5 Notorious Inmates from Upstate New York Prisons
When most people picture Upstate New York, their minds wander to postcard perfect images like the Adirondacks stretching toward the sky, cozy small towns with church steeples and diners on the corner, or the sun setting over the vineyards of the Finger Lakes. It feels peaceful, almost storybook.
But tucked into that same landscape, hidden behind high fences and razor wire, are some of the most infamous prisons in America. These aren’t just anonymous gray buildings on the horizon, they’re places that have held men and women whose names once splashed across front pages and filled nightly news broadcasts.
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From murderers whose crimes shattered the quiet of their hometowns to escapees who had the entire state holding its breath, these correctional facilities hold a different kind of history, one marked by fear, notoriety, and stories that still haunt communities long after the headlines faded.
Son of Sam Killer David Berkowitz and His Life Behind Bars
David Berkowitz, better known as the Son of Sam, terrorized New York City in the late 1970s. Over more than a year, he killed six people and wounded several others, claiming at the time that a demon possessed dog ordered him to kill.
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After his capture, Berkowitz was sentenced to multiple life terms. He has spent decades in New York’s prison system and is currently housed at Shawangunk Correctional Facility.
The Preppie Killer Robert Chambers and His Time in Prison
Robert Chambers became a tabloid fixture in 1986 after the death of Jennifer Levin in New York City’s Central Park. Dubbed the “Preppie Killer” because of his privileged background, Chambers claimed Levin’s death was accidental during what he described as “rough sex.”
He served his sentence in several upstate prisons, including Clinton Correctional Facility, before being released in 2023.
Ronald DeFeo Jr. and the Real Story Behind the Amityville Horror
Ronald DeFeo Jr. was at the center of one of America’s most infamous true crime stories. In 1974, he murdered his parents and four siblings in their Long Island home. The crime inspired books and movies known as The Amityville Horror, though the real life events were far from supernatural, they were tragically human.
DeFeo served his life sentences at upstate facilities, including Shawangunk Correctional Facility, until his death in 2021.
The 2015 Clinton Prison Escape of Richard Matt and David Sweat
In June 2015, convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, launching a massive manhunt that gripped the country. With the help of a prison employee, they used power tools to cut through walls and pipes, eventually emerging through a manhole outside the prison walls.
The escape ended with Matt shot and killed by authorities and Sweat captured and returned to custody.
Lemuel Smith and the Murder of Corrections Officer Donna Payant
Lemuel Smith was already serving time for multiple murders when, in 1981, he attacked and killed corrections officer Donna Payant at Green Haven Correctional Facility. She was the first female prison guard in New York to be killed on duty. Smith’s crime led to significant changes in prison safety and how high-risk inmates are supervised.
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