Population as of July 1, 2009:

General Information:

The Osborn Correctional Institution recognizes its stewardship responsibilities to the citizens of Connecticut, as well as to the residents of Somers and Enfield. The facility is a medium security institution that houses one of the largest inmate populations of the correctional facilities in the state.

The facility operates under the Unit Management System.  Under this model an assigned Unit Manager directs all the functions of their assigned units. There are 17 inmate-housing units each with its own specific institutional function. The Unit Management System enhances safety and security by limiting inmate mass movement and providing for controlled movement during the daily institutional routines.

The facility supports an inpatient medical hospital, a mental health unit, a comprehensive education program, an inpatient Addiction Services unit and one of the largest Correctional Industries Program in the state. The facility is one of three in the state which also provides trained, offender, Hospice voulunteers who provide end of life care to fellow inmates.  The Enterprise Program currently employees more than 200 inmates who manufacture inmate clothing, mattresses and run a full-service print shop. The facility is also home to a private industry program that manufactures bed quilts for a hotel chain.

The Execution Enclosure, where a sentence of capital punishment is carried out is located at this facility.

Present staffing: 426. 

Listing of the inmate programs available at this facility (PDF, 653 KB).

Visiting Schedule (PDF, 11 KB).

History:

The Osborn Correctional Institution, formerly known as the Connecticut Correctional Institution-Somers, was opened in November of 1963 as a replacement for the Old Wethersfield State Prison. It served as the state's maximum-security prison and as the Reception/Diagnostic Center for incoming male inmates statewide. The physical plant is located on 550 acres adjacent to the Northern Correctional Institution.

In the summer of 1994, the facility was reorganized into a level 3, medium security institution and renamed the Osborn Correctional Institution.

In 1995, Death Row inmates were transferred to the newly opened Northern Correctional Institution. 

In year 2001, Warden Mark Strange introduced the Unit Management System to manage the inmate population.

List of past wardens: