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State Correctional Institution (Prison) Records Request

State Correctional Institution (Prison) Records Request

$ 5.00

Get 10% off with a membership

$ 5.00

Get an additional 10% off with a membership

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At this time, only an index search is available. Staff are currently working on a more extensive research service that will be available sometime in the future.

Index information provided may include:

  • Full Name
  • Identification numbers
  • County from which received
  • Admission Date
  • Discharge Date
  • Charge convicted under (type of crime)
  • Length of Sentence

If you do not know the exact dates of birth, death, admission or discharge, please submit your best guesses. The date fields accept narrative entries as well, so please include any information that you have. The Additional Information box at the very bottom of this form can also be used to add information that you think may be relevant.

If any of the date fields are left blank, we may cancel and refund your order. Library researchers need as much information as possible in searching for your individual.

You have indicated that you are requesting your own state hospital record. Because protecting individual privacy is extremely important to us, records for living individuals are virtually always closed to public research. Please complete your order and staff will contact you for information about proving your identity.

For this research service, Library Staff will search for one person in one institution's records.

State Correctional Institution (Prison) Records Requests can take 60 business days or more to complete.

Price:
Index Search Only: $5
Full Case Files: NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE

MNHS Members receive 10% discount at checkout

Turnaround: Research is usually completed and sent within 60 business days.

About this Research Service:
At this time, only an index search is available. Staff are currently working on creating a more extensive research service. 
The State Archives of the Minnesota Historical Society preserves records from the following state correctional institutions:
Adults
Stillwater State Prison (opened 1854, also called Bayport or MN State Prison)
St. Cloud State Prison (opened 1887, also called MN State Reformatory for Men)
Shakopee State Reformatory for Women (opened 1919)
Juveniles
Red Wing State Training School for Boys (opened 1868)
Red Wing State Training School for Girls (opened 1898; in 1911 girls at the School were transferred to the Sauk Centre Home School for Girls)
Sauk Centre Home School for Girls (opened 1903; most records restricted for 100 years)

Index materials from correctional institutions vary and index information may be a direct copy or a transcription of the original index card, ledger, and/or file jacket.

Index information provided may include:

  • Full Name
  • Identification numbers
  • County from which received
  • Admission Date
  • Discharge Date
  • Charge convicted under (type of crime)
  • Length of Sentence
Full Case Files and other correctional records are not currently available.
When they become available, you can expect contents to vary greatly. Available records vary based on facility and date, but may include:
  • Case files
  • Admission and discharge registers
  • Commitment papers
  • Parole records
  • Trial transcripts
  • Incarcerated individuals' photographs--These are generally "mug shot" style photographs. If Library Staff find an image, they will photocopy it (if possible) and include directions for ordering a photographic-quality scan.

Restrictions on access: Inmate records contain private information about individuals and access to many of them is restricted.

Inmate records are generally restricted for 75 years from the date of the last entry in the record or file. Under specific circumstances, information in the files may be subject to longer and more strict restrictions.

If additional permission and/or paperwork is required for your specific order, staff will contact you about next steps. In some cases, if restricted information is present, it will be clearly redacted. However, if the item is fully restricted, staff will contact you about next steps. Individuals have the right review their own correctional records in a way that ensures that the privacy interests of third parties mentioned in the records are not affected.

Questions? Email: reference@mnhs.org

Mail: MNHS Library, attn: Correction Record Request, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102

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