In this gripping and powerful ETV Classics documentary about the Central Correctional Institution, known as CCI, we learn more about this vast city within a city, its history, its future. Visible from downtown, the Central Correctional Institution was one of the oldest and most foreboding prisons.
At the time of the documentary, produced by Benjamin von Cramon, each inmate cost $13,000 per year of taxpayer money per year of incarceration. For one hundred million dollars, the state was building five new prisons. In SC, more citizens are imprisoned per capita than in any state in America, and 99 percent of this population would someday return to society. How much correction takes place in an individual serving a year or two, or ten at an institution like CCI? If human behavior were predictable, the work of corrections would be precise; however, such is not the case, and the amount of correction occurring within each inmate varies widely.
The documentary brings us face to face with the inmates and correction officers, and meet Ellis MacDougall, corrections administrator who instituted the name change from South Carolina Penitentiary to Central Corrections Institution, as well as instituting changes in the prison system to allow for vocational rehabilitation, recreation, and education of the prison inmates. We follow educator, Paul Ulmer as he deals with the dramas that crop up with the inmates.
CCI represented two centuries of changing penal codes, and the documentary uses archival photos and film to depict the penitentiary through the years, highlighting conditions of the inmates within the system. From 1797 to 70 years thereafter, political interests also impacted the penitentiary system. Benjamin von Cramin's documentary ends where inmates and staff were soon to leave CCI for a new prison in Lee County, and no less uncertainty. We hope that you will enjoy this powerful and thought-provoking documentary.
Side Notes
- Central Correctional Institution - The South Carolina Penitentiary (SCP) (renamed the Central Correctional Institution (CCI) in 1965) was the state of South Carolina's first prison. Completed in 1867, the South Carolina Penitentiary served as the primary state prison for nearly 130 years until its demolition in 1999. It was located adjacent to the Congaree River in Columbia, South Carolina, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 4, 1996. It was replaced by the Lee Correctional Institution as the main prison in the state of South Carolina, after the prison was deemed overcrowded by a federal court. Before the prison was decommissioned, it was the oldest prison in the United States still in use. The Department of Corrections temporarily gave tours of the old facility before its demolition. It was removed from the Register on December 8, 2005.
- Benjamin von Cramon - Seasoned producer-director, Benjamin von Cramon brings well-rounded production know-how to projects. His credits include National Geographic and Discovery Channel, and he is also a writer, a producer, and an editor.
- Herbert Johnson - The South Carolina Oral Tradition Interview with Herbert Johnson 2012.
- Governor John Drayton - (1766 – 1822) was Governor of South Carolina and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.
- “A little world within itself”: The South Carolina Penitentiary and the Roots of the Carceral State - This article tracks the buildup of the South Carolina criminal legal system between 1867 and 1899 through three eras of its state penitentiary: from the politics of reform to convict leasing to the prison plantation.
- Ellis MacDougall - As part of the Ellis MacDougall Lecture Series, the department invites a prominent academic in the field of criminology and criminal justice to give a lecture in his/her area of expertise. The series honors Ellis MacDougall, the first professional director of South Carolina’s Department of Corrections. He dedicated many years to improving prison systems across the country, including serving as President of the American Correctional Association.
- Troubleshooter or Troublemaker - Ellis MacDougall ELLIS reform corrections administrator in five states over the past 28 years, stirs up much controversy but has improved prison conditions in many instances.
- Department of Corrections History (PDF) A Chronological History.
- Ellis MacDougall July 9, 2003.
- Paul Ulmer - (1939 - 2021) Dr. Ulmer was a beloved educator, having started his teaching career with the Bamberg School District. He then worked for the Colleton County School District having taught at Walterboro High School and served as Principal at Cottageville Elementary. He also served as Head Master of Andrew Jackson Academy. Lastly and until his retirement, he worked in education for the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
