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    Lansing Correctional Facility
    Lansing Correctional Facility
    Lansing Correctional Facility
    Ebook177 pages53 minutes

    Lansing Correctional Facility

    By Laura Phillippi

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    Since 1868, the Lansing Correctional Facility (formerly the Kansas State Penitentiary) has stood watch over what would become the city of Lansing. Designed by Erasmus Carr, architect of the Kansas State Capitol, the prison is the oldest in Kansas. In the beginning, it housed male and female inmates from Kansas and Oklahoma, as well as inmates serving federal sentences. Today, the facility s population of minimum, medium, maximum, and special management custody offenders is approximately 2,400. Leavenworth County has also seen the addition of the United States Disciplinary Barracks, United States Penitentiary-Leavenworth, and Corrections Corporation of America-Leavenworth, making it the only county in the country to host a state, military, federal, and private prison. Images of America: Lansing Correctional Facility features photographs of the early days, when inmates were on the silent system and could not speak to one another, to more modern times when rehabilitation has become an important component of prison life.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateOct 27, 2014
    ISBN9781439648018
    Lansing Correctional Facility
    Author

    Laura Phillippi

    Lansing Historical Museum site supervisor Laura Phillippi is a Kansas native and has a bachelor of science in history from Emporia State University and a master�s degree in history from Fort Hays State University. Nolan Sunderman has a bachelor of science in political science and a master�s degree in public administration from Missouri State University. He is the director of the Economic Development Department and the Convention and Visitors Bureau for the City of Lansing. Phillippi and Sunderman, along with local citizens, have gathered a variety of photographs to tell the unique story of Lansing, �the City with a Future.�

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      Book preview

      Lansing Correctional Facility - Laura Phillippi

      Museum.

      INTRODUCTION

      Built in 1868, the Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF) is the oldest prison in Kansas, predating Lansing, Kansas, by a decade. Once known as the Kansas State Penitentiary (KSP), the prison has seen many changes in corrections and the surrounding area. For years, Lansing remained a small community, until incorporation in 1959. Since then, it has grown to over 11,000 residents.

      The prison itself has gone through good times and bad. The early days focused more on punishment than rehabilitation of inmates. The Kansas Department of Correction’s mission statement is a safer Kansas through effective correctional services. The Lansing Correctional Facility utilizes outside programs, such as Reaching Out From Within, Brothers In Blue Reentry, Arts in Prison, and the Safe Harbor Prison Dog Program to further the rehabilitation of inmates and reduce recidivism.

      Interpreting the prison’s history is not an easy task. It can elicit various emotions for those from all walks of life. Some people have relatives who were victims of crime. Families of inmates often suffer because of the crime their relatives have committed. The issue of capital punishment raises passionate arguments from individuals and groups who are for or against it. I have respect for the victims of crimes and the family members of inmates. I also have an obligation to educate the public about our history.

      Yes, between May 6, 1950, and June 22, 1965, ten men were hanged at the prison for their crimes. The best-known pair—Richard Hickock and Perry Smith—were featured in Truman Capote’s book In Cold Blood and have been portrayed in at least three movies. They are buried at Mount Muncie Cemetery in Lansing. In December 2012, their remains were exhumed to collect samples for DNA analysis. Law enforcement officials in Florida were trying to link the pair to the killings of a family of four in 1959, but the results were inconclusive because the samples had degraded over time.

      We acknowledge this chapter of the prison’s history, but we do not actively promote it out of respect to the remaining members of the Clutter family and the citizens of Holcomb, who still feel the effects of the tragedy even after 55 years. Prison officials are adamant that we do not glorify what the inmates have done. It is not ethical for us to glorify the crimes committed by inmates.

      The photographs in this book were selected from hundreds among the collections of the Lansing Historical Museum, the Lansing Correctional Facility, and local citizens. When selecting a photograph, I used a set of criteria to determine whether to incorporate it. The photographs that were selected have something to add to telling the story of the Lansing Correctional Facility. With so few photographs of the women’s prison (now East Unit), I was limited in what I could share.

      While the word prison evokes negative thoughts for many people, there are also positive attributes of the prison that are often overlooked. This book features information on the prison’s past and present industries, from the coal mine to the Kansas Correctional Industries metals division. Motorists on Kansas highways see the results of inmates’ labor every day. The Kansas Department of Transportation and Kansas Turnpike Authority use the paint made at the Lansing Correctional Facility to line the roads. Many of the traffic signs are also made at Lansing.

      The farm nestled against the banks of the mighty Missouri River continues to raise livestock and grow crops. If the prison pumpkin patch has a good season, inmates deliver a pumpkin to each student at the Sheldon Child Development Center in Topeka, as well as local Lansing and Leavenworth schools. In a good year, the inmates distribute approximately 1,000 pumpkins as part of their community service project.

      The photographs herein offer a glimpse into life behind the walls. They show the living arrangements for different custody levels, from single cells to dormitory style. Over the years, buildings have changed, been added, or destroyed. The castle tops no longer adorn the original building, and in February 2009, a red metal roof was installed. The old medical clinic was demolished to make way for a new clinic, providing better care for inmates and a safer environment for the clinic staff.

      In June 1969, a violent riot and the subsequent wave of arson fires, self-mutilation, and violence against fellow inmates rocked the Kansas State Penitentiary. Some of these instances were fatal. Photographs reveal what officers have discovered during shakedowns at the prison, including drugs and weapons.

      An image not featured in this book shows the stab wound Lt. D. Myers received on August 29, 1969, after being attacked by an inmate. In the history of the penitentiary, seven staff members have lost their lives in the line of duty. Every May, the Lansing Correctional Facility holds a memorial service to remember these men.

      The Lansing Correctional Facility predates what is now the Hutchinson Correctional Facility by 27 years. Prior to the institution at Hutchinson, juvenile offenders were thrown in with the adult inmates at Lansing. The chances for rehabilitating these young offenders dwindled due to the influence of adult criminals.

      Today, the Kansas Department of Corrections encompasses several facilities: Lansing Correctional Facility, 1868; Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex, 1879; Hutchinson Correctional Facility, 1895; Topeka Correctional Facility, 1960; Larned Juvenile Correctional Facility, 1971; Winfield Correctional Facility,

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