State Correctional Institution – Somerset

State Correctional Institution - Somerset
Interactive map of State Correctional Institution - Somerset
Location
StatusOpen
Security classMedium security
Capacity1,600
Opened1993
Managed byPennsylvania Department of Corrections

State Correctional Institution – Somerset is a medium-security, all-male correctional facility located outside Somerset, Pennsylvania, about 70 miles (110 km) southeast of Pittsburgh, and about 5 miles (8.0 km) off the Somerset Interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In March 2024, 44 of Pennsylvania's death row inmates were moved to Somerset. They were previously at SCI Phoenix, which continues to house other death penalty prisoners.

Almost all of the prison is in Somerset Township, while a small portion is in Brothersvalley Township. The total land area is 240 acres (97 ha).

Construction of SCI - Somerset

SCI – Somerset was constructed at a cost of $82 million and was completed in 1993. The prison was constructed on the site of a farm. The campus covers 63 acres (25 ha), inside and outside the perimeter fence.

Notable Inmates

Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
Eric Frein MY0275 Sentenced to death. Perpetrator of the 2014 Pennsylvania State Police barracks attack in which he murdered Bryon Dickson and injured another officer. After a large state-wide manhunt, Frein was captured and tried for his crimes.
John Eichinger GL3402 Sentenced to death. Convicted of murdering 4 people.
James David Martin GN0771 Serving a sentence of 22-to-44 years. Murdered 3 people between 1989-2005.
Richard Andrew Poplawski KB7354 Sentenced to death. Perpetrator of the 2009 shooting of Pittsburgh police officers in which he murdered three police officers after a 9-1-1 call from his mother's home.
Raghunandan Yandamuri LU3857 Sentenced to death. Convicted of the kidnapping-murder of Saanvi Venna and murdering Satyavathi Venna.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "New Somerset Jail Ready For Dedication" - Gettysburg Times, 4/13/1993 (Retrieved 5/6/2011)
  2. ↑ Wojcik, Baylee. "44 death row inmates now being housed at SCI Somerset". WJAC-TV.
  3. 1 2 Hurst, David (2024-03-02). "DOC: Some Pa. death row inmates now housed at SCI-Somerset". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  4. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Somerset township, PA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 4 (PDF p. 5/5). Retrieved 2024-07-18. State Correctional Institution Somerset
  5. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Brothersvalley township, PA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2024-07-18. State Correctional Institution Somerset
  6. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Emma G. (2014-09-13). "State Police Officer Dies in Pennsylvania Ambush". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  7. ↑ "Eric Frein At Large as Mourners Remember Trooper Bryon Dickson". NBC News. 2014-09-18. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  8. ↑ "Eric Matthew Frein identified by police as suspect in deadly trooper ambush - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2014-09-16. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  9. ↑ "Funeral for slain Pennsylvania trooper". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  10. ↑ "Eric Frein Was Dedicated to Killing Cops: Pennsylvania Police". NBC News. 2014-10-31. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  11. ↑ Welch, Michael Winter, John Bacon and William M. "Manhunt ends with suspect placed in slain trooper's handcuffs". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-01-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Barbash, Fred (2021-10-25). "'Literally hunting humans': Eric Frein, sniper who killed Pa. trooper, sentenced to death". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  13. ↑ "Eric Frein, trooper ambush killer, sentenced to death in Pennsylvania - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  14. ↑ Gibbons, Margaret (2005-11-09). "Jury gives killer death". Mainline Media News. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  15. ↑ "Eichinger confronted by loved ones of victims". Mainline Media News. 2005-12-13. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  16. ↑ Bruske, Ed (1989-05-05). "Police theorize arundel youth was killed for his air jordans". The Washington Post.
  17. ↑ "Suspect James Martin arraigned in 1998 rape & murder of Bronx teenager". New York Daily News. 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  18. ↑ Wilson, Michael (2012-05-11). "14 Years in an Unmarked Grave, and Finally a Break in the Case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  19. ↑ "Cop-Killer Richard Poplawski Sentenced To Death". WPXI. 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  20. ↑ ROBBINS, LIZ; HAMILL, SEAN D. (2009-04-04). "Gunman Kills 3 Police Officers in Pittsburgh". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  21. ↑ "Gunman Kills 3 Pittsburgh Police Officers - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  22. ↑ "911 worker didn't tell Pittsburgh police of guns". NBC News. 2009-04-07. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  23. 1 2 "COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. RAGHUNANDAN YANDAMURI (2017)". FindLaw. Retrieved April 6, 2024.

39°57′52″N 79°02′21″W / 39.96444°N 79.03917°W / 39.96444; -79.03917