (Maximum)[1]
CapacityOperational Capacity Max: 568

Operational Occupancy Max: 61% Operational Capacity Med: 78

Operational Occupancy Med: 83%
Opened1955
Managed byMassachusetts Department of Correction
DirectorSuperintendent Douglas DeMoura

MCI-Cedar Junction also houses the Departmental Disciplinary Unit (DDU). During the 1970s, Cedar Junction (then known as Walpole) was one of the most violent prisons in the United States.[3] It is located on both sides of the line between the towns of Walpole and Norfolk, and has a South Walpole mailing address (South Walpole is not a political entity).

In 1955, Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston, built Our Lady of the Ransom Chapel at the center of the prison. As of June 2009, MCI-Cedar Junction serves as the reception and diagnostic center, which receives all new male court commitments for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Department of Correction.

Covid Cases

Pursuant to the Supreme Judicial Court’s April 3, 2020 Opinion and Order in the Committee for Public Counsel Services v. Chief Justice of the Trial Court, SJC-12926 matter, as amended on April 10, April 28 and June 23, 2020 (the “Order”), the Special Master posts weekly reports which are located on the SJC website here for COVID testing and cases for each of the correctional facilities administered by the Department of Correction and each of the county Sheriffs’ offices. The SJC Special master link above has the most up to date information reported by the correctional agencies and is posted for the public to view.

Uprising

In 1973, after the Attica Prison riot, a branch of the National Prisoner Reform Association (NPRA) was established. The NPRA, which became the prisoners' legitimate representative, organised committees which ran the prison for three months, monitored by neutral civilian observers and other volunteers from local communities. During that time the murder rate in Walpole fell from the highest in the country to zero. The strike ended in the prisoners' favor as the superintendent of the prison resigned. The prisoners were granted more visitation rights and work programs.[4][5]

Notable inmates
  • Tony Costa - Serial killer believed to have brutally murdered and dismembered four women (possibly more than nine). He committed suicide by hanging in his cell on May 12, 1974.
  • Wayne Lo - School shooter who perpetrated the shooting at Bard College at Simon's Rock.
  • Albert DeSalvo - Serial rapist widely believed to be the Boston Strangler. He was stabbed to death by an inmate in 1973.

References
  1. "Security Levels". Mass. Executive Office of Public Safety. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  2. "Weekly Inmate Count - 1/6/20".
  3. Kauffman, Kelsey. Prison Officers and Their World. Harvard University Press, 1988.
  4. "When the prisoners ran the prison: Massachusetts, 1973 | Ben Jarman".
  5. "Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Cedar Junction".
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