Tamms Correctional Center
The Tamms Correctional Center is a closed
Prior to the March 9, 2011 abolition of the death penalty in Illinois,
Prior to Illinois Governor George Ryan's January 11, 2003 commutation of death row sentences, male death row inmates were housed in Tamms, Pontiac, and Menard correctional centers. After the commutations, only Pontiac continued to hold death row prisoners.[6]
As with other supermax prisons, prison reformers advocated for its closing. The Tamms Year Ten campaign was established in 2008 to push for reforms and closure of the prison.
During its operation Tamms operated at about 50% capacity. According to the state, this relatively low occupancy percentage reflected officials being selective about who was imprisoned there. Critics of the facility argued that it was built too large and that it was too costly.[8]
During late February 2012 Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced the planned closing of the Tamms Correctional Center due to budget cuts, triggering a political debate in the state about its future. Shortly thereafter The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed suit in Alexander County Circuit Court; this was temporarily effective in blocking the closure of the prison. On September 4, 2012, the judge in that matter, Charles Cavaness, granted a 30-day injunctive order preventing transfers outside of the prison.[9] On September 6, 2012, the state appealed to[10] the Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court. Justice Melissa A. Chapman delivered the opinion for the court, with Justices Thomas M. Welch and Stephen L. Spomer in concurrence, denying the state's appeal.[11]
On January 4, 2013 the prison officially closed.[12]
References
- Tamms Correctional Center Illinois Department of Corrections
- U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.
- ^ Smith, Matt."Illinois abolishes death penalty." CNN. March 9, 2011.
- ^ "Tamms Closed Maximum Security Unit: Ten-Point Plan Brief." Illinois Department of Corrections. 3 (9/51). September 3, 2009. Retrieved on September 1, 2010.
- ^ TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL The New Yorker
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-09-01. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "DOC Report Online." Illinois Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 1, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Fincher, Megan (Jan 11, 2014). "Photographs connect inmates in solitary confinement to outside world". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "Inside the Tamms super-max prison Image 4 of 21." Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on October 12, 2010.
- ^ Rehana, Joe (3 April 2012). "state-commission-holds-hearing-on-tamms-closure". theviennatimes.com. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
- ^ Rehana, Joe (5 September 2012). "judge-grants-union-request". theviennatimes.com. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
- ^ Fitton, Mark (17 September 2012). "appeals-court-upholds-restraining-order". thesouthern.com. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
- ^ "Tamms "Supermax" Prison, with its Inhumane and Ridiculously Expensive Solitary Confinement Practices, is Officially a Thing of the Past!". American Civil Liberties Union.