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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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State Correctional Institution – Phoenix
The State Correctional Institution – Phoenix is a state prison in Skippack Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with a Collegeville postal address, in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Operated by Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, it was named after the phoenix bird.

It cost $400 million to build, making it the most expensive state prison to be constructed in Pennsylvania history. It has a capacity of 3,830 prisoners, and as of September 2018, its full time workforce numbered 1,200. Heery International designed the facility. It replaced SCI Graterford. Most prisoners are male, located in the East and West sub units, while it has a re-entry unit for female prisoners with a capacity of 192.

The female unit is not in the main prison perimeter. SCI Phoenix is one of two prisons that share Pennsylvania's death row. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections anticipated that most of the prisoners would be from the area of Philadelphia, and currently SCI Phoenix is the state prison closest to Philadelphia.

History

The SCI Phoenix buildings were built on the SCI Graterford land area, and the Phoenix and Graterford buildings are about 0.25 mi (0.40 km) apart, with SCI Phoenix fencing beginning about 1,100 feet east of SCI Graterford's fencing.

The first bidding for construction of this prison occurred in the decade of the 2000s. The prison, originally to open in November 2014, opened late since Walsh Heery Joint Venture, the construction company, and Hill International, a Philadelphia company representing the State of Pennsylvania, had a dispute over whether the prison was ready to open. As of July 2018, the prison's final cost was still not finalized.

On June 1, 2018, its dedication ceremony was held, and the prison began operations on July 9, 2018. The state began moving Graterford prisoners there on July 11, 2018, and Graterford ended operations on July 15. Graterford's employees now were employees of Phoenix. Some inmates disliked the move as they feared they would be sharing cells with other inmates, while at Graterford they had single cells.

The population of Graterford was to reduce to 2,588 inmates by June 2018, so that the transfer of inmates to Phoenix would not involve as many people, and Phoenix eventually opened, with 2,633 prisoners. Initially, prisoners with life sentences who had single cells at Graterford would continue to have single cells at Phoenix.

At some point all of the death penalty prisoners at SCI Greene were moved to SCI Phoenix. In 2024 the state began moving some death row prisoners to SCI Somerset.

Composition

Many prisoners are two to a cell, and most cells have the dimensions 12 ft (3.7 m) by 6 ft (1.8 m). Phoenix has 3,422 beds.

It has inmates convicted of capital murder, many from the Philadelphia area and most of whom were sentenced to life imprisonment but with some under death sentences, housed in a dedicated section of the prison, called the "Capital Unit." That section is larger than the previous capital case section that was in Graterford.

The PADOC stated that the prison hoped to move inmates with death sentences from SCI Greene, where most death row and capital murder inmates in Pennsylvania reside, to SCI Phoenix so that the prison system can more easily transport them to court proceedings.

Notable inmates

Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
George Emil Banks AY6066 Originally sentenced to death, sentence commuted to life in prison on May 12, 2010 after he was declared incompetent to be executed. Perpetrator of the 1982 Wilkes-Barre shootings in which he murdered 13 people, including 5 of his own children.
Cosmo DiNardo NK0995 Serving 4 life sentences without parole. One of the perpetrators of the July 2017 Pennsylvania murders in which DiNardo and another person, Sean Michael Kratz, killed 4 individuals during deals involving marijuana.
Anthony Joyner AY5659 Serving a life sentence. Raped and murdered at least 6 women at a nursing home in the 1980s.
Ronald Taylor EX2412 Sentenced to death. Perpetrator of the 2000 Wilkinsburg shooting.

References

  1. ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Skippack township, PA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-08-01. State Correctional Institution Graterford (the name Graterford is indicated instead of Phoenix)
    Zoning Map. Skippack Township, Pennsylvania. Retrieved on September 26, 2018. "Pennsylvania State Correctional Facility Graterford Prison"
  2. ^ "SCI Phoenix." Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 26, 2018. "Facility Address: 1200 Mokychic Drive Collegeville, PA 19426"
  3. ^ Dennis, Marian (2018-06-01). "Officials cut ribbon to Graterford prison replacement — SCI Phoenix". Pottstown Mercury. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  4. ^ Melamed, Samantha (17 May 2018). "Pennsylvania's newest, most expensive prison is finally ready - and inmates are dreading it". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  5. ^ DeStefano, Joseph (18 April 2016). "Pennsylvania's new prison is as big as the Comcast Center". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  6. ^ Pradelli, Chad (2018-09-25). "Bill Cosby heads to prison at SCI Phoenix". WPVI-TV. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  7. ^ Croft, Jay (2018-09-25). "This is the prison where Cosby will serve: brand new, state of the art -- and maximum security". CNN. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  8. ^ Dennis, Marian (2017-11-24). "Graterford prison replacement, SCI Phoenix, is 'state-of-the-art' facility". Pottsville Mercury. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  9. ^ "First look at replacement for aging Graterford prison". WPVI-TV. 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  10. ^ "Persons Sentenced to Execution in Pennsylvania as of August 1, 2018." Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 26, 2018.
  11. ^ Lattanzio, Vince (2013-06-20). "Philadelphia Is Not Building a $400M Prison". WCAU (NBC 10). Retrieved 2018-09-30. - See the diagram which indicates the "capital unit"
  12. ^ "State Prisons." Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
  13. ^ Map link. Google Maps, SCI Graterford & SCI Phoenix Project. Retrieved 2020-01-28
  14. ^ DiStefano, Joseph (2018-07-19). "Phoenix prison is finished, but not full, or fully paid for". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  15. ^ "Moving from Graterford to Phoenix." Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 26, 2018.
  16. ^ Moselle, Aaron (2018-05-21). "As Graterford inmates move to new prison, prospect of sharing cells worries some". WHYY. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  17. ^ Allyn, Bobby (2018-03-23). "June opening expected for Graterford replacement prison in Montgomery County". WHYY. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  18. ^ Hurst, David (2024-03-02). "DOC: Some Pa. death row inmates now housed at SCI-Somerset". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  19. ^ Allyn, Bobby (2018-09-26). "With Bill Cosby in prison, what's next?". WHYY. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  20. ^ "Inmate/Parolee Locator".
  21. ^ Michael R. Sisak (Staff Writer) (12 May 2010). "Judge: Banks incompetent, can't be executed". The Times-Tribune. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
  22. ^ Robbins, William; Times, Special To the New York (1982-09-26). "GUNMAN KILLS 13 IN A PENNSYLVANIA RAMPAGE". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  23. ^ Collins, Jim (1982-09-26). "Prison Guard Kills 13 People In Pennsylvania". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  24. ^ "George Banks was suffering from a 'severe and rare'... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  25. ^ "George Banks was sentenced Wednesday to die in the... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  26. ^ Croffie, Eric Levenson,Kwegyirba (2018-05-16). "Pennsylvania man who killed and buried four men is sentenced to life in prison". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Stanglin, Doug. "2 cousins charged in gruesome killings of 4 Pennsylvania men". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  28. ^ "Sean Kratz Rejects Plea Deal, Cosmo DiNardo Pleads Guilty To Murder Charges In Deaths Of 4 Men - CBS Philadelphia". www.cbsnews.com. 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  29. ^ "Cosmo DiNardo confesses to killing four missing men in Pennsylvania, lawyer says". NBC News. 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  30. ^ "Pennsylvania Man Confesses To Killing 4 Missing Men Found In Common Grave". NPR.
  31. ^ "Six elderly women were sexually assaulted and murdered in... - UPI Archives".
  32. ^ "Nursing Home Deaths Laid to an Employee". The New York Times. 3 August 1983.
  33. ^ "Anthony Joyner, convicted of raping and killing six elderly... - UPI Archives".
  34. ^ Archives, L. A. Times (2001-11-12). "Man Sentenced to Death in Shooting Rampage". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  35. ^ "Pittsburgh Jury Sentences Man To Death in Racial Killing of 3". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2001-11-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  36. ^ Longman, Jere (2000-03-02). "Gunman Surrenders After Killing 2 in Restaurants in Pittsburgh Suburb". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  37. ^ staff, CBSNews com staff CBSNews com (2000-03-01). "Hate Crime Charges In Pa. Shooting - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  38. ^ Bowley, Graham (2021-06-30). "Bill Cosby Freed as Court Overturns His Sex Assault Conviction". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  39. ^ Pete Williams (13 August 2015). "Connecticut Supreme Court Overturns Death Penalty in State". NBC News. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  40. ^ Mark Berman (August 13, 2015). "Connecticut Supreme Court says the death penalty is unconstitutional and bans executions for inmates on death row". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 15, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  41. ^ "Inmate Details".
  42. ^ "Eligible for parole after 64 years in prison, world's oldest juvenile lifer deserves no more breaks, Pa. Court says". 28 March 2019.
  43. ^ "COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. RAGHUNANDAN YANDAMURI (2017)". FindLaw. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
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