Photos: Stillwater prison marks a century
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The Stillwater state prison celebrated its 100th anniversary Friday.
The state correctional facility, actually located in Bayport, was considered state-of-the-art in 1914. It replaced an overcrowded and unsanitary facility in downtown Stillwater.
The complex was originally built to accommodate 1,000 inmates. Today, it houses more than 1,600. Many of the 6-foot-by-9-foot cells were retrofitted with bunk beds 10 years ago to increase capacity.
While the facility is more crowded now, Warden Michelle Smith says in other ways, life is much better than when it first opened.
"In prison 100 years ago, I think offenders were put in prison and warehoused, essentially. And through the course of time, now really our big push is education."
Inmates can earn their GED and receive job skills training. They can study fields ranging from carpentry to computers, but they don't get access to the Internet.
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