It was a pressure cooker, adds Nelson, describing the violent make up of the inmates, which included members of Mexican mafia and the Aryan Brotherhood all together in an overcrowded and dilapidated space considered one of the least secure in the prison. It was amazing that not a single guards had been killed. Maximum of 20 people per scout). The best hidden gems and little known destinations - straight to your inbox. Visit New Mexico for a unique family vacation filled with exciting activities like skiing, hiking, shopping and sight seeing. The level system within the New Mexico Corrections Department requires that an inmate or inmates who cannot be managed in general population, and/or cannot function in general population due to criteria established policy will be separated from the general population. Box 27116, Santa Fe NM 87502-0116, If you are interested in Correction Officer and Probation and Parole Officer positions click for detailsRecruiting, Powered by Real Time Solutions - Website Design & Document Management, NMCD lists recruitments through the NM State Personnel Office @, If you are interested in Correction Officer and Probation and Parole Officer positions click for details, Association of State Correctional Administrators, Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility, Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility, https://nmfilm.com/for-filmmakers/locations/permits-procedures/state-owned-buildings/. They gained access to the control centre, the pharmacy and the utility closet, acquiring huge quantities of drugs, as well as the acetylene torches that would allow them to break into the E-4 dormitory, where the most grotesque violence would take place. Ensure you arrive before 2 pm to get entry into the Penitentiary of New Mexico. Is your tour suitable for children ages 7-14? The death penalty was repealed in New Mexico in 2009, and therefore no further executions have taken place. I took the tour in 2012. It was here, on the early morning of February 2, 1980, that a group of inmates from an overcrowded dormitory overpowered guards during the nightly headcount, setting in motion one of the most brutal riots in the United States prison history. The country moved in this tough on crime direction, away from any attempts to address the root causes of crime, says Nazgol Ghandnoosh, speaking about the punitive turn in the US as initiatives like the the war on drugs and the de-institutionalisation of mental health facilities that would further flood the system with prisoners. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. tours? The inmates had also ripped out plumbing fixtures, flooding parts of the building. Thirty-three people were killed, many in really grisly ways, and the whole facility was taken over by the prisoners for a while. While we didn't see any paranormal activity, I do believe I heard a presence walk up behind me just before we headed down a very dark alley. We are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Destinations. In the years since its final closure in 1998, the prison has come to occupy a near-celebrity status in New Mexico, engendering its own folklore, ghost stories and becoming a popular set for the burgeoning New Mexico TV and film industry. The New Mexico Corrections Department Offender Information is intended to provide law enforcement agencies and the general public with information about offenders who are incarcerated or on probation and/or parole supervision. [7], The first prison industry produced bricks. The peak population of the New Mexico State Penitentiary reached 1,272 inmates. 33 Art Classes from $85.00 Some impatient killers threw flammable liquids into locked cells and ignited them, according to the official report, while other inmates meticulously cutthrough the bars of the E-4 cells with the torches left behind by construction workers. INDONESIAN RICE TABLE (RIJSTTAFEL) a treat from Amsterdam in Philadelphia?? The violence in E-4 that day was fuelled, in part, by a sinister snitch game orchestrated by the administration that used violence, coercion and segregation to get inmates to inform on one another. The riot was a tipping point, says Trinidad Lucero, leading a group of eager tourists through the defunct hallways of Old Main, hatchet marks and burns still visible on the ground, where two people had been murdered decades prior. At Old Main, Chavez began to experience abuse and threats at the hands of correctional officers, including arbitrary placement in solitary confinement for months and then years three separate terms that lasted more than two years each at a time. I was playing guitar and singing songs with some fellow inmates.. The majority of the snitches met a horrible end. He remains, as of 2017, the only execution in New Mexico since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.[5]. PNM maintains its national accredited status by the American Correctional Association and continues to intensify its efforts to achieve the mission of the Corrections Department by providing a balanced system approach to corrections from incarceration to community-based supervision with training, education, programs and services that provide opportunities for offenders to transition to communities. https://www.cd.nm.gov/old-main-photos/. You must know an offender's first and/or last name or NMCD Number to begin the search process. Guards that were held as hostages were released. Because we were so worried about having another riot, we just locked people down., We got in the habit of making it too easy to lock down prisoners, says Roark, the New Mexico Correctional Departmentdirector of adult prisons. It fuels the cycle of violence, leading to more violence and terror.. "Old Main" was virtually destroyed and 33 inmates were murdered. That is where the riot began. On a recent trip we were able to take a Ghost/History tour with Allen. This mass incarceration is connected to shifts in policy and public opinion dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, when prisons moved away from a rehabilitation model to the so-called tough on crime approach that views punishment as a prisons main function. Address. Your email address will not be published. Almost two decades after the deadly prison riots, could old souls still be doing time? Enjoy this tour of the Old Main Prison located near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The woman who spoke to us at the end of the tour said recidivism in New Mexico is only 48 percentwhich sounds not so great, but the national rate is more like 75 percent. According to the states corrections department, approximately 16 percent of New Mexicos incarcerated population is housed in some form of solitary confinement, making the state the second-worst in the country according to the ACLU report. Physical Address4311 State Highway 14Santa Fe, New Mexico 87508. Tip of the hat to the woman I overheard talking on her mobile in the DFW airport this summer: And we were, like, going to go on this rilly cool tour of the prison outside Santa Fe? I was in the wrong prison at the wrong time, says Nelson, now in his 60s. Upon arrival at Old Main in 1988, he began working on filing for an appeal. An approved visitor can send a money order with the inmates name and number to the facility. New Mexico State Penitentiary, Santa Fe, NM (My Opinion), New Mexico State Penitentiary, Santa Fe, NM (More Witness Accounts and Ghost Stories), New Mexico State Penitentiary, Santa Fe, NM (Investigations Summary of 2005), 94 Rock's visit to the New Mexico State Pen, New Mexico State Penitentiary, Santa Fe, NM (Personal Experiences), New Mexico State Penitentiary, Santa Fe, NM (Paranormal Claims), New Mexico State Penitentiary, Santa Fe, NM (History). The goal is to raise money for a museum; however, nothing seems to have happened in the last five years. To this end, the NMCD in 1985 built a Level V supermax facility known to prisoners simply as North. Inmates protesting the use of excessive force seized Deputy Warden Ralph Tahash and twelve guards and held them hostage. For more information please contact Noemy Lozano: To scout, tech scout or film at Old Main click here for guidelines and forms https://nmfilm.com/for-filmmakers/locations/permits-procedures/state-owned-buildings/. The prison opened in 1956, and closed it's doors for good in 1998. We have big plans, says Tomlin, speaking about the tours popularity. Visiting hours are between Saturdays and Sundays between 8 am and 3 pm. Deals of The Week: Get into the Latin groove! Gary Johnson closed the main facility in 1998. Simultaneously there was much less transparency about what goes on in prisons. And this prison was the gruesome scene of one of the worst riots ever recorded, where prisons are concerned. which is now complete with shuttle service, a personalised mug shot, and an NMCD-produced greeting video in which a diverse set of officers outline the rehabilitative work and positive impacts the New Mexico corrections department has on prisoners and the state. Ballejos had been diagnosed with severe personality disorder as well as an anxiety disorder. In that setting, the proliferation of solitary and segregation used in this way has been able to flourish, she says. But not before a severely violent riot had occurred in 1980. Allan is really knowledgeable about the history of Santa Fe, UFO's, ghosts, energy lines, and really anything else you may be interested in. After booking, Nelson was placed in the E-2 unit, a barracks-style dormitory that, due to construction on more secure cell blocks, according to an Attorney General Report, was housing many of the penitentiarys most hardened and violent criminals. The ghost stories and history of New Mexico's most haunted places are fascinating, but are they really haunted by ghosts? After I got over the cognitive dissonance (prisons? OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. Some concerned necessary prison conditions like overcrowding, inmate discipline, educational services and improving food. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. This prison was the site of Americas worst prison riot resulting in the deaths of 33 people in February, 1980. By 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3, 1980, the violence had spent itself; police and National Guardsmen retook the prison without resistance. Thirty-three inmates were found dead inside some of them horribly butchered by their fellow prisoners. They tortured, abused, and murdered many of the men in the protective custody unit. Between 1992 and 1995, he was left in isolation at North for a 32-month stretch. Making matters worse, the, dormitory now contained several maximum security inmates that had been transferred there due to renovations in their cell block. A lot may have hinged on our particular guide, a retired guard who started work in the facility in 1981, not too long after the riots. 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