The advance preparation would come in handy before long. The potential for riot became a popular topic of conversation which the Missouri Highway Patrol took very seriously, drafting a plan and training officers how to respond to such an event. Many feared the Missouri system was ripe for an outbreak as well.
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It housed 4900 inmates at its peak and is regarded as one of the largest prisons in the U.S.ĭuring the years of 19 there had been a rash of prison riots across the United States. Missouri State Penitentiary received its first inmate in 1836 which was the same year, month and day that the Battle of the Alamo was fought and was the oldest continually operating prison west of the Mississippi River, serving Missouri for 168 years from 1836-2004.