East Jersey State Prison

General information

Buildings and Grounds

• The prison's mailing address is in Rahway, NJ, but the prison is located outside of Rahway, in nearby Avenel, New Jersey.
• The prison's large dome is a well known, local landmark visible from nearby US Route 1–9 and New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line routes.
• The prison features a large walled compound in size, which contains the administration building, cell houses, classrooms, a chapel, shops, and other buildings.
• The prison was originally surrounded by hundreds of acres of farmland where inmates worked.
• Located just South of the prison is the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, New Jersey's facility for incarcerated sex offenders. Officers assigned to A.D.T.C. also operate the Special Treatment Unit, which is the state's location for those civilly committed sexually violent predators. These inmates are typically ones who completed serving their time, but are not psychologically deemed safe to reintegrate into society and are extremely likely to re-offend.

  Operational Information

• Originally, inmates were categorized on a conduct-based "grading" system, in which inmates at different grade levels were granted varying privileges. Each inmate received a book of rules and regulations detailing expected appropriate behavior and the consequences of violating the rules. All inmates entered the system at the "second grade" level with the opportunity to advance or to be demoted.
• In the first years of operation, inmates woke at 5:45 a.m. with lights out at 9 p.m. Their typical day consisted primarily of school and/or work. Students went to classes for half the day and worked the other half. The prison offered vocational training and jobs, including tailoring, cooking, shoe-making, printing, electrical work, farming/gardening, plumbing, and painting.
• The Education Department of East Jersey State Prison offers a variety of programs to the inmates. Vocational training courses include auto-body, auto mechanics, culinary arts, painting and decorating, and horticulture. The prison offers primary education and secondary education courses to the inmates. Inmates who are high school or GED graduates can take college classes offered through Union County College's "Project Inside" program.

  History

New Jersey Reformatory

• In 1895, the New Jersey Legislature voted to establish the state's first reformatory, named the New Jersey Reformatory.
• The New Jersey Reformatory opened in 1901, housing 193 men between the ages of 16 and 30.
• In 1912, the number of inmates had increased to 525.
• In 1928, enrollment increased to 745. Of the 514 prisoners admitted during 1928, 304 were under twenty years of age, 164 were twenty to twenty-four, and 46 were from twenty-five to twenty-nine years old, with a racial breakdown of 406 White and 108 African-American.
• The first superintendent, J. E. Heg, served only for a year. He was succeeded by Joseph W. Martin, who led the institution until his death in 1909. Martin was succeeded by Dr. Frank Moore, who retired in 1929.

  Construction and Building Upgrades

• Architect John Rochester Thomas, designed the original prison in 1895 and construction began on state-owned property, known as Edgar Farm in 1896.
• By 1908, there were two four-tiered cell houses. One cell house contained 256 cells measuring 9'x5'x8.6'H, while the other had 384 cells that were only 7.1'x5'x8'H. A 1928 inspection reported that the cells were equipped "with a fair quality of toilet and lavatory."
• In 1929, with the opening of nearby reformatories at Annandale and Bordentown, Rahway State Prison changed from a reformatory to a prison for adult males.
• In 1930, construction began on additions to the institution. Between 1931 and 1932, industrial and laundry buildings were added.
• in 1932, the dormitory, "Two Wing", was built, housing 300 men, increasing the prison's capacity to 900 inmates.
• In 1951, Rahway's capacity was furthered increased to 1,000, when the last wing, "Three Wing", was constructed. As years passed, renovation on the institution continued.
• In 1967, one of the old buildings was improved and made into "Five Wing".
• From 1985 to 1988, trailers were erected and old buildings renovated for housing and dining facilities. These new additions became "Six, Seven, and Eight Wings".
• Around 2008, the yellow paint was removed from the brick of wings 1–4, restoring the brick aesthetics of the original 1896 building.

  Riots and escapes

• From April 17–22, 1952, prisoners took officers hostage during a riot after officers beat inmates with nightsticks. The riot ended when the inmates were gassed.
• In 1971, on Thanksgiving Day, 500 inmates held 6 hostages, including the warden, for 24 hours. Six officers were injured, three with stab wounds in the early hours of the riot. The inmates demanded a more sufficient diet, regulation of commissary prices, improvement of the educational system and vocation training, better discipline of officers, and additional medicine supplies including aspirin. Ultimately, the prison was retaken with no loss of life and the captives were set free without the use of firearms.
• On August 11, 1972, three convicted murderers escaped by sawing through the bars of a third-floor window. Three officers were held responsible for the escape and suspended.
• In August 1980, in an effort to reduce the numbers of escapes, the prison issued gray prison uniforms to the prisoners.

  Name change

In popular culture

Boxing

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter">Rubin Carter">Rubin "Hurricane" Carter

Chuck "Bayonne Bleeder" Wepner">Chuck Wepner">Chuck "Bayonne Bleeder" Wepner

• Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Inmate sentenced to 5 years for armed robbery in 1973 who became a two-time world champion after his release in 1978.
• James Scott, a title contender, who had many bouts inside the prison itself, including a fight against Dwight Muhammad Qawi.

  Music

• Tommy DeVito spent time in Rahway among other jails as a juvenile offender before eventually going straight as a guitarist for The Four Seasons in adulthood.
• The Escorts, a R&B vocal group, was discovered by record producer, George Kerr during an inmate variety show that Kerr attended with Linda Jones. Kerr relentlessly and successfully petitioned the federal government to record an album with the group of inmates incarcerated at Rahway in 1972. A mobile recording unit was brought to the prison where the group recorded their first hit album, All We Need Is Another Chance in just nine hours. The album would go on to reach #41 on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles after its release in 1973. Later in the same year, the group recorded a second album, 3 Down 4 to Go.
• Bob Dylan recorded the song, "Hurricane" in 1975 based on Carter's story. Dylan also held a concert, called "Night of the Hurricane", playing for 20,000 people in December, 1975, just 3 months before Carter's first conviction was overturned. Also on the bill were Stevie Wonder, Isaac Hayes, Dr. John, Shawn Phillips, Ringo Starr, Stephen Stills, Richie Havens, and Carlos Santana.
• Lifers Group, a hip hop group, grew out of the Lifers Group Juvenile Awareness Program portrayed in Scared Straight!. In 1991, the group released an album and an EP, titled "#66064", featuring songs, "The Real Deal" and "Belly of the Beast". A 30-minute documentary, directed by Penelope Spheeris, focusing on the group's songs and depicting life in East Jersey State, was released in 1992, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video
• "Rahway Prison" is mentioned in the lyrics of the Traveling Wilburys 1988 song "Tweeter and the Monkey Man"
• "Rahway State" is mentioned in the lyrics of the East River Pipe song "Where Does All The Money Go?"
• Max B, the American rapper, was convicted in 2009 for multiple offenses, including murder. In 2016, his 75-year sentence was reduced to 20 years with a new release date set for November, 2025. He has since been transferred to Northern State Prison.