Auburn Prison
| Location | Auburn, New York |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°56′05″N 76°34′27″W / 42.93472°N 76.57417°WCoordinates: 42°56′05″N 76°34′27″W / 42.93472°N 76.57417°W |
| Status | Open |
| Security class | Maximum security |
| Capacity | 1821 |
| Opened | 1818 |
| Managed by | New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision |
| Director | Harold Graham (superintendent) |
Auburn Correctional Facility is a state prison on State Street in Auburn, New York, United States. It was built on land that was once a Cayuga village. It is classified as a maximum security facility.
Constructed in 1817 as Auburn Prison, it was the second state prison in New York (after New York City's Newgate, 1797-1828), the site of the first execution by electric chair in 1890, and the namesake of the "Auburn System," a correctional system in which prisoners were housed in solitary confinement in large rectangular buildings, and performed penal labor under silence that was enforced at all times. The prison was renamed the Auburn Correctional Facility in 1970. The prison is among the oldest functional prisons in the United States.
The prison charged a fee for tourists in order to raise funds for the prison. Eventually, to discourage most visitors, the fee was increased.
In contrast with the purely reformatory type prison instituted in Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia System introduced by the Quakers, the "Auburn System" modified the schedule of prayer, contemplation, and humane conditions with hard labor.
Prisoners were compelled to work during the day, and the profit of their labor helped to support the prison. Prisoners were segregated by offense; additionally they were issued clothing that identified their crime. The traditional American prison uniform, consisting of horizontal black and white stripes, originated at the Auburn prison. The prisoners had their heads closely cropped and walked in lockstep, keeping step with their heads bowed. Each prisoner placed a hand on the shoulder of the man in front of him to maintain a rigid separation.
There was a communal dining room so that the prisoners could gather together for meals, but a code of silence was enforced harshly at all times by the guards. Thus the inmates worked and ate together, but in complete silence. At night the prisoners were kept in individual cells (even though the original plan called for double cells).
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