Jessup Correctional Institution
Correctional institution in Jessup, Maryland, US
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI) is a maximum security prison operated by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in Jessup, Maryland. It was formerly called the Maryland House of Correction-Annex.[1][2]
  Location within Maryland | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Maximum adult males |
| Population | 1,396 (daily average) (2010) |
| Opened | 1991 |
| Former name | Maryland House of Correction-Annex |
| Managed by | Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services |
| Warden | Robert Dean |
| Website | Official website |
Prisoners
In 2013, inmates from JCI helped remove asbestos from contaminated buildings at the Maryland House of Correction.[3] A lifer at JCI, Larry Bratt, wrote about dying in prison.[4] Inmates at JCI participated in the Beyond Scared Straight program.[5] Inmates at JCI participate in the Prison Puppy Raising Program.[6] A 2010 phone call to a college class by Marshall Conway, a former black panther in Baltimore, from inside JCI inspired an award-winning documentary, Comrade Sunshine.[7]
One prisoner, Wes Moore, is one of the subjects of the 2010 book The Other Wes Moore by Westley "Wes" Moore, who shares a similar name.[8]
Education
Inmates have a library that they use for legal research and writing, writing letters, and other purposes.[9]
JCI has a college program, called the Prison Scholars Program, run by Joshua Miller.[10] Many of the courses in the JCI Prison Scholars Program are on philosophy.[11] A chapter in "The Beautiful Prison" discusses a philosophy course run by Loyola University Professor Drew Leder and the scholars at JCI. The chapter is titled: "The Enlightened Prison: Drew Leder and the Jessup Correctional Institution Scholars."[12]
Starting in August 2016, the University of Baltimore has begun offering bachelor's degrees JCI prisoners in Community Studies and Civic Engagement.[13] This program is a part of the US Department of Education's Second Chance Pell Experiment,[14] which involves 66 other universities. However, University of Baltimore is the first to implement the program.
Notable incidents
In 2008, Kelvin Poke, a man who was serving a life sentence at JCI, escaped from a local hospital and was killed by police.[15]
In 2012, a man killed his cellmate and eventually pleaded guilty to the crime.[16]
In 2015, three correctional officers were placed on administrative leave after an inmate was found dead inside a cell full of steam.[17] Visits were halted after an outbreak of an illness.[18] A former JCI guard was suspected of shootings in Maryland.[19]
In August 2016, an inmate was stabbed to death by other inmates in the F building. Officers responded to the call of a fight around 10 AM and found the victim, John A. O'Sullivan lying on the floor with multiple stab and puncture wounds.[20]
In May 2023, Nicholas Joseph Delfosse, an inmate at JCI, was found in his cell with multiple injuries. An autopsy revealed Delfosse was stabbed to death and his death was ruled a homicide.[21]
Notable inmates
| Inmate Name | Register Number | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Horton | 1019284 / 189182 | Serving a life sentence. | Convicted murderer who is best known for his crimes being noted in an ad during the George H. W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign.[22][23][24] |
| Sean Urbanski | 4511249 / 00481576 | Serving a life sentence. | Perpetrator of the 2017 Murder of Richard Collins III in which he was stabbed to death by Urbanski on the University of Maryland, College Park campus.[25][26][27][28][29] |