Мрачная история тюрьмы штата Айова — старейшей тюрьмы Америки к западу от Миссисипи

In 1839, seven years before Iowa was even a state, a group of men dug a hole under a wooden house on the banks of the Mississippi River and called it a prison. The inmates wore iron collars with horns bolted around their necks. Their uniforms were stitched from bed ticking. Seven of the first eleven prisoners simply walked away because there were no real walls to stop them. That hole in the ground became the Iowa State Penitentiary at Fort Madison. It operated continuously for 176 years, making it the oldest prison west of the Mississippi River at the time of its closure. Four generations of men lived and died inside the same limestone cellhouse. The walls that held a horse thief in 1845 held a convicted murderer in 1963 held a gang leader in 2005. The cells never changed. America did. In this documentary, we walk through the full 176-year history of Fort Madison, from the lash-and-lockstep origins of the 1840s, through Iowa's hanging era and the execution of Victor Feguer in 1963 (the last federal execution before Timothy McVeigh), through the explosive 1981 riot that killed an inmate and caused over a million dollars in damage, to the 2005 grappling-hook escape of two convicted killers that finally forced Iowa to shut it down. The prison closed on August 1, 2015. The fortress is still standing. Iowa can't bring itself to tear it down and can't bring itself to save it. The lights are still on. The meter is still running. ⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤ KEY TOPICS COVERED: Iowa State Penitentiary founding in 1839, before Iowa statehood The Auburn silent system, lockstep marching, and the cat-o'-nine-tails Iowa's complicated death penalty history (abolished 1872, reinstated 1878, abolished again 1965) 46 executions by hanging at Fort Madison Victor Feguer's last meal: a single olive with the pit still in it The 1981 riot: 12 hostages, one inmate killed, $1M+ in damage Martin Moon and Robert Legendre's 2005 escape using a homemade grappling hook The $175 million replacement prison and August 2015 closure The abandoned fortress today: $1,000/day to maintain, no funded plan ⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤ ABOUT SOLITARY REDEMPTION: We explore the forgotten institutions, abandoned cellblocks, and silent tiers of America's carceral past. From sprawling state penitentiaries to remote county jails and prison farms, we uncover the rigid daily regimens, the personal tragedies, and the quiet collapse of these massive Big House-era beasts. Subscribe to walk the tiers with us. ⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤ #FortMadison #IowaStatePenitentiary #AbandonedPrison #PrisonHistory #PrisonDocumentary #VictorFeguer #TrueCrime #AmericanPrisons #SolitaryRedemption #AbandonedPlaces #ForgottenHistory #PrisonRiot #PrisonEscape #DeathPenalty #IowaHistory