Oregon State Penitentiary Oregon State Penitentiary Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP), sometimes called Oregon State Prison, is a maximum security prison in Oregon, United States. Opened in 1851, the 2,242 capacity prison is the oldest prison in the state. The all-male facility is located in Salem and is operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections. OSP contains Oregon's death row, which houses most of the 37 people awaiting execution in Oregon. It also contains an intensive management wing, which is being transformed into a psychiatric facility for mentally ill prisoners throughout Oregon. Prior to the construction of prisons in Oregon, many people convicted of
Capital punishment in Oregon Governor Oswald West. However, the death penalty was restored in 1920 with 56% of voters favoring its use. From 1864 to 1931, executions were carried out by hanging. However, beginning with the execution of LeRoy Hershel McCarthy, on January 30, 1939, Oregon began using lethal gas in gas-chamber executions. The state executed seventeen men in this manner. The last of these gas-inhalation executions took place on 20 August 1962, with the execution of Leeroy Sanford McGahuey. In 1964 voters passed Measure 1, a constitutional amendment prohibiting capital punishment, with 60% of voters approving. Governor Mark Hatfield commuted the sentences of