Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women

Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women is a prison for women in Bedford Hills in the Town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York, USA. Bedford Hills, the only New York State Department of Correctional Services women's maximum security prison, is the largest women's prison in New York State and has hosted many infamous prisoners. The prison previously opened under the name Westfield State Farm in 1901.

Bedford Hills is one of several New York facilities exclusively for women, the others being Albion Correctional Facility, Bayview Correctional Facility, Beacon Correctional Facility, and Taconic Correctional Facility.

Notable inmates

• Kathy Boudin, Convicted in 1984 for her involvement in a Brinks robbery that resulted in the killing of three people, and who became a public health expert while in prison. She was sentenced to life in prison and was released on September 17, 2003. After her parole she accepted a job in the H.I.V./AIDS Clinic at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center.

• Judy Clark, Convicted in 1983 for her involvement in the same Brinks robbery as Boudin. Was not represented by counsel at trial and is currently serving 3 consecutive life sentences at Bedford Hills. Co-founded the AIDS Counseling and Education (ACE) program at Bedford Hills, which has been emulated in prisons nationwide. Was instrumental in establishing a college program at Bedford Hills that has helped more than 100 prisoners earn college degrees.^{[citation needed]}

• Amy Fisher, Famously known as "The Long Island Lolita" by the press, convicted of the 1992 shooting of the wife of her lover Joey Buttafuoco, with whom she began an affair as a 16 year-old student. She had served 7 years in prison and was released from prison in 1999. Since her release she has become a writer and a porn star.

• Jean Harris, Made national news in 1980 as the defendant in a high-profile murder case of her ex-lover Dr. Herman Tarnower, the well-known cardiologist and author of the best-selling book The Scarsdale Diet. She had served less than 12 years in prison.

• Barbara Kogan, The former socialite made national headlines beginning in October 1990 when her husband George was gunned down on an Upper Eastside Manhattan street in broad daylight. Barbara immediately became a suspect but she was not convicted for nearly two decades after she accepted a plea bargain admitting to conspiring to hire a hit man to kill her husband of 24 years because of a lengthy, acrimonious divorce. A book about the case, The Millionaire's Wife, by true crime author Cathy Scott, is set for release by St. Martin's Press in March 2012<>Publisher's book page for The Millionaire's Wife about the Barbara Kogan case</ref>

• Pamela Smart, Former media services consultant was found guilty in March 1991 for conspiring with her underage lover, William Flynn, and his three friends to kill her 24-year-old husband, Greggory Smart, in Derry, New Hampshire. She was transferred to Bedford Hills from the New Hampshire State Prison for Women in March 1993 because New Hampshire did not have a secure enough facility to house her, the higher security necessary due to the high-profile nature of her case. Her case grew national attention in the 1990s. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole.

• Stacey Castor, Wife who was was charged in 2007 with second degree murder, second degree attempted murder, and offering a false instrument in the first degree. She was found guilty of intentionally poisoning then-husband David Castor with antifreeze in 2005 and attempting to murder her daughter, Ashley Wallace, with a toxic cocktail consisting of crushed pills mixed in with vodka, orange juice, and Sprite in 2007. In addition, she was suspected of having murdered her first husband, Michael Wallace, whose grave lies next to David Castor's. After an autopsy was performed on Michael Wallace's body the autopsy showed traces of antifreeze and rat poison that were found in his remains. The Medical Examiner ruled the death a poisoning homicide. The story made national news, and Castor was subsequently named The Black Widow by media outlets.

• Carolyn Warmus, Former Greenville Elementary School teacher convicted for the murder of Paul Solomon's wife Betty Jean to get closer with him. Carolyn and Paul both worked at Greenville as school teachers and Carolyn frequently visited the Solomon house and became a role model to Paul's daughter Kristan. Her first trial was a mistrial and after Paul Solomon found a cashmere glove covered with blood, it was a new piece of evidence linking her to the murder and Carolyn was found guilty at her second trial. She faced the minimum of 15 years, but Judge Carey sentenced her to the maximum of 25 years to life in prison.

• Sheila Davalloo, Pleasantville, New York wife guilty of attempted murder for stabbing her husband, Paul Christos three times as he was blindfolded and handcuffed during a kinky game in their condominium to remain with her lover Nelson Sessler and have him for herself. She faced a minimum of five years in prison but was sentenced the maximum of 25 years in prison on all charges. In November 2007 she was charged with the murder of Annna Lisa Raymundo in Stamford, Connecticut whom Sessler was seeing and ended his relationship with Davalloo. As of December 2008 Davalloo is currently out of Bedford Hills to stand trial for the murder of Raymundo and is under a $1M bond.

• Marybeth Tinning, Serving 20 years to life in prison for the murder of several of her children. She was denied parole in March 2007 after serving 20 years in prison.

• Remy Ma, Famous rapper currently serving 8 years for shooting Makeeda Barnes-Joseph in the abdomen over a missing sum of $3,000.

• Nixzaliz Santiago, Convicted of manslaughter in connection with the death of her daughter, Nixzmary Brown, and sentenced to 43 years in prison. Nixzmary's stepfather Cesar Rodriguez tortured (later learned to be bound and her mouth duct-taped, and beaten) Nixzmary, and her mother allegedly ignored this and didn't contact authorities in time to save her daughter's life. Justice Patricia DiMango made these harsh remarks to her: "You may not have delivered the fatal blow, but were it not for your failure to act, Nixzmary Brown would probably not have died from that blow," and "By your own statements, she gasped for air - moaning - and called for you twice until she died. You, Mrs. Santiago, ignored the desperate calls and left this little 7-year-old alone and you did nothing" and finally "You had a duty to act. You were the mother." See Murder of Nixzmary Brown.

External links

• New York prison information
• Bedford Hills College Program at Marymount Manhattan College