Marion Correctional Institution (Ohio)

Marion Correctional Institution

Location	940 Marion-Williamsport Road Marion, Ohio
Status	open
Security class	medium and minimum
Capacity	2623
Opened	1954
Managed by	Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction

The Marion Correctional Institution (MCI) is a minimum- and medium-security prison for men located in Marion, Marion County, Ohio, owned and operated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

The facility first opened in 1954 and has a working population of 2,623 state inmates. The facility is close to the North Central Correctional Complex, a private prison also housing Ohio state inmates.

In 2015, two prisoners built two PCs with parts that were used to do malicious actions on the prison's secure network.

On April 18, 2020, approximately 50 National Guardsmen were activated to assist staff after nearly two thousand prisoners and staff tested positive for the 2019-nCoV coronavirus. One correction officer had died by that point, and nearly three-quarters of prisoners had tested positive.

In May 2020 Jay Z and rapper Meek Mill, through their group REFORM Aliiance, donated 10 million protective masks to correctional systems throughout the United States, including MCI.

As of July 28, 2020, 2 inmates had died 1,224 inmates were placed in medical quarantine, and another 11 were placed in security quarantine.

History

In 1948, the State of Ohio procured 1,243 acres of land from the United States Government. This land was previously part of the Scioto Ordinance Plant and had once housed barracks used for WWII German prisoners of war. Within the current graveyard, now maintained by the prison, lies the resting place of one German POW.

Initially, Ohio planned to utilize the barracks to accommodate older youthful offenders from the Boys Industrial School. However, this strategy swiftly changed. Instead, the barracks were repurposed to house inmates transferred from the Ohio Penitentiary (OP) and the Ohio State Reformatory (OSR). The first batch of inmates arrived from the Ohio Penitentiary in June 1950 to aid in repairing existing structures on the property. Subsequently, OSR inmates joined in November of the same year. For the ensuing four years, the Reformatory inmates were incarcerated on this site.

Construction of what is now known as the Marion Correctional Institution commenced in 1952. Originally designed to include only dormitories, cellblocks were later incorporated due to the need to accommodate inmates from the overcrowded Ohio Penitentiary. (It was later discovered, around thirty years later, that the original construction lacked steel reinforcements in the concrete block exterior walls – a deficiency that was subsequently rectified.) The initial capacity of the prison was set at 1,122, and the construction expenses totaled $8 million. In October of 195, the first group of permanent inmates from the Ohio Penitentiary was relocated to Marion.

Marion Correctional Institution boasts a rich history of inventive inmate programs. In the 1970s, it hosted the unit-managed "Project Newgate" initiative, which introduced college programming for Ohio inmates. Participants in the MCI program were granted furlough release one year before their actual release, during which they pursued college courses to continue after their prison release. The prison was also home to Ohio's initial residential inmate drug rehabilitation program, "Papillon," during the same period. The institution was notable for hosting the nation's inaugural prison-sponsored AMVETS chapter, and during the 1980s, its staff organized the world's first all-inmate chapter of the Red Cross.

A pivotal legal development occurred with Taylor vs. Perini, a case filed in 1969 that marked a significant federal court intervention in Ohio's prison operations. The lawsuit alleged a range of constitutional rights violations of inmates at Marion Correctional Institution. Through negotiations, a consent decree was established, outlining various operational changes that the institution agreed to implement. Due to ongoing disputes regarding compliance with the consent decree, a "Special Master" was appointed by the Federal Court in 1975 to oversee its execution. This "Special Master," Vincent Nathan, a Toledo attorney without prior corrections experience, assumed this role. The Taylor vs. Perini case concluded in 1991.

Inmates at MCI have showcased their talents through holiday musical pageants during Christmas and Easter. The Prison News Network (PNN), an advanced television production studio (now defunct due to inmates' misuse of computers for illicit purposes), generated high-quality video content for the institution's closed-circuit television channel. MCI was also the location of the nation's inaugural interfaith housing unit (which was later closed due to a Covid outbreak at MCI), where inmates from Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faiths resided together and engaged in programs to deepen their religious commitments while gaining an understanding of other faiths. In 1992, the institution obtained accreditation.

Wardens

• 1954-1968: Lamoyne Green
• 1968-1986: E.P. Perini
• 1986-1992: Norris McMackin
• 1992-1996: Shirley Rogers
• 1996-2005: Christine Money
• 2005-2011: Margaret Beightler
• 2011-2016: Jason Bunting
• 2016-2021: Lyneal Wainwright
• 2021-2022: Leon Hill
• 2022-Current: Harold May

Notable inmates

• Bobby Lee Cutts Jr.
• David Allan Coe
• John F. Boyle, Jr.
• Kevin Keith
• Don King (boxing promoter) (1967—1970s)