It was mid-Tuesday morning and Warden Nick Ludwick was still singing the praises of everyone involved in Saturday's transfer of 507 maximum security prisoners from the old Iowa State Penitentiary in downtown Fort Madison to the new facility two miles away. He said he's been involved in large-scale inmate transfers in the past and this was possibly the best he has seen.
"Staff could not have performed better, absolutely could not have performed better, all across the board," said Ludwick. "This would be and should be a wonderful, wonderful collaboration example for everyone to follow and mirror," said Ludwick. "As for the energy level (that day), on a scale of 1-10, it was about a 12."
The move started early Saturday morning with the first busload of inmates arriving at the new prison at 6:45. Over the next six hours,a total of 14 buses made the run up and down the hill.
Ludwick said there was a force of more than 200 people on site and along the transfer route, including ISP staff, employees from other prisoners, Iowa State Patrol officers and local law enforcement. They were stationed everywhere to ensure safety of officers, inmates and the entire community.
"Police cars, 4 Cessnas in the air, boats in the river, snipers, bomb squads, and at one point I believe I saw a parade of about five vehicles trailing the bus," said Ludwick. "What anyone who is familiar with corrections might suspect and if I was a citizen of Fort Madison, what I would certainly hope for."
Ludwick said August 1 was selected as the date of the transfer because that allowed the most personnel to be available in southeast Iowa. He said the move was competing with the Fort Madison Rodeo, RAGBRAI, and the Iowa State Fair, among other events.
"It was either August 1st or looking very late in September," said Ludwick. "All of us (in the planning stage) speaking in concert opted to go August 1. Given an option, we certainly wanted the first date, not the latter."
Prior to the move, Ludwick said the prisoners were placed on restricted movement, or basically confined to their cells, to allow for their personal possessions to be transferred from the old prison to the new facility. He said this was done to help them acclimate to the new prison in a more stable setting.
Ludwick said getting the prisoners to the new prison was a detailed process. They were taken in groups of 10 to the mess hall, where they were searched and shackled before entering the bus. Each bus, provided by the Illinois Department of Corrections, could hold up to 40 prisoners. Once a bus reached the new prison, its passengers were again searched and taken to their cells.
Ludwick said the new facility was placed on restricted movement to allow the prisoners to get used to their surroundings. It did not take long, though, for that to be lifted for some of the inmates who have earned certain privileges due to positive behavior. Ludwick said he toured the building housing them on Monday. He said they were curious about their new surroundings.
"I spoke with them (on Monday) and the officers," said Ludwick. "Having mentioned their curiosity of looking around, (Tuesday) morning, I spoke with my Deputy Warden and we both agreed it's time to let them out (of their cells) to have the opportunity to at least walk around this internal, very large quad system, if you will, our series of sidewalks."
Ludwick said the new facility offers improved security for his staff and more sunlight, which is a big benefit to the mood of inmates. He said there is still a lot to be done on the new prison complex. But Ludwick said he is confident his team is prepared for anything after the move on Saturday.
"I would be remiss if I did not say a wonderful pride and satisfaction, not only with the manner in which we moved the offenders, but the display of teamwork and collaboration throughout the entire process. As a manager, I could not be more happy."
