A law of 1930 (Chapter 825) created a temporary state commission to investigate prison administration and construction. The commission recommended the construction of a new medium security prison at Wallkill. Laws of 1931 (Chapter 14) and 1932 (Chapter 37) appropriated money for construction of the new prison, which opened in 1932. A law of 1934 (Chapter 325) amended the Correction Law, adding Wallkill to the list of state prisons for men. A medium security facility for male convicts, Wallkill was built without a surrounding wall and was designed for inmates who could function in and benefit from a less restrictive confinement than that of the walled prisons. Inmates are committed here only by transfer from the maximum security prisons and the Elmira Reception Center. They must have an I.Q. of at least 80 (or a mental age of at least 12). Convicts over age 40 usually have to display exemplary behavior to be transferred here.
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