Washington State Penitentiary

Washington State Penitentiary (also called the Walla Walla State Penitentiary) is a Washington State Department of Corrections men's prison located in Walla Walla, Washington. With an operating capacity of 2,200, it is the second largest prison in the state (after Coyote Ridge Corrections Center) and is surrounded by wheat fields. It opened in 1886, three years before statehood. It is the site of Washington State's death row and where executions are carried out. Methods for execution are lethal injection and hanging. However, Governor Jay Inslee has put a hold on executions while he is in office. Located at 1313 N. 13th Avenue, it is commonly known as "the Walls" among inmates and "The Hill" to the locals. The penitentiary is sometimes known as Concrete Mama, from a book with the same title by Ethan Hoffman and John McCoy. Elsewhere within Washington, and also to an extent in the surrounding states, the name Walla Walla is a metonym for the penitentiary. The penitentiary was the subject of the song "Walla Walla" by American punk rock band The Offspring.