Inside Oregon’s oldest prison: 114-degree cells and $13M annual repairs

Published on: 10/19/2025

This news was posted by Oregon Today News

Description

E-Block at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. The five-story cellblock lacks elevator access and air conditioning. According to the Oregon Department of Corrections, temperatures inside can climb well into the triple digits in the summer. The infirmary at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sep. 24, 2025. A prisoner stands outside his cell in E-Block at the Oregon State Penitentiary on Sept. 24, 2025. State corrections officials say the four hulking cellblocks that house prisoners are outdated and resemble little more than warehouses. They have advocated for the penitentiary to be replaced. Windows opened along a five story wall in E-block at the Oregon State Penitentiary on Sept. 24, 2025. The aging unit lacks air conditioning or elevators and sees temperatures soar into the triple digits in the summer. E-Block at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. The five-story cellblock lacks elevator access and air conditioning. According to the Oregon Department of Corrections, temperatures inside can climb well into the triple digits in the summer. Reyes Miranda, 65, stands behind the bars of his cell in E-Block at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Miranda arrived 38 years ago and is serving life without the possibility of parole for murder. “People, despite how depressing the circumstances are, you still find a way to kind of rise above that,” he said. “That's what I've had to do.” Reyes Miranda, 65, stands behind the bars of his cell in E-Block at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. He has served 38 years of a life sentence without the possibility of parole. A prisoner in his cell at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. A prisoner in his cell in E-Block at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. The aging cellblock lacks elevators and air conditioning. A cell at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. A prisoner stands outside his cell in E-Block at the Oregon State Penitentiary on Sept. 24, 2025. A man stands outside his cell in E-Block at the Oregon State Penitentiary on Sept. 24, 2025. E-Block at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. A mural painted by a prisoner near the health and dental services wing at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sep. 24, 2025. A corrections officer stands in a tower overlooking the main entrance to Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. The tower is one of 10 positioned along the prison’s 25-foot concrete perimeter wall, which extends another 15 feet underground and is topped with coils of razor wire. The tall, screened enclosure beside the mental-health unit, viewed from outside the building. Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem, Sept. 24, 2025. Inside a concrete recreation space next to the cells that house prisoners with severe mental illness. Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem, Sept. 24, 2025. A prisoner in the recreation yard at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Recreation yard at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. A recreation hall at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Prisoners in the cafeteria at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Cells where the state’s most severely mentally ill prisoners are housed at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. A cellblock for the state’s most severely mentally ill adults in custody at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. One of 10 watchtowers at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025, surrounded by razor wire and chain-link fencing inside the prison yard. Handcuffs hang within reach of corrections officers assigned to guard the Oregon State Penitentiary unit where some of the state’s most severely mentally ill adults are housed in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Inside a narrow concrete room next to the unit for people with serious mental-health needs, one wall opens to the outside through full metal mesh. Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem, Sept. 24, 2025. Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. This wide paved path is called Entrance to a Japanese garden, a nearly 13,000-square-foot Japanese garden in front of cellblock C at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, on Sept. 24, 2025. Prisoners walk along a barbed-wire, chain-link fence bordering a Japanese garden within the walls of the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Prison inmates walk along a barbed-wire, chain-link fence bordering the Memorial Healing Garden — a nearly 13,000-square-foot Japanese garden in front of Cellblock C — at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. The outdoor weightlifting area at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. An outdoor weightlifting area at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Prisoners use the outdoor weightlifting area at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. A cellblock for the state’s most severely mentally ill adults in custody at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Oregon Department of Corrections Director Michael Reese during a tour of Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. A prisoner in a wheelchair sits near a barred doorway inside the infirmary at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sep. 24, 2025. A recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. A row of inmate phones lines a wall in the recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Freshly refinished hardwood floors shine in the gym at the recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Inmate phone kiosks in the recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. An old shuffleboard table in the recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. A row of phones lines a wall in the recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Phone kiosks in the recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. An ice dispenser at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. An ice machine at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Industrial ice machines behind a chain-link barrier inside the recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Insulation residue from the damaged roof streaks a wall inside the recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Exposed roof structure in the recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem shows torn insulation and missing panels that let daylight through on Sept. 24, 2025. A ping-pong table in the recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Tables in the recreation center at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Shelby Butler, a counselor, works at her desk at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sep. 24, 2025. Wall-mounted phones line the stage in a multipurpose room at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025: Portraits of former wardens line a wall inside the administration offices. Historic corrections gear on display inside the administrative offices at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, including restraints, a baton and a gas mask. Detail of the Oregon Department of Corrections emblem at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sep. 24, 2025. The full-relief sculpture, designed in the Oregon Corrections Enterprises metal shop by Konrad Garcia and James Garrick, uses 1,133 pieces of carbon and stainless steel, took about 3,100 hours to complete, and weighs 1,300 pounds (2002–2006). Warning signs outside Oregon State Penitentiary on Sept. 24, 2025. A watchtower seen from outside Oregon State Penitentiary rises in the distance above the 25-foot concrete perimeter wall on Sept. 24, 2025. The main entrance to Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Sept. 24, 2025. The prison houses about 1,900 adults in custody behind 25-foot walls and ten watchtowers. The aging complex needs repairs and upgrades, including elevator access to key floors and air conditioning in major housing units.

On stifling days last summer, Reyes Miranda baked in his cell, the metal walls so hot to the touch that he worried he’d burn himself. At night, he slept on the cool concrete floor for relief.

News Source : https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/inside-oregons-oldest-prison-114-degree-cells-and-13m-annual-repairs.html

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