This facility should not be confused with the Historical Iowa State Penitentiary, which was shut down in 2015[1] after being open for 175 years.

The current Iowa State Penitentiary remains in the same city as the HISP, the community of Fort Madison, but is simply on a different property about a mile away up the road.

The current ISP is now the only functioning Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison, as the HISP was shut down in 2015[4] when all of the inmates were moved.

[8] Several inmates started the uprising by taking four hostages, among them Security Director James Mekne and Assistant Security Director Larry Moline, who were later released in exchange for the offenders being allowed to talk to the news media about prisoner grievances.

In addition, eight newly hired employees at ISP were also taken hostage and forced to trade clothes with the offenders.

It was originally thought this incident was spontaneous although it was later reported it was the result of a plan conceived and executed by a handful of inmates.

A forklift from the Prison Industries facility was taken in an attempt to break into Cellhouse 17 West, which held protective custody inmates.

[11] He made numerous demands, including getting to speak with selected members of the media to air some of the inmates' grievances.

[12] Three bloodied inmates (a robber, a burglar, and an arsonist) were found locked in their cells Monday morning after the riot had been contained.

Up to 15 prisoners were actively involved in the uprising, but it was estimated that 60 of the 90 inmates in the cellblock were outside their cells when the assault teams burst in.

Other prisoners believed Tyson was talking to authorities who were investigating the May 1981 death of Allen Lewis, another inmate.

[14] Evidence produced at trial would permit the jury to find the following facts: Tyson was a member of the prison gang known as the "Almighty Vice Lords."

During the murder investigation of Lewis, a number of Vice Lords were placed in "segregation" (locked status) in Cellblock 20.

The two men, Robert Joseph Legendre and Martin Shane Moon used upholstery webbing to scale one of the prison's limestone walls.

The main reason the two inmates were able to escape was because the wall they scaled was unguarded—the nearest guard tower was unmanned due to low staff levels.

Democratic state senator Gene Fraise of Fort Madison suggested that the staffing levels were the primary reason the escapes were successful.

[24] Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in Fort Madison on Thursday, April 22, 2010, for a new, nearly 800 inmate prison to replace the Iowa State Penitentiary.

However, Republican governor at the time, Terry Branstad, and the Republican-controlled Iowa House of Representatives insisted that staffing levels were adequate.

The prison is still owned by the state of Iowa, who pays about $1,000 a day to keep the lights on and the site secure.

During the filming, the prison's chaplain speaks of the importance of religious practice to the inmates daily lives.