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| State to give tours of prison known for deadly 1980 riot |
| By santafenewmexican.com - Tom Sharpe |
| Published: 02/02/2012 |
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The Old Main prison south of Santa Fe is cold and dark, with rusty metal, broken glass and fire-stained walls where a bloody prison riot left 33 prisoners dead 32 years ago this week. Just outside what once was the protective-custody unit, where most of the violence took place, are chop marks in the concrete floor where an inmate was beheaded. Upstairs, you can see on the floor a dark fetal shape from a burned body. Downstairs, in the basement, you'll find an array of execution devices no longer used by the state of New Mexico, which abolished the death penalty a few years ago. During this centennial year of New Mexico's statehood, at the request of Gov. Susana Martinez, the state Department of Corrections will give free public tours of Old Main once a month. The first scheduled tour, on Thursday, already is booked at maximum capacity of 100 people. But the tours will continue on the second Friday of each month, March through December. To reserve a place, contact department spokeswoman Rosie Saiz at rosie.saiz@state.nm.us. During a news media tour Wednesday, Saiz said the goal of the public tours isn't to focus on the 1980 riot, but to look at the history of prisons in New Mexico and progress that has been made. "Back before the riot, there was overcrowding in the prison," she said. "The officers were not properly trained. There was no programming for inmates. ... We've now got [educational programs]. There's an academy set up for cadets to go to before they start work." Read More. |
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