Mountain Institution
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Mountain Institution is a medium security federal penitentiary operated by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). It is located in the town of Agassiz, District of Kent, British Columbia, approximately 115 kilometres east of Vancouver, British Columbia.
Mountain Institution was opened in 1962 as a special provincial prison for Sons of Freedom.[1][2] Its construction, to discourage traditional burning of buildings that characterized their method of protest, consisted of all metal living units.[3] In 1969 it became a federal prison for offenders and inmates requiring protective custody. This is no longer the case as the only federal prison in BC that has a specialized protective custody section is Kent Institution. The remaining facilities are integrated.
In 1999 the CSC undertook an extensive rebuilding of the site. It was enlarged and the old living units, which were basically of partitioned dormitory style, were torn down and replaced with three modern 60-unit buildings. Also replaced were the dining hall/kitchen, school, health-care and other institutional facilities.
Mountain Institution has a rated capacity of 480 inmates and, as of 2012, had an inmate count of 391. There are additionally 16 beds in segregation. It offers several rehabilitation programs for offenders including violence prevention, sex offender and substance abuse programming.
In November 2010, Jeremy Phillips (33) was murdered by his cellmate, serial killer Michael Wayne McGray. Inmate McGray pleaded guilty to the crime a year later. This was his seventh murder conviction though he boasted of 10 others.