10-413: Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women , a women's prison in the town of Bedford, New York , is the only maximum security New York State women's prison . The prison previously opened under the name Westfield State Farm in 1901. It lies just outside the hamlet and census-designated place Bedford Hills, New York . Bedford Hills Correctional Facility (formerly Bedford Hills Correctional Institution)
20-529: Is one of three New York facilities exclusively for women, the others being Albion Correctional Facility , and Taconic Correctional Facility . Taconic, a medium/minimum-security prison, lies directly across the street from Bedford Hills, while Albion is located in western New York between Rochester and Buffalo . The site has been known as the New York State Reformatory for Women at Bedford Hills, and later as Westfield State Farm. Under
30-709: The August Rebellion , the prisoners briefly took over parts of the prison in reaction to guards' assault on Carol Crooks, an incarcerated woman organizing for prisoners' rights. About 200 of the 450-plus incarcerated women rebelled in protest of the inhumane treatment of Crooks at Bedford Hills. The order directing such compliance had been in effect since 1975. The prisoners won a subsequent civil-action lawsuit, initiated by Elizabeth Powell, that led to greater protections of Fourth Amendment (due process) rights for incarcerated people, in Powell v. Ward (1976). Following
40-485: The 1974 rebellion, the prison administration failed to give legal due process in prison disciplinary hearings. Incarcerated women who had been held in solitary confinement brought a lawsuit for violation of due process. They won a $ 127,000 fund from an out-of-court settlement reached in 1981 after a federal District Court "held state authorities in contempt for failing to provide due process for inmates involved in disciplinary hearings." A prisoners' committee chose to spend
50-405: The fund for improving prison life; the top priority was a $ 10,000 lobbying fund to be used to press for merit time legislation to allow time off for good behavior. The committee's purchases also included word processors and a copier; recreational equipment such as roller skates; and legal services, including paying for lobbying to have merit time eligibility expanded under state law. An uprising in
60-517: The general population, in the Infant Development Center located on a single floor of one of the buildings. Those who wish to participate in the program must not have had any involvement with child welfare authorities in the past, nor can anyone who has been convicted of a violent crime. Children are allowed to stay in the nursery until 12 months (one year), although this can be extended up to 18 months ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 years) so
70-437: The mother can be released with her child. As of 2015 it is the longest operating prison nursery in the U.S. In the post– Furman v. Georgia period, from the time New York reinstated the death penalty in 1995 until its repeal in 2007, Bedford Hills prison was designated as having the state death row for women. However, New York State did not execute anyone during that time, nor since 1963. In 1974, in what came to be called
80-514: The name Westfield State Farm, it housed 487 women in 1930, and 645 in 1940. A prison nursery was first established upon the opening of the prison, in 1901. The current incarnation, Bedford Hills' family-centered program, was founded by Sister Elaine Roulet . It has served as a model for other prison programs in the United States and is considered the standard for innovative family-centered programs. Mothers incarcerated there are separate from
90-473: The prison in November, 1981, that resulted in disciplinary reports against 61 inmates. The reports were exactly the opposite of the court's ruling, Mr. Coughlin observed, adding, You can't throw away due process by whim. The administrative staff was all demoted or transferred, and the disciplinary charges against the inmates were dropped. Thomas A. Coughlin, State Corrections Commissioner, stated in 1982 that
100-520: The troubles at Bedford were the fault of the previous local administration. The Bedford Hills Correctional Facility participates in the program Puppies Behind Bars. PBB trains prison inmates to raise service dogs for wounded war veterans and first responders, as well as explosive-detection canines for law enforcement. 41°14′19″N 73°40′51″W / 41.23861°N 73.68083°W / 41.23861; -73.68083 Incarceration of women Too Many Requests If you report this error to
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