Liverpool (HM Prison)
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| Location | Walton, Liverpool |
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| Security class | Adult Male/Local |
| Population | 1184 (as of May 2009) |
| Opened | 1855 |
| Governor | Peter Francis |
| Website | Liverpool at justice.gov.uk |
HM Prison Liverpool (formerly Walton Gaol) is a category B/C local men's prison, located in the Walton area of Liverpool in England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. It originally housed male and female inmates.
Liverpool Prison (originally known as Walton Gaol) was constructed between 1848 and 1855 to the designs of John Grey Weightman to replace an 18th-century establishment in the centre of Liverpool, which had become too small for current needs.
On 4 February 1939 the IRA attempted, but failed, to break a wall of the prison during the S-Plan bombing campaign in Britain that year.
During the Liverpool Blitz of World War II, on 18 September 1940, German high explosive bombs falling on a wing of the prison partially demolished it, killing 22 inmates. The body of one was not found until 11 years later when rubble was finally cleared.
The prison was the site of 62 judicial executions, from 1887 to 1964. The last execution at the prison was that of Peter Anthony Allen. He and his accomplice Gwynne Owen Evans were convicted for the murder of John Alan West in April 1964. They were simultaneously hanged on 13 August 1964; Allen was hanged at Walton Gaol, and Evans at Strangeways in Manchester.
In May 2003 an inspection report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons severely criticised Liverpool Prison for its overcrowding and poor industrial relations which had led to an unacceptable regime. The inspection found that parts of the jail were generally unclean, had cockroach infestations and broken windows. Inmates were able to shower and change their clothes just once a week at the prison.
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