United States Penitentiary, Canaan

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United States Penitentiary, Canaan
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Location Canaan Township, Wayne County,
near Waymart, Pennsylvania
Status Operational
Security class High-security (with minimum-security prison camp)
Population 1,400 (160 in prison camp)
Opened 2005
Managed by Federal Bureau of Prisons
Director Warden Charles Maiorana

The United States Penitentiary, Canaan (USP Canaan) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates, with a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.

USP Canaan is located in northeastern Pennsylvania, 20 miles east of Scranton, and 134 miles north of Philadelphia.[1]

History and facility

USP Canaan is a 170,000-square-yard (140,000 m2) facility designed by David R. Cassara Associates, Structural Engineering and Consulting of Rochester, New York for $141 million.[2] USP Canaan opened in March 2005 and is designed to house 1088 male inmates in six housing units. Six V-shaped buildings facing each other and a larger maintenance building surround a central yard with a tower in the middle. Six additional towers are lined along the rectangular shaped facility. The facility is surrounded by a lethal electrical double fence. Cells are approximately 4 m × 2 m (13.1 ft × 6.6 ft) in size equipped with a bunkbed, a stainless steel sink-toilet combination and a small table with a non-removable stool. Cells are usually occupied by two inmates and are air conditioned. The administrative and disciplinary unit, called the Special Housing Unit, can hold approximately 250 inmates. Cells in the disciplinary unit have showers and are occupied by two inmates.

Prison schedule and regulations

Inmates are counted 5 to 6 times a day, at 12:01 a.m., 3:00 a.m., 5:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m. (stand up count), 10:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. (on weekends and holidays). Initial work movements start at 4:30 a.m. and inmates must be up at 7:30 a.m. All inmates must be back inside their cells at 10:00 p.m.[3]

Prisoners have access to a text-based e-mail program known as Trust Fund Limited Inmate Communication System (TRULINCS).[4] Prisoners are only allowed 13,000 characters per e-mail, and attachments cannot be sent, received, or viewed. Inmates are not allowed to retain more than two newspapers, 10 magazines and 25 letters in their cells. Inmates are allowed to place phone calls to up to 30 approved numbers. Phone calls are restricted to 15 minutes per call and five hours per month. Inmates pay for their phone calls through their trust accounts. Inmates can buy additional food, hygiene articles and clothes from commissary for a maximum of $290 a month.

Notable incidents

There have been three inmate murders at USP Canaan since its opening. On 25 April 2010, Allen Hurley, an inmate serving a 37-year sentence for multiple armed robberies, became involved in a physical altercation with Joseph O'Kane while they were both in Hurley's cell. Hurley pulled out a homemade prison knife known as a shank, and stabbed O'Kane 92 times. O'Kane, an associate of the Gambino Crime Family in New York City who was serving life sentence for racketeering and murder, died at the scene. Hurley was convicted of manslaughter on 21 June 2012 and was sentenced to life in prison in September 2012.[5][6][7]

On 23 August 2010, inmate Jose Antonio Perez, the leader of a major drug trafficking ring in Hartford, Connecticut, died of a single stab wound to the neck. Perez was serving a life sentence for drug trafficking and murder for hire in connection with the 2002 shooting death of Theodore Casiano, the leader of a rival drug trafficking organization.[8][9] Perez's murder remains under investigation.

On 11 January 2013, inmate Ephraim Goitom was pronounced dead at a hospital about an hour after a fight. Goitom had been serving a 25-year sentence for shooting a police officer during a raid on Goitom's home.

In June 2011, 300 inmates and several staff members became ill after eating chicken in the prison dining room. The Pennsylvania State Department of Health was called in to investigate and determined that the cause was salmonella poisoning. The incident constituted one of the largest institutional outbreaks of salmonella poisoning in US history. No one became critically ill.[10]

On the evening of 25 February 2013, an inmate of the prison attacked and murdered Correction Officer Eric Williams, 34, of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania.[11] The suspected inmate has been identified as Jessie Con-ui, who is serving an 11-year term for gang-related drug trafficking.[12]

Notable inmates (current and former)

Inmate name Register number Status Details
John Rigas

Timothy Rigas

 53983-054

53982-054

 Serving sentences of 15 years and 20 years at the minimum-security satellite camp; scheduled for release in 2018 and 2022.[13] Father and son executives at Adelphia Communications Corporation; convicted in 2004 of bank fraud and other charges for stealing millions of dollars from the company and concealing its debt from investors to keep its stock price high.[14]
Juan Matta-Ballesteros 37671-133 Serving a life sentence under the name Juan Ramon Matta-Lopez.[15] Drug kingpin with ties to the Medellin Cartel in Colombia; convicted in 1990 of orchestrating the 1985 kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique Camarena.[16][17]
Abdul Kadir 64656-053 Serving a life sentence.[18] Al-Qaeda supporter; convicted of terrorism conspiracy for his role in a foiled plot to bomb John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, New York in 2007; three co-conspirators are serving sentences at other federal facilities.[19][20]
Chhun Yasith 31900-112 Serving a life sentence.[21] US citizen and President of the Cambodian Freedom Fighters; convicted in 2008 of leading a series of deadly attacks against civilian and government targets in an attempt to oust Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2000.[22][23]
Mohammad Shibin 78207-083 Serving a life sentence.[18] Somali pirate leader; convicted in 2012 of piracy, kidnapping, and hostage-taking for acting as a ransom negotiator during the hijacking of the civilian vessel Quest in 2010 and the oil tanker Miranda Marguerite in 2011; Shibin is the highest-ranking pirate ever prosecuted.[24][25]
Luke Sommer 38474-086 Serving a combined 44-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2046. Former US Army Ranger; pleaded guilty to bank robbery in 2008 for masterminding the takeover robbery of a bank in Tacoma, Washington; pleaded guilty in 2010 to attempting to solicit the murder of an Assistant United States Attorney.[26][27][28]

See also

References

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  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ [1] Archived 15 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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