View source for Sing Sing

{{Short description|Maximum-security prison in Ossining, New York}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox prison
| prison_name    = Sing Sing Correctional Facility
| image          = Sing Sing.jpg
| alt            = Sing Sing as seen from Hook Mountain, across the [[Hudson River]]
| location       = 354 Hunter Street, [[Ossining (town), New York|Ossining]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
| coordinates    = 
| status         = Operational
| classification = Maximum
|population=1,576
|population_as_of= 2019<ref name="2019PREAReport">{{Cite report|url=https://doccs.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2019/12/sing-sing-final-prea-audit-report-dated-11.11.19-audit-complete-8.9.19.pdf|title=Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Audit Report, Adult Prisons & Jails|last=Feicht|first=Jennifer L.|date=2019-11-11|publisher=[[New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision]]|access-date=2021-09-27}}</ref>
| capacity       = 1,747
| opened         = {{Start date and age|1826}}
| closed         = 
| former_name    = Ossining Correctional Facility
| managed_by     = [[New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision]]
| warden = Marlyn Kopp ([[Wardens of Sing Sing|list of wardens]])
}}

'''Sing Sing Correctional Facility''' is a maximum-security prison<ref name="NYS">{{cite web|url=http://www.docs.state.ny.us/faclist.html|title=NYS Dept. of Corrections Facility list|publisher=NYS Dept. of Corrections|access-date=2009-07-04|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923163233/http://www.docs.state.ny.us/faclist.html|archive-date=2006-09-23}}</ref> for men operated by the [[New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision]] in the village of [[Ossining (village), New York|Ossining, New York]], United States. It is about {{convert|30|mi}} north of [[Midtown Manhattan]] on the east bank of the [[Hudson River]]. It holds about 1,700 [[Prisoner|inmates]] as of 2007,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.docs.state.ny.us/Research/Reports/Hub_Report_2007.pdf |title=Hub System: Profile of Inmate Population Under Custody on January 1, 2007 |access-date=2008-03-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080625040328/http://www.docs.state.ny.us/Research/Reports/Hub_Report_2007.pdf|archive-date=2008-06-25|publisher=State of New York, Department of Correctional Services|page=3 (PDF p. 7/63)}}</ref> and housed the [[Execution chamber#Locations|execution chamber]] for the State of New York for a period, with the final execution there occurring in 1963; instead [[Green Haven Correctional Facility]] had the execution chamber by the late 20th Century,<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20100603015558/http://www.docs.state.ny.us/pressrel/1999/mateoprr.html Inmate 99-B-0067]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20100603015558/http://www.docs.state.ny.us/pressrel/1999/mateoprr.html Archive]). New York State Department of Correctional Services. Saturday January 16, 1999. Retrieved on December 19, 2024.</ref> before the total abolition of [[capital punishment in New York]] in 2007.

The name "Sing Sing" derives from the [[Sintsink]] Native American tribe from whom the New York colony purchased the land in 1685,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.ossiningchamber.org/history.aspx |title=History of Ossining |publisher=Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce |access-date=December 21, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081002072352/http://www.ossiningchamber.org/history.aspx |archive-date=2008-10-02}}</ref> and was formerly the name of the village. In 1970, the prison's name was changed to '''Ossining Correctional Facility''', but it reverted to its original name in 1985.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_legal_corrections_inst_sing.shtml |title=C. Institutional Records: Sing Sing Correctional Facility  |access-date=2010-09-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820223228/http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_legal_corrections_inst_sing.shtml |archive-date=2010-08-20 }}</ref>  There are plans to convert the original 1825 cell block into a period museum.<ref name="eartim001">Village looks to create Sing Sing museum, May 22, 2007. Earthtimes.org http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/65218.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119064232/http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/65218.html |date=2021-01-19 }}</ref>

The prison property is bisected by the [[Metro-North Railroad]]'s four-track [[Hudson Line (Metro-North)|Hudson Line]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/nationalforgotte0000daly/page/120 | url-access=registration | title=The National Forgotten League | publisher=University of Nebraska Press | author=Daly, Dan | year=2012 | location=Lincoln | page=120| isbn=978-0-8032-4460-3}}</ref>

==History==

===Early years===

[[Image:State Prison, at Sing Sing, New York.jpg|thumb|right|''State Prison at Sing Sing, New York'', an 1855 [[wood engraving|engraving]]]]

Sing Sing was the fifth prison constructed by New York state authorities. In 1824, the [[New York Legislature]] gave [[Elam Lynds]], warden of [[Auburn Correctional Facility|Auburn Prison]] and a former [[United States Army]] captain, the task of constructing a new, more modern prison. Lynds spent months researching possible locations for the prison, considering [[Staten Island]], [[the Bronx]], and Silver Mine Farm, an area in the town of [[Mount Pleasant, New York|Mount Pleasant]] on the banks of the [[Hudson River]].<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kyx9DAAAQBAJ&dq=elam+lynds+Staten+island&pg=PA18 |title=Punishment and Control in Historical Perspective |date=2008-10-24 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-0-230-58344-3 |editor-last=Johnston |editor-first=Helen |location=University of Hull, United Kingdom |pages=18 |language=en}}</ref>

By May, Lynds had decided to build a prison on Mount Pleasant, near (and thus named after) a small village in [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester County]] named Sing Sing, whose name came from the [[Wappinger]] ([[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]]) words {{lang|umu|sinck sinck}}, which translates to 'stone upon stone'.<ref name="crimelib001">{{cite web |last=Gado |first=Mark |title=All about Sing Sing Prison |work=Crime Library |publisher=Court TV |url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/sing_sing/index.html |access-date=2007-06-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527201254/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/sing_sing/index.html |archive-date=2007-05-27}}</ref> In March 1825, the legislature appropriated $20,100 {{USDCY|20100|1825}} to purchase the {{convert|130|acre|km2|adj=on}} site, and the project received the official stamp of approval.<ref name="crimelib001" /> Lynds selected a hundred inmates from the Auburn prison for transfer and had them transported by barge via the [[Erie Canal]] and down the [[Hudson River]] on [[cargo ship|freighters]]. On their arrival on May 14, the site was "without a place to receive them or a wall to enclose them"; "temporary barracks, a cook house, carpenter and blacksmith's shops" were rushed to completion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hudsonriver.com/halfmoonpress/stories/0500sing.htm|title=The History of Sing Sing Prison, by the Half Moon Press|publisher=Hudsonriver.com|date= May 2000 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20010124104200/http://www.hudsonriver.com/halfmoonpress/stories/0500sing.htm | archive-date = 24 January 2001
|access-date=2015-05-24}}</ref><ref name=Lewis2005>{{cite book|last = Lewis|first =  O.F.|year = 2005|title = The development of American prisons and prison customs, 1776–1845: with special reference to early institutions in the State of New York|isbn = 978-1-4179-6402-4|publisher = Kessinger Publishing|location = Whitefish, MT|page = 109}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=z-gRdsZ13UoC&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109 Google Books]{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

When it was opened in 1826,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_legal_corrections_inst_sing.shtml|title=New York State Archives: Institutional Records: Sing Sing Correctional Facility|publisher=Archives.nysed.gov|access-date=2010-09-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820223228/http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_legal_corrections_inst_sing.shtml|archive-date=2010-08-20}}</ref> it was considered a model prison because it turned a profit for the state.<ref name="correctionhistory.org">{{cite web|title=NYCHS excerpts: Guy Cheli's "Sing Sing Prison"|url=https://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/state/singsing/cheliindex.html|access-date=2010-09-06|publisher=Correctionhistory.org}}</ref>  By October 1828, Sing Sing was completed. Lynds employed the [[Auburn system]], which imposed absolute silence on the prisoners; the system was enforced by whipping and other punishments.

John Luckey, the prison chaplain around 1843, reported Lynds' actions as warden to New York Governor [[William H. Seward]] and the president of the board of inspectors, John Edmonds in order to get him removed from his position. Luckey also created a religious library in the prison, with the purpose of teaching correct moral principles.<ref>Adam Jay Hirsch, ''[[The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America]]'', New Haven and London (1992).</ref>

In 1844, the New York Prison Association was inaugurated to monitor state prison administration. The Association was made up of reformers interested in the rehabilitation of prisoners through humane treatment. [[Eliza Farnham]] obtained a position in charge of the women's ward at Sing Sing largely on the recommendation of these reformers.<ref>Floyd, Janet, "Dislocations of the self: Eliza Farnham at Sing Sing Prison", ''Journal of American Studies'' (2006), 40(02), p. 311 {{JSTOR|27557794}}.</ref> She overturned the strictly silent practice in prison and introduced social engagement to shift concern more toward the future instead of dwelling on the criminal past. She included novels by [[Charles Dickens]] in Luckey's religious library, novels the chaplain did not approve of. This was the first documented expansion of the prison library to include moral teachings from secular literature.<ref>Vogel, Brenda, and L. Sullivan, "Reaching Behind Bars: Library Outreach to Prisoners, 1798–2000", ''The Prison Library Primer: A Program for the Twenty-first Century'', Scarecrow Press, 2009, p. 4.</ref>

===After 1900===
[[Image:Sing Sing (prison) with warden.jpg|thumb|left|Warden T. M. Osborne]]
[[File:New York - Ossining - NARA - 68145215 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Aerial view of Sing Sing, 1937]]
[[File:New York - Ossining - NARA - 68145213 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Aerial view of Sing Sing, 1937 (alternate view)]]
[[Thomas Mott Osborne]]'s tenure as warden of Sing Sing was brief but dramatic. Osborne arrived in 1914 with a reputation as a radical prison reformer. His report of a week-long incognito stay inside New York's [[Auburn Correctional Facility|Auburn Prison]] indicted traditional prison administration in merciless detail.<ref>{{Gutenberg|no=33255|name=Within Prison Walls: Being a Narrative of Personal Experience During a Week of Voluntary Confinement in the State Prison at Auburn, New York|author=[[Thomas Mott Osborne]]|year=1914|bullet=none}}</ref> During his time in Sing Sing he wrote his book ''[[Society and Prisons: Some Suggestions for a New Penology]]'', which influenced the discussion of prison reform and contributed to a change in societal perceptions of incarcerated individuals.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Tannenbaum |first=Frank |title=Osborne of Sing Sing |publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]] |year=1933 |location=Chapel Hill |pages=103}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=McKelvey |first=Blake |title=American prisons: A history of good intentions |publisher=Patterson Smith |year=1977 |location=Montclair, NJ |pages=262–265}}</ref>

Prisoners who had bribed officers and intimidated other inmates lost their privileges under Osborne's regime. One of them conspired with powerful political allies to destroy Osborne's reputation, even succeeding in getting him indicted for a variety of crimes and maladministration. After Osborne triumphed in court, his return to Sing Sing was a cause for wild celebration by the inmates.<ref>Denis Brian, ''Sing Sing: The Inside Story of a Notorious Prison'', 85–112.</ref><ref>''The New York Times'': [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9902E6D9173BE633A25754C1A9619C946796D6CF "Convicts' Carnival Welcomes Osborne"], July 17, 1916. Retrieved December 8, 2009.</ref>

Another notable warden was [[Lewis E. Lawes|Lewis Lawes]]. He was offered the position of warden in 1919, accepted in January 1920, and remained for 21 years as Sing Sing's warden.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7-3e5r5qK0C&dq=lewis+e.+lawes+Al+Smith&pg=RA1-PA57 |title=Federal Probation |date=1947 |publisher=Administrative Office of the United States Courts |language=en}}</ref> While warden, Lawes brought about reforms and turned what was described as an "old hellhole" into a modern prison with sports teams, educational programs, new methods of discipline, and more.<ref>{{Cite news |title=WARDEN LAWES RETIRES |language=en |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.comhttp//timesmachine.content-tagging.us-east-1-01.prd.dvsp.nyt.net/timesmachine/1941/07/07/87639762.html?zoom=14.68 |access-date=2023-10-16}}</ref> Several new buildings were constructed during the years Lawes was warden. Lawes retired in 1941<ref>{{Cite news |title=LAWES IS RETIRING AS SING SING HEAD; Foe of Capital Penalty Put 303 to Death -- Found Some Prisoners 'Very Fine Men' RESIGNS PRISON POST LAWES IS RETIRING AS SING SING HEAD |language=en |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.comhttp//timesmachine.content-tagging.us-east-1-01.prd.dvsp.nyt.net/timesmachine/1941/07/07/87639370.html?zoom=14.68 |access-date=2023-10-16}}</ref> and died six years later.<ref>{{Cite news |title=EX-WARDEN LAWES OF SING SING DIES; Head of State Prison for More Than 20 Years Succumbs to Cerebral Hemorrhage KNOWN AS HUMANITARIAN1 j His Application of New Methods to Penal Correction Won Wide Recognition |language=en |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1947/04/24/87519692.html?zoom=14.63 |access-date=2023-10-16}}</ref>

In 1943, the old cellblock was closed and the metal bars and doors were donated to the war effort.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/state/lawes/lewiselawesnotes2.htm| title=Lewis E. Lawes' NYC & NYC Correctional Career:Part 2|publisher=Correctionhistory.org|date=2003-06-25|access-date=2010-09-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/sing_sing/8.html|title=All about Sing Sing Prison, by Mark Gado – Lewis E. Lawes – Crime Library on|publisher=Trutv.com|date=1920-01-01|access-date=2010-09-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930211540/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/sing_sing/8.html|archive-date=2012-09-30}}</ref>
<!--Not very reliable source, valid information: Originally the railroad north-to-south through Ossining went through a tunnel under Sing Sing. In the 1950s the roof was removed from the tunnel to allow more headroom to allow for bigger freight trains and was replaced by four bridges to let internal prison traffic cross the railroad.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=68568|title= Ossining Tunnel? (under Sing Sing)|work=railroad.net}}</ref>-->

In 1989, the institution was accredited for the first time by the [[American Correctional Association]], which established a set of national standards by which it judged every correctional facility.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.correctionhistory.org/auburn&osborne/bighouse5.htm
|title=NYCHS excerpts: Mark Gado's "Stone Upon Stone: Sing Sing Prison"|publisher=Correctionhistory.org|access-date=2010-09-06}}</ref> {{As of|2019}}, Sing Sing houses approximately 1,500 inmates, employs about 900 people,<ref name="2019PREAReport" /> and has hosted over 5,000 visitors per month. The original 1825 cell block is no longer used, and in 2002, plans were announced to turn it into a museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/sing_sing/13.html|title=All about Sing Sing Prison, by Mark Gado – Sing Sing Now – Crime Library on|publisher=Trutv.com|access-date=2010-09-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930211548/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/sing_sing/13.html|archive-date=2012-09-30}}</ref> In April 2011, there were talks of closing the prison to take advantage of its valuable real estate.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/up_the_river_views_SCFWPU7s5zANHRGvrSF0CJ | work=New York Post | title='Up the river' views: Sing Sing condos | date=2011-04-06}}</ref>

==Executions==
{{main|Capital punishment in New York (state)}}
<!--Do not list all state executions! Do state so if state executions occurred here, but only federal ones should be noted-->
[[File:Singchair.jpg|thumb|"[[Old Sparky]]," the [[electric chair]] at Sing Sing prison in the early 20th century]]

In total, 614 men and women – including four inmates under federal death sentences – were executed by [[electric chair]] at Sing Sing until the abolition of the death penalty in 1972. After a series of escapes from death row, a new Death House was built in 1920 and began executions in 1922. High-profile executions in Sing Sing's electric chair, nicknamed "[[Old Sparky#New York|Old Sparky]]", include [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg]] on June 19, 1953, for [[espionage]] for the [[Soviet Union]] on nuclear weapon research; and [[Gerhard Puff]] on August 12, 1954, for the murder of an [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agent.<ref>{{citation | url = http://www.bop.gov/about/history/execchart.jsp | title = Executions of Federal Prisoners (since 1927) | publisher = [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] | access-date = August 22, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130215022029/http://www.bop.gov/about/history/execchart.jsp | archive-date = February 15, 2013 }}</ref> The last person executed in New York state was [[Eddie Lee Mays]], for murder, on August 15, 1963.

In 1972, the United States Supreme Court ruled in ''[[Furman v. Georgia]]'' that the death penalty was unconstitutional if its application was inconsistent and arbitrary. This led to a temporary ''de facto'' nationwide moratorium (executions resumed in other states in 1977, and the death penalty was reinstated and abolished in New York in various forms over subsequent years <ref>{{cite web|url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state/new-york|title=Death Penalty Information Center|access-date=2023-01-31}}</ref>), but the electric chair at Sing Sing remained. In the early 1970s, the electric chair was moved to [[Green Haven Correctional Facility]] in working condition, but was never used again.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.correctionhistory.org/auburn&osborne/bighouse4.htm|title=NYCHS excerpts: Mark Gado's 'Stone Upon Stone: Sing Sing Prison'|publisher=Correctionhistory.org|access-date=2010-09-06}}</ref>

==Educational programs==
In 2013, Sing Sing Superintendent Michael Capra and NBC producer Dan Slepian worked with a group of 12 incarcerated men to start a program called "Voices From Within", created by [[Jon-Adrian Velazquez]] in an effort to "redefine what it means to pay a debt to society"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.voicesfromwithin.org/about-voices-from-within.html#:~:text=The%20Voices%20From%20Within%20Project%20was%20born%20inside%20the%20walls,the%20consequences%20of%20their%20choices | title=Voices from within }}</ref>
Their first project was an emotional video about gun violence, where the men spoke directly to the youth in the communities from which they came. Slepian released the video in 2014 TEDxTalk at Sing Sing.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ilS9wmiEeo | title=Voices from within &#124; Dan Slepian &#124; TEDxSingSing | website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref> The video is currently being used by various non-profits and law enforcement agencies to help prevent gun violence.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/14/nyregion/at-brooklyn-police-station-using-inmates-video-and-pizza-to-prevent-youth-crime.html | title=At Brooklyn Police Station, Using Inmates' Video (And Pizza) to Prevent Youth Crime | newspaper=The New York Times | date=14 February 2015 | last1=Kilgannon | first1=Corey }}</ref>

In 1996, Katherine Vockins founded [[Rehabilitation Through the Arts]] (RTA) at Sing Sing,<ref name="nytimes.com">Susan Hodara, [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/27topicwe.html?ex=1338004800&en=c5db82de5703b1b7&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink "For Inmates, a Stage Paved With Hope"], ''The New York Times'', May 27, 2007.</ref> enabling theater professionals to provide prisoners with a curriculum of year-round theater-related workshops.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> It has produced several plays at Sing Sing open to prisoners and community guests and has shown that the use of dramatic techniques leads to significant improvements in the cognitive behavior of the program's participants and a reduction in [[recidivism]] once paroled.<ref name="p-c-i.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.p-c-i.org/rta.php|title=Rehabilitation Through the Arts homepage|publisher=P-c-i.org|access-date=2010-09-06|archive-date=2010-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718115542/http://www.p-c-i.org/rta.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> Its impact  on social and institutional behavior was formally evaluated by the John Jay College for Criminal Justice, in collaboration with the NY State Department of Corrections.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.p-c-i.org/rta_objectives.php|title=Program Objectives – Rehabilitation Through the Arts homepage|publisher=P-c-i.org|access-date=2010-09-06|archive-date=2011-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727161648/http://www.p-c-i.org/rta_objectives.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> Led by Dr. Lorraine Moller, Professor of Speech and Drama at John Jay, the study found that it had a positive impact on prisoner Pavle Stanimirovic, one of the program's first participants, that "the longer the inmate was in the program, the fewer violations he committed."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.p-c-i.org/press/MollerStudy.pdf|title=The Impact of RTA on Social and Institutional Behavior Executive Summary Lorraine Moller, Ph.D|access-date=2010-09-06|archive-date=2010-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718115828/http://www.p-c-i.org/press/MollerStudy.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> RTA currently operates at five other New York state prisons.<ref name="p-c-i.org"/>

The Rehabilitation Through the Arts program is dramatized in the 2023 drama film ''[[Sing Sing (2023 film)|Sing Sing]]'', starring [[Colman Domingo]] alongside a cast of mainly real-life former inmates.<ref>Radheyan Simonpillai, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/tiff/article-tiff-2023-colman-domingo-searches-for-the-souls-stuck-behind-bars-in/ "IFF 2023: Colman Domingo searches for the souls stuck behind bars in prison drama Sing Sing"]. ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', September 8, 2023.</ref>

The organization Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison provides college courses to incarcerated people to help reduce recidivism and poverty and strengthen families and communities. In 1998, as part of the get-tough-on-crime campaign, state and federal funding for college programs inside the prison was stopped. Understanding the positive effects of education in the transformation and rehabilitation of incarcerated people, inmates at Sing Sing Correctional Facility reached out to religious and academic volunteers to develop a college degree-granting program. Under Anne Reissner, Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison was founded to restore college education at Sing Sing through private funding.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hudsonlink.org|title=Hudson Link homepage|publisher=hudsonlink.org|access-date=2011-05-19}}</ref>

=={{Anchor|Sing Sing Black Sheep}}Football team==

In 1931, new prison reforms permitted Sing Sing State Penitentiary prisoners to partake in recreation opportunities. The [[baseball]] and [[American football|football]] teams, and the [[vaudeville]] presentations and concerts, were funded through revenue from paid attendance. [[Tim Mara]], the owner of the [[New York Giants]], sponsored the Sing Sing Black Sheep, Sing Sing's football team. Mara provided equipment and uniforms and players to tutor them in fundamentals. He helped coach them the first season. Known as the Black Sheep, they were also sometimes called the Zebras. All games were "home" games, played at Lawes Stadium, named for Warden [[Lewis E. Lawes]]. In 1935, the starting quarterback and two other starters escaped the morning before a game.

[[Alabama Pitts]] was their starting quarterback and star for the first four seasons, but then finished his sentence. Upon release, Alabama Pitts played for the [[Philadelphia Eagles]] in 1935. In 1932, "graduate" [[Jumbo Morano]] was signed by the Giants and played for the [[Paterson Nighthawks]] of the [[Eastern Football League (United States)|Eastern Football League]]. In 1934, State Commissioner of Correction, [[Walter N. Thayer]] banned the advertising of activities at the prison, including football games. On November 19, 1936, a new rule banned ticket sales. No revenues could come from show and sports event ticketing. These funds had been paying for disbursements to prisoners' families, especially the kin of those executed, and for equipment and coaches' salaries. With this new edict, the season ended and prisoners were no longer allowed to play football outside Sing Sing.<ref>''Sing Sing Football Records'': [http://www.luckyshow.org/football/Sing%20Sing.htm "Sing Sing"]. Retrieved August 3, 2015.</ref>

==Museum==
{{main|Sing Sing museum}}
Plans to turn a portion of Sing Sing into a museum date back to 2002, when local officials sought to turn the old powerhouse into the museum, linked by a tunnel to a retired cell block, for $5 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2177 |title=Sing Sing Prison Museum, Ossining, New York |publisher=Roadsideamerica.com |access-date=2012-11-30}}</ref> In 2007, the village of Ossining applied for $12.5 million in federal money for the project, at the time expected to cost $14 million.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/20colwe.htmlM | work=The New York Times | title=Would a Sing Sing Museum Be in Bad Taste? | date=2007-05-20}}</ref> The proposed museum would display the Sing Sing story as it unfolded over time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://planning.westchestergov.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1174&Itemid=2488 |title=Westchester County |publisher=Planning.westchestergov.com |date=2012-08-15 |access-date=2012-11-30}}</ref>

==Contribution to American English==
The expression "up the river" to describe someone in prison or heading to prison derives from the practice of sentencing people convicted in New York City to serve their terms in Sing Sing prison, which is located up the [[Hudson River]] from the city. The slang expression dates from 1891.<ref>''Online Etymology Dictionary'': [https://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=river "river"]. Retrieved February 21, 2010.</ref><ref>Encyclopedia.com: [https://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401803869.html Sing Sing]. Retrieved February 21, 2010.</ref>

== Wardens ==
The wardens of [[Sing Sing]] are appointed by the [[Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/state/singsing/html/wardens.html |title=NYCHS: Guy Cheli's 'Sing Sing Prison' List of Wardens Page |publisher=Correctionhistory.org |access-date=2010-09-06}}</ref>
{{Div col}}
*[[Elam Lynds]] (1825–1830)
*Robert Wiltse (1830–1840)
*David L. Seymour (1840–1843)
*William H. Peck (1843–1845)
*Hiram P. Rowell (1845–1848)
*Chauncey Smith (1848–1849)
*Edward L. Potter (January, 1849)
*Alfred R. Booth (July, 1849)
*Munson J. Lockwood (1850–1855)
*C. A. Batterman (1855–1856)
*William Beardsley (1856–1862)
*Gaylord B. Hubbell (1862–1864)
*Thomas E. Sutton (1864–1865)
*Stephen H. Johnson (1865–1868)
*[[David P. Forrest]] (1868–1869)
*[[Henry Clay Nelson]] (1869–1870)
*E. M. Russell (1870–1872)
*[[Henry C. Nelson]] (1872–1873)
*Gaylord B. Hubbell (1873–1874)
*James Williamson (September 1874)
*Alfred Walker (October 1874)
*George R. Youngs (1876–1877)
*[[Charles Davis (warden)|Charles Davis]]  (February 1877)
*[[Benjamin S. W. Clark]] (March 1877)
*[[Charles Davis (warden)|Charles Davis]] (1877–1880)
*Augustus A. Brush (1880–1891)
*[[W. R. Brown]] (1891–1893)
*Charles F. Durston (1893–1894)
*[[Omar Van Leuven Sage]] (1894–1899) <ref>{{cite news |title=O.V. Sage Warden of Sing Sing; Superintendent Lathrop Promotes His Clerk, Who Has Had Charge Since Durston's Death |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0A16FE355515738DDDA90A94D9415B8485F0D3 |quote=Austin Lathrop, Superintendent of State Prisons, to-day appointed Omar V. Sage of Catskill Agent and Warden of Sing Sing Prison. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=November 20, 1894 |access-date=2011-05-05 }}</ref>
*Addison Johnson (1899–1907)
*Jesse D. Frost (1907–1911)
*John S. Kennedy (1911–1913)
*James Connaughton* (June 1913) acting warden
*[[James M. Clancy]] (1913–1914)
*Thomas McCormick (June 1914)
*[[George Standish Weed]]* (October 1914) acting warden
*[[Thomas Mott Osborne]] (1914–1915)
*[[George Washington Kirchwey]] (1915) <ref>{{cite news |title=Dr. Kirchwey Dies. Criminiologist, 86; Dean of Columbia Law School, 1901-10, Was Warden of Sing Sing in 1915-16. Legal Education Pioneer. Advocate of World Peace Was Director of U. S. Employment Service Here After War |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/03/05/archives/dr-kirohwey-dies-0riminologist-86-dean-of-columbia-law-school.html |quote=Dean of Columbia Law School, 1901-10, Was Warden of Sing Sing in 1915 ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date= March 5, 1942 |access-date=2011-05-05 }}</ref>
*[[Thomas Mott Osborne]] (July 1916) <ref>{{cite news |title=T. M. Osborne To Be Warden At Sing Sing. Noted Prison Reformer Will Take Office on Dec. 1. Approved by Glynn and Whitman. Big Shake-Up Predicted. Warden-Elect Disapproves of Capital Punishment, but Would Make Executions 'Public Exhibitions |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/11/20/archives/tm-osborne-to-be-warden-at-sing-sing-noted-prison-reformer-will.html |quote=Thomas Mott Osborne of Auburn, N.Y., retired manufacturer, world traveler, lecturer, writer, and prison reformer, has accepted the offer of John B. Riley, State Superintendent of Prisons, of the post of the Warden of Sing Sing Prison. He will take office on Dec. 1, and will relieve ex-Judge George S. Weed, who was temporarily assigned to Sing Sing, when Warden Thomas J. McCormick was ousted on Oct. 30 as the result of the Sullivan scandal. ...|newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=November 20, 1914 |access-date=2011-05-04 }}</ref>
*Calvin Derrick (October 1916)
*William H. Moyer (1916–1919)
*Edward V. Brophy (April 1919)
*Daniel J. Grant* (1919–1920) acting warden
*[[Lewis Edward Lawes]] (1920–1941)
*[[Robert John Kirby]] (1941–1944)
*William F. Snyder (1944–1950)
*Wilfred Louis Denno (1950–1967) <ref>{{cite news |title=Sing Sing Prison Gets New Warden. Denno, 24 Years in State's System, Succeeds Retiring Snyder |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/12/23/archives/sing-sing-prison-gets-new-warden-denno-24-years-in-states-system.html |quote=Wilfred L. Denno, a veteran of twenty-four years of service in the State prison system, was appointed warden of New York's famed Sing Sing prison today ... Robert E. Murphy, 51, principal keeper at [[Green Haven Prison]], who was appointed warden at Auburn to succeed John Foster ...|newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=December 23, 1950 |access-date=2014-09-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Sing Sing Warden Retiring on Jan. 12 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/12/24/archives/sing-sing-warden-retiring-on-jan-12.html |quote=The warden of Sing Sing prison, Wilfred Louis Denno, will retire Jan. 12 after 40 years of working in the state's prisons, the last 16 years as chief of the tightest ship on the Hudson.|newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date= December 24, 1966 |access-date=2014-09-02 }}</ref>
*John T. Deegan (1967–1969)
*James L. Casscles (1969–1972)
*Theodore Schubin (1972–1975)
*Joseph Higgins* (July 1975) acting warden
*Harold Butler (October 1975)
*William G. Gard (1975–1977)
*Walter Fogg* (August 1977) acting warden
*Stephen Dalsheim (1977–1980)
*Wilson E.J. Walters (1980–1983)
*James E. Sullivan  (1983–1988)
*John P. Keane (1988–1997)
*Charles Greiner (1997–2000)
*[[Brian S. Fischer]] (2000–2007)
*Luis Marshall (2007-2009)
*Dawson J.W. Brown* (January 2009 - July 2009) acting Superintendent
*Philip Heath (2009-2012)
*Michael Capra (2012–2023)
*Marlyn Kopp (2023–present) <ref>{{cite web |title=The Department is pleased to announce that Acting Superintendent at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Marlyn Kopp, has been promoted to Superintendent at Sing Sing. |last1=NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision |url=https://www.facebook.com/NYSDOCCS/posts/pfbid0daDDqirBdbodFrF9ggdSQdrbWbmPcvfMWUmvDA1QWAFtCxarNcxYsjHvHT6d1nbVl |website=Facebook |access-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/2k1cu |archive-date=23 October 2023}}</ref>
<nowiki>*</nowiki> denotes an acting warden who holds the position until a full-time warden can be appointed
{{div col end}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Houghton AC8 W6795 840aag - American Scenery, Sing Sing.jpg|View from afar, 1857 engraving
File:Prison and workshops, looking south, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views crop.jpg|The prison and workshops, {{circa|1863–1885}}
File:Sing Sing (prison) - cell.jpg|A cell in the older facility
File:Sing Sing after arson fire.jpg|Sing Sing after the 1913 fire
File:Sing Sing old cell block.jpg|Old cell block, {{circa|1938}}
File:Sing Sing 012.jpg|[[Guard tower]] in 2014. The Hudson River and the original [[Tappan Zee Bridge (1955-2017)|Tappan Zee Bridge]] are in the background.
File:Prisoners knitting socks for soldiers at Sing Sing 1915.jpg|alt=Group of prisoners seated, as they would be in a classroom, knitting socks for soldiers at Sing Sing, 1915|Prisoners at Sing Sing knitting socks for soldiers in 1915
File:Sing Sing Prison, interior view, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg|alt=Stereoscopic view of Sing Sing Prison, interior|Stereoscopic view of Sing Sing Prison, interior looking down cell block
File:Carl Panzram - The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance (2011) 022.jpg|Carl Panzram 1923 inmate

</gallery>

== Notable inmates ==
<!-- In alphabetical order of last name -->
* [[Frank Abbandando]] and [[Harry Maione]], hitmen and members of [[Murder, Inc.]], both executed in 1942.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://themobmuseum.org/blog/dealing-death-in-drag/ |title = Dealing death in drag|date = 2019-03-09}}</ref><ref>Flowers and Flowers, p. 63</ref>
* [[George Appo]], 19th-century pickpocket and con artist.<ref>{{cite book|author= Timothy J. Gilfoyle|title=A Pickpocket's Tale: The Underworld of Nineteenth-Century New York|publisher=W. W. Norton Company|date=2006|isbn=978-0393329896}}</ref>
* [[Charles Becker]], NYPD Lieutenant convicted for the murder of [[Rosenthal murder case|Herman Rosenthal]] and executed at Sing Sing on July 30, 1915.<ref>{{cite news |title=Defense Rests After Calling Some of Those Who Saw the Murder of Rosenthal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/11/16/archives/say-slayers-didnt-resemble-gunmen-defense-rests-after-calling-some.html |access-date=28 December 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=16 November 1912}} {{subscription required|s}}</ref>
* [[Maria Barbella]], the second woman sentenced to death by electric chair. The sentence was later overruled as her attorneys argued the judge overseeing her first trial pushed jurors to convict in his instructions. After a second trial she was found not guilty and was set free in 1896.{{Why|date=April 2022}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Maria Barbella to Die|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/07/19/106064882.pdf|access-date=2 August 2011|newspaper=New York Times|date=July 19, 1895}}</ref>
* [[Robert Bierenbaum]], convicted in October 2000 of having murdered his estranged wife, Gail Katz-Bierenbaum, 15 years earlier.
* [[Louis Buchalter]], American mobster and head of [[Murder, Inc.]] who served 18 months at Sing Sing for [[grand larceny]].<ref name="$2,000,000 racket">{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1935/10/16/94641067.pdf|title=$2,000,000 racket aim of Dewey raid|date=October 16, 1935|work=The New York Times|access-date=7 June 2013}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="fbi records part one page 34">{{cite web|title=FBI Records: The Vault|url=http://vault.fbi.gov/Louis%20%28Lepke%29%20Buchalter/Louis%20%28Lepke%29%20Buchalter%20Part%201%20of%204/view|work=Louis Lepke Buchalter|access-date=7 July 2013}}</ref> On January 22, 1920, he returned to Sing Sing on a 30 month sentence for attempted burglary.<ref name="$2,000,000 racket" /> Buchalter was released on March 16, 1922. He was later executed for murder in 1944.<ref name="fbi records part one page 34" />
* [[Elmer "Trigger" Burke]], hitman, executed in 1958.
* [[Louis Capone]] and [[Emanuel Weiss]], members of [[Murder, Inc.]], both executed in 1944.
* [[Frank Cirofici]], [[Harry Horowitz]], Jacob Seidenshner, and Louis Rosenberg, accomplices of Charles Becker, were all executed in 1914.
* [[Charles Chapin]], editor of ''[[New York World|New York Evening World]]'', convicted of the murder of his wife in 1918, popularly known as the "Rose Man of Sing Sing".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Rose Man of Sing Sing: a true tale of life, murder, and redemption in the age of yellow journalism|last=Morris|first=James McGrath|date=2003|publisher=Fordham University Press|isbn=978-0823238590|location=New York|oclc=647876393}}</ref>
* [[Eva Coo]], American brothel keeper, innkeeper, and speakeasy operator who was convicted of murdering a hired hand, and executed in 1935<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gillespie |first=L. Kay |title=Executed Women of the 20th and 21st Centuries |date=2009 |publisher=[[University Press of America]] |isbn=978-0-7618-4567-6 |location=Lanham, Md. |pages=29-31}}</ref>
* [[Mary Frances Creighton]], suspected serial killer, executed, along with Everett Applegate, in 1936.
* [[Monk Eastman]], New York gangster and leader of the [[Eastman Gang]], was sentenced to 10 years at Sing Sing in 1904.
* [[Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck]], so-called Lonely Heart Killers, were both executed in 1951.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-lonely-hearts-killers-are-executed|title=The Lonely Hearts Killers are executed &#124; March 8, 1951|website=HISTORY}}</ref>
* [[Albert Fish]], early-20th century American serial killer, child kidnapper/rapist/mutilator, cannibal, forger, con artist and obscene letter sender, executed in 1936.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Deranged: The Shocking True Story of America's Most Fiendish Killer|last=Schechter|first=Harold|publisher=Pocket Books|year=2009|isbn=978-0671678753|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/derangedshocking00sche}}</ref>
* [[Paul Geidel]], formerly, the longest-serving prison inmate in the United States whose sentence ended with his parole, who served 68 years and 296 days in various New York state prisons.<ref>New York Times, January 16, 1974 "Freedom Is Sought for a Murderer in Prison 62 Years"</ref>
* [[Martin Goldstein]] and [[Harry Strauss]], hitmen and members of [[Murder, Inc.]], were both executed in 1941.
* [[Mary Jones (transgender prostitute)|Mary Jones]], a 19th-century [[transgender]] [[prostitute]] who was a center of media attention for coming to court wearing feminine attire.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The "Man-Monster" by Jonathan Ned Katz · Peter Sewally/Mary Jones, June 11, 1836 : OutHistory: It's About Time|url=https://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/sewally-jones/man-monster|access-date=2020-07-14|website=outhistory.org}}</ref>
* [[Leroy Keith (criminal)|Leroy Keith]], serial killer, executed in 1959.
* [[Fritz Julius Kuhn]], German former leader of the [[German American Bund]], incarcerated at Sing Sing various times between 1939-1945 and deported to [[Germany]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 29, 2013|title=Fritz Kuhn and the German-American Bund|url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/122866/}}</ref>
* [[Angelo LaMarca]], convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Peter Weinberger, executed in 1958.
* [[James Larkin]], political activist and union leader sentenced to five to ten years in Sing Sing prison for "criminal anarchy" in 1919.<ref>{{Cite web|title=James Larkin in History of Socialism in British History|url=https://spartacus-educational.com/IRElarkin.htm}}</ref>
* John Katehis, convicted for the murder of [[George Weber (radio personality)|George Weber]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-katehis-teen-who-stabbed-radio-reporter-50-times-gets-25-to-life/|title=John Katehis, teen who stabbed radio reporter 50 times, gets 25-to-life|website=CBS News|date=December 14, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov/|title=12A0161|website=New York State Department of Corrections}}</ref>
* [[Lucky Luciano|Charles "Lucky" Luciano]], head of [[Genovese crime family|the Genovese crime family]] convicted on 62 counts of compulsory prostitution in 1936. Was later moved to [[Clinton Correctional Facility]], until he was deported back to [[Italy]].
* [[Clarence Maclin]], sentenced to 17 years for a robbery conviction in the mid-1990's, and after his release became a screenwriter and actor, writing and starring in the 2023 [[97th Academy Awards|Academy Award nominated]] film [[Sing Sing (2023 film)|Sing Sing]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sherman |first=Rachel |date=2024-07-12 |title=For This Drama, Some Actors Returned to Prison by Choice |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/12/movies/sing-sing-prison-drama-colman-domingo.html |access-date=2025-06-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* Michael Magnan, murdered a passenger in a taxi in 2012.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/man-charged-in-connection-with-livery-cab-shooting/ | title=Man Charged in Connection with Shooting of Livery Cab Passenger - CBS New York | website=[[CBS News]] | date=19 August 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2012/08/23/victim-in-livery-cab-shooting-dies-of-his-injuries-in-hospital-wednesday/ | title=Victim in livery cab shooting dies of his injuries in hospital Wednesday | website=[[New York Daily News]] | date=23 August 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2014/05/15/brooklyn-thug-convicted-of-fatally-shooting-livery-van-passenger-in-2012/ | title=Brooklyn thug convicted of fatally shooting livery van passenger in 2012 | website=[[New York Daily News]] | date=15 May 2014 }}</ref>
* [[Eddie Lee Mays]], executed in 1963, became the last person executed in New York.
* Joesph Pabon, murdered Eridania Rodriguez in 2009.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2012/03/01/prosecutor-joseph-pabon-accused-in-brutal-slay-hunted-down-eridania-rodriguez-like-a-predator/ | title=Prosecutor: Joseph Pabon, accused in brutal slay, hunted down Eridania Rodriguez like a predator | website=[[New York Daily News]] | date=March 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/nyregion/killer-who-hid-victims-body-in-air-duct-gets-maximum-sentence.html | title=Office Cleaner's Killer Gets 25 Years to Life | work=The New York Times | date=6 June 2012 | last1=Buettner | first1=Russ }}</ref>
*[[Carl Panzram]] killer
* [[George C. Parker]], infamous con man known for "selling" the Brooklyn Bridge.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-11-27 |title=For You, Half Price (Published 2005) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/nyregion/thecity/for-you-half-price.html |access-date=2025-11-09 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[John Francis Roche|John Roche]], serial killer and rapist, executed in 1956.
* [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg]], executed in 1953 for conspiring to pass secrets of the American atomic bomb project to the [[Soviet Union]] during [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 20, 1953|title=Execution of the Rosenbergs|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1953/jun/20/usa.fromthearchive|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Dinitia|date=June 21, 2000|title=Intimate View of the Death House; Exhibition on Sing Sing Tells of Last Meals and Final Moments|website=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/21/arts/intimate-view-death-house-exhibition-sing-sing-tells-last-meals-final-moments.html}}</ref>
* [[Norman Roye]], serial killer and rapist, executed in 1956.
* [[Hans Schmidt (priest)|Hans Schmidt]], executed in 1916, was the only Roman Catholic priest executed in the United States.
* [[Tony Sirico]], actor known for his role as [[Paulie Gaultieri]] on the critically acclaimed television series ''[[The Sopranos]]'', convicted of [[Criminal possession of a weapon|felony weapons possession]] and served 20 months of his four-year sentence at Sing Sing.<ref>[https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2006/03/20/Sopranos-actor-has-real-life-mob-history/82121142906598/ "'Sopranos' actor has real life mob history"], UPI, March 20, 2006.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/celebrity/sing-sing-bada-bing|title=From Sing Sing To Bada Bing!|publisher=thesmokinggun.com|date=February 25, 2001}}</ref>
* [[Ruth Snyder]], executed along with Henry Judd Gray in 1928, Snyder's execution was illegally photographed.
* [[Willie Sutton]], career criminal who escaped December 11, 1932.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
* [[Joseph Valachi]], member of the [[American Mafia]], served his first prison sentence (of approximately one year) at Sing Sing before he was 20 years old.
* [[Jon-Adrian Velazquez]], served a 25 years to life sentence after wrongfully convicted for murder, released in 2021.
* [[Ferdinand Ward]], [[Gilded Age]] swindler who ran a New York City investment firm with [[Ulysses S. Grant Jr.]], son of former [[President of the United States]] [[Ulysses S. Grant]], revealed to be a [[Ponzi scheme]] that bankrupted the Grant family in 1884.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brands|first=H.W.|title=The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace|publisher=Doubleday|year=2012|isbn=978-0-385-53241-9|pages=621–622}}</ref>
* [[Richard Whitney (financier)|Richard Whitney]] served a sentence for embezzlement at Sing Sing from 1938 until 1941.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Elliot|date=August 9, 2016|title=From Wall Street to Sing Sing|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-wall-street-to-sing-sing-1470783410}}</ref>
* [[Frederick Charles Wood]], serial killer, executed in 1963.

==See also==
{{Portal|New York (state)}}
* [[List of reduplicated place names]]
* [[Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum]], which contains one of Sing Sing's [[electric chair]]s
* ''[[The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America]]'' by Adam J. Hirsch
* ''[[Penitentiaries, Reformatories, and Chain Gangs]]'' by Mark Colvin

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Barnes, Harry Elmer. ''The Repression of Crime: Studies in Historical Penology''. Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith.
* Blumenthal, Ralph. ''Miracle at Sing Sing: How One Man Transformed the Lives of America's Most Dangerous Prisoners''. (2005)
* Brian, Denis. ''Sing Sing: The Inside Story of a Notorious Prison''. (2005)
* Brockway, Zebulon Reed. ''Fifty Years of Prison Service''. Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith.
* [[Christianson, Scott]]. ''Condemned: Inside the Sing Sing Death House''. (2000)
* Conover, Ted. ''[[Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing]]'' (2000) {{ISBN|0-375-50177-0}}
* Conyes, Alfred. ''Fifty Years in Sing Sing: A Personal Account, 1879–1929''. SUNY Press (2015). {{ISBN|978-1-4384-5422-1}}
* Gado, Mark. ''Death Row Women''. (2008) {{ISBN|978-0-275-99361-0}}
* {{cite book|author= Gilfoyle, Timothy J.|title=A Pickpocket's Tale: The Underworld of Nineteenth-Century New York|publisher=W. W. Norton Company|date=2006|isbn=978-0393329896}}
* Goeway, David. ''Crash Out: The True Tale of a Hell's Kitchen Kid and the Bloodiest Escape in Sing Sing History''. (2005)
* [[Lewis E. Lawes|Lawes, Lewis E.]] ''Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing''. New York: Ray Long & Richard H. Smith, Inc., 1932.
* Lawes, Lewis E. ''Life and Death in Sing Sing''. Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing Co., 1928
* Luckey, John. ''Life in Sing Sing State Prison, as seen in a Twelve Years' Chaplaincy.'' New York: N. Tibbals & Co., 1860.
* McLennan, Rebecca M. ''The Crisis of Imprisonment: Protest, Politics, and the Making of the Penal State, 1776–1941''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-521-53783-4}}
* Morris, James McGrath. ''The Rose Man of Sing Sing: A True Tale of Life, Murder, and Redemption in the Age of Yellow Journalism''.(2003)
* Papa, Anthony. ''15 to Life: How I Painted My Way To Freedom'' (2004) {{ISBN|1-932595-06-6}}
* Pereira, Al Bermudez. ''Sing Sing State Prison, One Day, One Lifetime'' (2006) {{ISBN|978-0-8059-7290-0}}
* Pereira, Al Bermudez. ''Ruins of a Society and the Honorable'' (2009) {{ISBN|978-0-578-04343-2}}
* Weinstein, Lewis M. ''A Good Conviction''. (2007) {{ISBN|1-59594-162-2}} (fiction)

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060923163233/http://www.docs.state.ny.us/faclist.html Facility Listing] – [[New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision]]<!--This link should be kept no matter what-->
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080511203910/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/sing_sing/ "All about Sing Sing Prison" by Mark Gado] from [[The Crime Library]]
* [https://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/state/singsing/cheliindex.html New York Corrections History Society]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070513184437/http://www.townofossining.com/info/history-demos.htm Town of Ossining, NY – Town History]
* [http://www.hudsonriver.com/halfmoonpress/stories/0500sing.htm "The History of Sing Sing Prison"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010124104200/http://www.hudsonriver.com/halfmoonpress/stories/0500sing.htm |date=2001-01-24 }} ''Half Moon Press'', May 2000 issue
* [http://www.p-c-i.org/rta Rehabilitation Through the Arts homepage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121165231/http://www.p-c-i.org/rta |date=2008-11-21 }}
* ''[http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/84908-1 Tocqueville in Ossining]'' – Segment from [[C-SPAN]]'s ''[[Alexis de Tocqueville Tour]]''
* [http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/SingPr C-SPAN's ''Inside the Sing Sing Prison'', June 6, 1997]
* [http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/SingSi Unedited footage from C-SPAN's Sing Sing documentary]
* [https://dc.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/index.php/Detail/Collection/Show/collection_id/4 Mug shots of prisoners and photos of the prison 1920–1941 (digitized images)] from the [[Lewis Lawes]] Papers, [[Lloyd Sealy Library]] Digital Collections
* [http://www.singsingprisonmuseum.org/ Sing Sing Prison Museum website]

{{State prisons in New York|state}}
{{Execution sites in the United States}}{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|41|9|6|N|73|52|8|W|display=title }}

[[Category:Sing Sing| ]]
[[Category:1828 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Westchester County, New York]]
[[Category:Capital punishment in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Execution sites in the United States]]
[[Category:Prisons in New York (state)]]