Medium Security Institution
{{Short description|Former penitentiary operated by St. Louis Missouri}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox Prison
| prison_name = Medium Security Institution
| image = File:Medium Security Institution (St. Louis).jpg
| location = 7600 Hall St, St Louis, Missouri
| coordinates = {{coord|38.706|-90.222|format=dms|display=it}}
| status = Defunct
| classification = Medium
| capacity = 1,138
| population = 185
| populationdate = August 7, 2021
| opened = 1966
| managed_by = Public Safety Department - City of St. Louis
| director = N/A
|closed=2021}}
The Medium Security Institution, commonly referred to as The Workhouse, was a medium-security penitentiary located in St. Louis, Missouri, and was owned and operated by the municipal department of Public Safety and Corrections. Opened in 1966, the prison was long controversial for its poorly ventilated rooms, debt bondage, inadequate food, forced labor, and other human rights violations.{{cite web |last1=Bouscaren |first1=Durrie |title=What’s the Workhouse? Here’s what you need to know about St. Louis’ Medium Security Institution |url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/what-s-workhouse-here-s-what-you-need-know-about-st-louis-medium-security-institution#stream/0 |website=news.stlpublicradio.org |accessdate=3 March 2019 |language=en}} On June 17, 2021, the jail was closed and its inmates moved to the City Justice Center.{{Cite web |last=Rice |first=Rachel |date=June 17, 2021 |title=Detainees moved out of workhouse as the St. Louis jail closes |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/detainees-moved-out-of-workhouse-as-the-st-louis-jail-closes/article_dd5705dd-4e10-5b63-9ab8-cec1d702032a.html |access-date=2021-06-26 |website=Saint Louis Dispatch}} In 2025, after long debate, the building was demolished.{{Cite web |last=Kerrigan |first=Conner |date=2025-03-18 |title=Mayor Jones Oversees Beginning of Workhouse Demolition |url=https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/mayor/news/msi-demolition-begins.cfm |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=stlouis-mo.gov |language=en}}
History
Built in 1966, the prison gained its nickname "The Workhouse" from an 1840s city ordinance that allowed forced labor as a punishment for criminals sentenced in law court who couldn't pay their fines.{{cite web |last1=Wicentowski |first1=Danny |title='This Place Is Hell': An Undercover Trip Inside St. Louis' Workhouse |url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2017/08/07/this-place-is-hell-an-undercover-trip-inside-st-louis-workhouse |website=Riverfront Times |accessdate=3 March 2019 |language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2017/08/07/this-place-is-hell-an-undercover-trip-inside-st-louis-workhouse|title='This Place Is Hell': An Undercover Trip Inside St. Louis' Workhouse|publisher=River Front Times|author= Danny Wicentowski|language=English|date=7 August 2017|accessdate=26 November 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.stlmag.com/history/workhouse-history/|title=A brief history of the Workhouse in the 19th century|publisher=St. Louis|author=Chris Naffziger|language=English|date=26 November 2021|accessdate=26 November 2021}}
The Workhouse became infamous for its poor living conditions, prisoner abuse, and penal labor.
On July 4, 2018, Close the Workhouse, a prison-abolition group, held demonstrations outside city hall to protest the inhumane conditions of the prison.{{cite web|date=4 July 2018|title=Activists push for closure of Workhouse|url=https://fox2now.com/2018/07/04/activists-push-for-closure-of-workhouse/|website=FOX2now.com|language=en|accessdate=3 March 2019}}{{cite web|last1=Branigin|first1=Anne|title=For Decades, This St. Louis Jail Held Hundreds of Impoverished Black People. Activists Are Working to Shut It Down|url=https://www.theroot.com/for-decades-this-st-louis-jail-held-hundreds-of-impov-1829277790|website=The Root|accessdate=3 March 2019}}{{cite web|last1=Hidalgo|first1=Carolina|title=Activists launch campaign to close the Workhouse, reduce St. Louis jail population|url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/activists-launch-campaign-close-workhouse-reduce-st-louis-jail-population#stream/0|website=news.stlpublicradio.org|language=en|accessdate=3 March 2019}}{{cite web|last1=American|first1=Jessica Bassett Of the St Louis|title=ACLU releases scathing report on abuses in City jails|url=http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/aclu-releases-scathing-report-on-abuses-in-city-jails/article_2528c89e-60ed-5fbf-af62-273889ec7d9f.html|website=St. Louis American|language=en|accessdate=3 March 2019}}
In 2019, Arch City Defenders, a public defender organization, filed a class-action lawsuit against the facility's inhumane living condition.{{cite web |last1=York |first1=Clark Randall Jamiles Lartey in New |title='A hopeless place': St Louis workhouse denounced as a modern-day debtors' prison |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/24/i-feel-like-a-slave-st-louis-workhouse-denounced-as-a-modern-day-debtors-prison |website=The Guardian |accessdate=3 March 2019 |date=24 September 2018}} The lawsuit alleged that the civil rights of detainees within the facility had been violated by the poor sanitation, limited ventilation, and poor medical care.{{cite web |last1=Staff |first1=KMOV com |title=Lawsuit cites inhumane conditions in St. Louis 'workhouse' |url=https://www.kmov.com/news/lawsuit-cites-inhumane-conditions-in-st-louis-workhouse/article_83568cb6-9f88-5210-a500-85e0f0f34f4f.html |website=KMOV.com |accessdate=4 March 2019 |language=en}} The lawsuit said temperatures in the prison sometimes surpassed {{cvt|120|F}}. In response, St. Louis spent $40,000 on temporary portable air conditioning for the prison. {{cite web |title=Inside the St. Louis ‘Workhouse’ |url=https://www.kmov.com/news/inside-the-st-louis-workhouse/article_d15e5008-2037-5d9a-9597-979361fda708.html |website=KMOV.com |accessdate=3 March 2019 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Voices From the Sweltering Inside |url=https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/07/st-louis-medium-security-jail-protest-heat |website=jacobinmag.com |accessdate=3 March 2019}}{{cite web |title=ACLU blasts conditions in city jail, workhouse |url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/aclu-blasts-conditions-city-jail-workhouse#stream/0 |website=news.stlpublicradio.org |accessdate=3 March 2019 |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Lisenby |first1=Ashley |title=Inside the Workhouse: Conditions, treatment and time served remain under scrutiny |url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/inside-workhouse-conditions-treatment-and-time-served-remain-under-scrutiny#stream/0 |website=news.stlpublicradio.org |accessdate=3 March 2019 |language=en}}
In 2021, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones proposed closing the Workhouse on her first day in office.{{Cite web|last=Byers|first=Christine|date=April 21, 2021|title=St. Louis mayor proposes closing The Workhouse in budget filed on her first day on the job|url=https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/st-louis-mayor-jones-budget-proposal-close-workhouse/63-5f75d7aa-ee69-4299-8171-c36469ca8c11|access-date=April 26, 2021|website=KSDK}} The Workhouse was later closed on June 17, less than a month into her term. In 2025, it was demolished.