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The Positive And Negative Effects Of The Yuma Territorial Prison

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The Yuma Territorial Prison was constructed in 1875 and was officially opened on July 1, 1876 with a total of 7 prisoners. It was open for 33 years. The prison initially opened with 7 prisoners in custody. The prison was a large part of the development of Yuma and how its name is commonly recognized. The prison has been a famous historical site known for its filming of old western movies. It is also rumored that it is haunted and has been on many paranormal television shows.Although, it is most known as the most famous landmark in Yuma.
The Yuma territorial prison caused many economical rises and downfalls. One negative effect of the Yuma Territorial prison was that they would pump raw sewage into the Colorado River. All of the shower, bathroom …show more content…

The prison had a library so the prisoners could learn how to read and write considering the majority of the prisoners could not speak English very fluently. The library consisted of over 2,000 books which was the most in the entire territory. Other prisoners would help the non fluent English speaking ones with their studies. There were many people who were from different ethnic backgrounds that would teach different languages such as German, French, Spanish and so on. There was a large prison yard where the prisoners would get some fresh air and get their energy out for the day with some exercise. The guards would have guard towers mounted at the top of the prison walls so that they could watch for any mischief or kerfuffles. There was an instance where one of the guards dropped their gun off of the guard tower and one of the prisoners returned it without any question. This came to show that people can change for the better in this place. The prison was very confined. The outside wall was 18 feet tall, 8 feet thick and 5 feet thick at the top. The prison was known by the prisoners as “ The Hell Hole” because of its extreme heat, especially in the summer, rising into the 120 degree area. Luckily, the inmates had ventilation fans, so they would not …show more content…

In total, there were 112 inmates that died in the prison. Eight of the prisoners were shot trying to escape the premise. There were six deaths due to suicide in their cells. There were five work related deaths that occurred in the prison. Although rare, there were two deaths due to one prisoner killing another inmate. There was only one death due to an execution by Yuma County. This only accounts for 22 out of the 112 deaths that happened. Almost 50% of the other fatalities were from Tuberculosis and the other 33% died from natural causes. The main cause of death at the Yuma Territorial Prison was

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The ration cuts malnourished the prisoners, this is also why the prison was viewed as a bad place. The small town outside of the prison suffered at the beginning of the war because everyone was scared and did not want to go out or do anything but as the war progressed the small town boomed. Progress was slow when the war started and when Rock Island was being constructed and things remained

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The building is surrounded by pine logs aligned in a vertical position , making them taller and harder to escape. Henry Wirz was the one in charge. What he said goes. Henry was hanged after an unfair trial on conspiracy and murder relating to the prison.

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The warden and some guards were injured by a shotgun discharge so the inmates knew they were in for the long run. This meant for an extremely long lockdown period. Four and a half months to be exact. Showers

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The Yuma Territorial Prison first opened in 1875 and is still standing after 141 years. For many years people in Yuma fought to keep this prison a historical landmark. After all the years, many things have occurred to change the structure of the prison. The Yuma Territorial Prison did not allow prisoners to do certain activities that could affect them after they were released. The Yuma Territorial Prison can teach people about the different functions, regulations that reflected laws in Arizona, and the changes in the appearance of the prison.

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Over a century ago in 1875 the construction began in what is now known as the Yuma Territorial Prison. Known to be one of many of Yuma’s historical artifacts the Territorial Prison was in operation for thirty three years, holding up to 3,069 prisoners and obtaining its first prisoner on July 1, 1876. Although the Yuma Territorial Prison was viewed as having a bad reputation, it actually treated the inmates fairly well. The prison maintained rules which were enforced and followed by the inmates.

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The impact of these events led to many changes in the penal system, including the establishment of the Ohio parole board in 1931. The Ohio State Penitentiary was built in 1834 and was designed to hold a maximum of 1,500 inmates. The prison was known for its poor conditions and being constantly overcrowded. In April of 1930 construction crews were working on the expansion of the prison to resolve this overcrowding issue.

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The Yuma Territorial Prison opened in 1875, but the first prisoners were not moved to the prison, in till 1876. Over three thousand prisoners sentences were served during the thirty three years the prison was operational. Yuma Territorial Prison was perceived throughout its many different roles as a luxury for the community of Yuma, Arizona. The community of Yuma,Arizona might think this because of the many benefits the prison gave the inmates and the town people .The prison also played many different roles other than just being a prison.

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The Yuma Territorial Prison was a prison that was used from 1876 to 1909 in the small town of Yuma. There was more prisons at the time but this one was different and better than the others. It was used in many other ways than just a prison such as a school and soon enough an Arizona State Park one of the most visited in the state. The Yuma Territorial Prison was and still is significant to the town of Yuma Arizona because it boosted the economy and advanced the town. It was significant because of how modern and humane it was in its time.

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The yuma territorial prison was established in 1875, it was the first building to have electricity in yuma and the residents were able to use that for themselves. The prison taught the prisoners how to read if they didnt know how to already and were taught different languages from other prisoners and other people. The prison had brought many people to yuma, it increased the population by 11.3 % in its time span. There were many rules to the prison and it held many types of prisoners. The yuma territorial prison did a lot for yuma Arizona and is a national treasure.

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The prison hasn’t just been used to provide a building, but its been used for it’s material and has been slowly torn apart. Piece by piece through time, parts of the prison have been torn down. In 1916, there was a flood in Yuma and what the townspeople used to rebuild were parts from the prison (Murphy 1). In order for the Southern Pacific Railroad to be built the western walls and the woman's cells had to be destroyed in 1923 (The Yuma Territorial Prison). More destruction was made when the hospital in the prison and the Mes Hall were burned down in 1924 (The Yuma Territorial Prison).

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The prison, Alcatraz, officially opened in 1934 and closed in 1963. During this time period there was a lot of crime rate because of the great depression. Some people just had to commit minor crimes so that they would be able to provide for their families and themselves. But some other people who committed a higher level of crime were sent to Alcatraz because of its maximum security. They knew the level of security because of the location, new technology it had and the way they built the prison.

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