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54-427: There have been at least two deaths of correction officers in the line of duty. The first was of Donna Payant on May 15, 1981, who disappeared while working at the prison. Her body was later found in a garbage dump 20 miles away, sexually violated and strangled, similar to the bodies of victims of serial killer Lemuel Smith , an inmate at the prison. A bite mark on Payant's chest also matched Smith's tooth pattern. It

108-560: A New York prison. Smith was paroled from prison in October 1976 after having served a little more than four years incarceration after having pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted rape. A little more than a month after Smith's release, on November 24, 1976, the day before Thanksgiving, Robert Hedderman, 48, and Hedderman's secretary, Margaret Byron, 59, were found brutally murdered in the back of Hedderman's religious store in Albany . Human feces

162-504: A Beekman Fire Department ladder truck to break in and get access. The tower was closed for investigation, and the death was deemed a suicide . In the early 1970's, New York's electric chair " Old Sparky " was moved here from Sing Sing Correctional Facility . Capital punishment was reinstated in New York in 1995 when Governor George Pataki signed a new statute into law, which provided for execution by lethal injection . On June 24, 2004, in

216-710: A center for carpet-making in the 20th century, when the Bigelow-Sanford and Mohawk Mills Carpet companies both were located in Amsterdam, but these companies have relocated to other regions. Amsterdam was also the home of Coleco , makers of the ColecoVision , Cabbage Patch Kids and the Coleco Adam . Founded in 1932 as the Connecticut Leather Company, Coleco went bankrupt in 1988 after a failed attempt to enter

270-519: A guard in a maximum security prison was considered shocking at the time and brought scrutiny upon the New York prison systems. Smith is considered one of the most dangerous living inmates in the New York prison system and is housed in 23-hour-a-day isolation from other people. Lemuel Smith was born in Amsterdam, New York , in a very religious household. During later insanity claims, Smith stated that when he

324-441: A household in the city, based on data from 2007 to 2011, was $ 38,699. As of the census of 2020, there were 18,219 people, and 7,383 households in the city. The population density was 3,102.7 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 69.5% White , 6.4% African American , 0.1% Native American , 1.8% Asian , 0.0% Pacific Islander , and 8.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 30.6% of

378-461: A large man tried to lure a 22-year-old woman out of a gift shop in Albany. When she resisted, he took her 60-year-old grandmother hostage and threatened to kill her. When help arrived, he threw the woman down, knocking her unconscious and deliberately stepped on her hand, breaking it. Years later the grandmother saw a picture of Smith in the newspaper and identified him as having been her attacker. With

432-405: A mark on her nose might be a bite mark. Wilson's body was exhumed and the bite mark was positively matched to an imprint of Lemuel Smith's bite pattern. Around the same time, in late October 1977, Smith was transported by police to Bleecker Stadium in Albany. He and four other men were randomly placed behind five screens at one end of the stadium. At the other end of the stadium, a police dog

486-431: A new distribution center in the park. Some thousands of city and adjacent county residents are now employed by these businesses. As of the census of 2010, there were 18,620 people, 8,324 households, and 4,721 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,176.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,226.4/km ). There were 9,218 housing units at an average density of 1,573 per square mile (607/km ). The racial makeup of

540-553: Is also featured in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 17 episode "Nationwide Manhunt" which features an elaborate prison break. Donna Payant Lemuel Warren Smith (born July 23, 1941) is an American convicted serial killer who was the first convict to kill an on-duty female corrections officer . Smith was already in prison for the murders of at least five people when he murdered prison guard Donna Payant at Green Haven Correctional Facility in 1981. The murder of

594-508: Is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km ) is water, with the total area being 5.41% water. The city developed on both sides of the Mohawk River and Erie Canal, and both North Chuctanunda Creek and South Chuctanunda Creek flow into the Mohawk at Amsterdam. New York State Route 30, a north-south highway called Market Street in part, crosses the Mohawk River to link the main part of Amsterdam to

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648-716: Is owned by the Schenectady -based Daily Gazette, an online newspaper, The Mohawk Valley Compass , and two AM radio stations, WVTL and WCSS . In the early 2000s, distribution centers began being constructed in the Florida Business Park in the Town of Florida , which is located just outside the City of Amsterdam. The park currently holds Target, Hill & Marks, Alpin Haus, and most recently, Dollar General. In 2019, Vida Blend broke ground on

702-458: The Amsterdam Station which is located off of State Route 5 in the western part of the city. In 2022, CDTA began providing bus services with two inner-city routes, a Thruway Express route, and an Amsterdam-Schenectady route. The City of Amsterdam has two Level 3 DC Fast Chargers for electric vehicles provided by New York Power Authority 's Evolve NY program. These chargers are located at

756-518: The Erie Canal , and construction of the railroad across the valley improved trade. The steeply descending creeks in the region, which flowed from the foothills of the Adirondacks , were used to power an increasing number of mills. These manufactured goods that were shipped from the region by land, canal and rail. Products such as linseed oil , brooms , knit ware, buttons , and iron goods were produced in

810-532: The 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,219. The city is named after Amsterdam in the Netherlands . The City of Amsterdam is surrounded on the northern, eastern and western sides by the town of Amsterdam . The city developed on both sides of the Mohawk River , with the majority located on the north bank. The Port Jackson area on the south side is also part of the city. Prior to settlement by Europeans,

864-517: The British agent of Indian Affairs for this region. Many new land-hungry settlers came from New England as the state sold off former Iroquois lands for development. The settlement was incorporated as a village on April 20, 1830, from a section of the Town of Amsterdam. This was a period of rapid growth for the village, influenced by major transportation developments. In turn, the Mohawk Turnpike ,

918-472: The New York State Thruway. NY-30 also intersects east-west highways New York State Route 5 and New York State Route 67 in the city. New York State Route 5S passes along the south side of the Mohawk River. Amsterdam is currently within New York's 20th congressional district. In the 19th century, the city of Amsterdam was known for carpet, textile , and pearl button, manufacturing. It continued to be

972-561: The Payant murder, and due to the threat he posed even while in prison, Smith spent the next twenty years of his life in near-isolation, the longest such span in the nation at the time. As of December, 2022, Smith is presently incarcerated at the maximum security Wende Correctional Facility . Amsterdam (city), New York Amsterdam ( / ˈ æ m s t ər d æ m / ) is a city in Montgomery County, New York , United States. As of

1026-524: The area that developed as Little Falls, New York to the west, where the English planned they could serve as a buffer to French and Native American incursions . The American Revolutionary War had little effect on the Amsterdam region. No major battles were fought there or in the surrounding region. The Battle of Johnstown was essentially the repelling of a raid by British forces and their Native American, mostly Iroquois, allies. Amsterdam grew slowly after

1080-459: The bite mark evidence, Smith was found guilty on April 21, 1983. Considered the only deterrent for prisoners already serving life sentences, a New York law at the time mandated that Smith automatically be sentenced to death. He was sentenced on June 10, 1983. On July 2, 1984, however, an appeal by Smith called that law's constitutionality into question and was successful in commuting his death sentence to another term of life. As punishment for

1134-588: The case People v. LaValle , the New York Court of Appeals struck down the statute as unconstitutional under the New York Constitution (at the time, only two individuals were under a sentence of death). Although seven individuals were sentenced to death, no one was executed, and the Court of Appeals later commuted the sentence of the final individual under a sentence of death in New York on October 23, 2007, in

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1188-938: The case People v. John Taylor . In July 2008, Governor David Paterson issued an executive order requiring the disestablishment of death row and the closure of the state's execution chamber at Green Haven Correctional Facility. Inmates at Green Haven Correctional Facility can get jobs through the NYSDOCCS Correctional industries. The jobs they can be assigned to include working in an upholstery shop, as well as furniture manufacturing. Inmates incarcerated at this facility can also receive vocational training, such as barbering, building maintenance, culinary arts, carpentry, computer operator, computer repair, custodial maintenance, electrical, painting and decorating, printing, and auto technology. Inmates may also earn GEDs or college credits. Prisoners also receive counseling as well as drug and alcohol treatment. The Alternatives to Violence Project

1242-576: The city owned parking lot in downtown near the Amsterdam Free Library . Other chargers are located throughout the city at various parks. Although ill-considered urban renewal highway projects did significant damage to the city's historic downtown, a few historic buildings and sites, mostly from the 19th and 20th centuries, remain in the city, and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP): The Chalmers Knitting Mills

1296-456: The city was 80.4% White (68.1% Non Hispanic White), 3.8% Black or African American , 0.6% Native American , 0.9% Asian , 0% Pacific Islander and 3.4% from two or more races. 26.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 8,146 households in the city, with the average household size being 2.24 persons. In the city, 25.0% of the people were under the age of 18 and 15.8% were age 65 or older. The median income for

1350-407: The city. As the city's website expresses it: In an attempt to draw people and business back to Amsterdam, the City and State began a program of urban renewal and arterial roadway construction, destroying much of the original fabric of downtown. Now, not only is there less to go downtown for, it's harder to get there. Once again, Amsterdam is somewhere to be bypassed on the way to somewhere else. In

1404-509: The early 21st century, post-industrial Amsterdam is still trying to re-invent itself. The city suffered serious flood damage in late August 2011, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene . The flooding threatened properties at the river's edge due to erosion and water damage. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 6.3 square miles (16.3 km ), of which 5.9 square miles (15.4 km )

1458-456: The east. They reached what would later be Amsterdam c.1710. They called the community Veeders Mills and Veedersburgh after Albert Veeder, an early mill owner. By the second decade of the 1700s, Scotch-Irish and German Palatinate immigrants began to arrive in the Mohawk Valley region, but few settled in Amsterdam. The governor of the colony granted a group of 100 Palatine German households land in

1512-519: The electronics market, and pulled out of Amsterdam, as well as its other North American manufacturing sites. The enclosed shopping center is named the Amsterdam Riverfront Center. Once filled with clothing shops, the mall complex has been adapted for offices of doctors, public assistance services, community organizations, a radio station, and an off-track betting site. Media in Amsterdam includes one print newspaper, The Recorder , which

1566-640: The entire prison grounds throughout the night and into the following morning. Trash dumpsters were emptied into a garbage truck, which two senior correction officers escorted to a dumpsite twenty miles away. When the garbage was spread out, officers finally found Payant's mutilated body. It was the first time in the United States that a female corrections officer had been killed inside a prison. More than 5,000 officers attended Payant's funeral and New York governor Hugh Carey officially vowed "a swift response". The same examiner who observed bite marks on Wilson

1620-405: The following summer, while under continuing pressure from Amsterdam police, Smith relocated to Baltimore, Maryland , where he kidnapped a 25-year-old woman and beat her nearly to death. This time, a witness interrupted the crime and Smith left a living victim. He was quickly arrested, and on April 12, 1959, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for assault . After nearly 10 years in custody, Smith

1674-410: The growing village, which became an important manufacturing center. It was best known, however, for its carpets , eventually becoming the carpet and rug manufacturing center of the U.S. Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Amsterdam was a destination for immigrants from Europe: Irish , Italian , Polish , and Lithuanian peoples, among others, who found work in the factories. In 1865,

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1728-479: The mills slowed down their output, but did not close. The city survived the two world wars without significant effect. Shortly after World War II , however, manufacturing in general began to move to the southern United States, where labor costs and taxes were lower. The mills of Amsterdam also shifted their jobs to the South. After a period in the South, that region lost industrial jobs to overseas locations. Additionally,

1782-415: The murder of Dorothy Waterstreet nearly twenty years earlier. The confession was given under the condition it be kept secret, however police were permitted to follow leads provided by the detailed confession. Along with his confessions, Smith revealed disturbing secrets about lifelong mental problems, including a claim that he suffered from multiple personality disorder . He attested to being controlled by

1836-461: The population of Amsterdam was 5,135. New charters in 1854, 1865, and 1875 increased the size of the village. In 1885, Amsterdam incorporated as a city; it expanded by annexing Rockton to the north, and the former village of Port Jackson on the south side of the Mohawk River was annexed to become the fifth ward of the city. By 1920, the city's population was 33,524. In the Great Depression ,

1890-425: The population. The median household income was $ 43,164, and the per capita income was $ 25,303. 23.8% of the population were below the poverty line. The City of Amsterdam is at the convergence of State Routes 5, 30, and 67. The New York State Thruway/Interstate 90 is slightly less than one mile to the southwest of the city. Amsterdam also has passenger rail access provided by Amtrak . Three trains stop daily at

1944-412: The prime suspect in her murder. On August 19, 1977, Marianne Maggio, 18, who worked in the same area as Wilson, was kidnapped and raped by Smith. When he forced her to drive towards Albany afterwards, police stopped the car and arrested Smith without incident. A short time after Smith's last days as a free man, New York State Police Lt. Don Pinto, looked at photographs of Maralie Wilson and noticed that

1998-532: The prison. They were unable to evade the bite mark evidence, however, and even their own expert witness agreed that the bite marks on Payant matched those on Wilson's body. Due to mounting notoriety in the press, Smith was transferred to a different facility during the investigation phase. The capital murder trial finally began on January 20, 1983, more than eighteen months after Smith's arrest. The defense impugned testimony of inmates and other corrections officers and proposed conspiracy theories but, with no answer to

2052-738: The region which includes Amsterdam was inhabited for centuries by the Mohawk tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy , which dominated most of the Mohawk Valley . They had pushed the Algonquin Mohican tribe to the east of the Hudson River . Dutch settlers began to arrive in the area in the 1660s, founding Schenectady in 1664. They had previously been based in Albany , along the Hudson River to

2106-412: The second and third generations of the city's immigrant families often left to go to college and did not return, as there were few jobs to attract college-educated citizens. The city attempted to re-create its industrial base, but these efforts were not particularly successful. Subsequent city and State projects intended for improved commuting and urban renewal resulted in eroding the local character of

2160-511: The spirit of his deceased brother, John Jr., who had died from encephalitis as an infant before Smith was born. One counselor said that other personalities besides John Jr. might exist inside Smith. They also determined that he had suffered multiple head injuries as a child and teenager, and that he had suffered further mental abuse as a result of overzealous religious convictions, especially from his father. Originally, Smith's lawyers and doctors feared he might not be fit to stand trial. When it

2214-405: The three murder investigations stalled, on July 22, 1977, Maralie Wilson, 30, was found strangled and mutilated near train tracks in downtown Schenectady, New York. The horrendous post-mortem mutilation was worse than some veteran investigators had ever seen in the region. Smith was known to frequent the area and witnesses recalled Wilson being accosted by a large man. Schenectady police made Smith

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2268-672: The top marching bands in the area. AHS also supports a thriving theater program, with performances housed in the Bert DeRose Theatre. The Marching Rams are directed by Ann Wilary, director, and Cody Chamberlain, assistant director. The Theatre program is led by Chris Stefani. Amsterdam also has opportunities for music within the community. The Mohawk Valley Choir has three ensembles: one for elementary-aged, one for middle-high school aged, and adults. The Mohawk Valley Chamber Ensembles are an extension of this program, founded and directed by Stephanie Podolec. Amsterdam's government consists of

2322-486: The war, primarily providing the services needed for the farming communities which surrounded it. It was located in the now-defunct Town of Caughnawaga . When the Town of Amsterdam was created, the city changed its name to Amsterdam in 1803, possibly to encourage its selection as the seat of the town's government. After the War, Loyalists such as the powerful Johnson family fled to Canada . Sir William Johnson had long been

2376-520: Was paroled in May 1968 and he moved back to the Capital District . On May 20, 1969, he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman who managed to escape, due to the heroism of Anthony Scipione and his wife, Kathleen. Later that same day, he kidnapped and raped a 46-year-old friend of his mother's. When the woman convinced Smith to let her go, he was arrested again and eventually sentenced to 4–15 years in

2430-425: Was 11 years old, he nearly smothered a nine-year-old girl to death. This claim was not substantiated, however. On January 21, 1958, Dorothy Waterstreet was robbed and beaten to death near Smith's neighborhood in Amsterdam, New York. Evidence pointed towards the 16-year-old Smith, but the case fell apart when the district attorney was too hasty in trying to extract a confession , and Smith was not arrested. During

2484-564: Was added to the NRHP in 2010, but was later demolished. Elementary Secondary The Amsterdam Free Library at 28 Church Street is a Carnegie library built in 1902-1903 with $ 25,000 from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie . It was designed by Albert W. Fuller in the Beaux-Arts style . Amsterdam is rich in the Arts. Amsterdam High School is the home of the award-winning Amsterdam Marching Rams, one of

2538-473: Was already no chance of him ever leaving prison, the indictments were dismissed. In 1981, Smith was in the maximum-security Green Haven Correctional Facility . On May 15, 1981, Greenhaven corrections officer Donna Payant was on duty when she received a phone call and told her co-worker she needed to take care of a problem. Her fellow officer returned to work at the end of the shift to pick Donna up. When she never came out, hundreds of corrections officers combed

2592-445: Was coincidentally called to examine bite marks on Payant's body. He quickly recognized the bite marks and Smith was charged with Payant's murder on June 6, 1981. A conviction for the charge carried a mandatory death sentence. The high-profile nature of Payant's murder brought high-profile lawyers William Kunstler and C. Vernon Mason . The team alleged everything from promiscuity by Payant to guards dealing drugs inside and outside

2646-428: Was conceived at the prison in 1975 as a workshop. The Bard Prison Initiative , which seeks to reduce rates of recidivism and offer prisoners college education and tutoring, operates at multiple prisons including Green Haven. Inmates and correctional officers at Green Haven were featured in the 1985 PBS Frontline program A Class Divided . The Facility is made reference to in the 1993 film Carlito's Way . It

2700-461: Was determined that Smith had sexually assaulted and strangled Payant in the prison chaplain's office before putting her body in a trash bag and throwing it out with the trash. On January 31, 2007, a correction officer in Tower One was found dead due to an apparent gunshot wound to the head. Fire and police were dispatched around 10:30 p.m., when they found the hatch to the ladder blocked, they used

2754-520: Was determined to go ahead with the initial rape and kidnapping trials, two doctors testified to his delusions, but stopped short of saying he was criminally insane. Smith was found guilty of rape in Saratoga County and, on March 9, 1978, he was sentenced to ten to twenty years in prison. On July 21, 1978, a four-day bench trial in Schenectady ended with Smith being found guilty of kidnapping, and he

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2808-571: Was found on evidence nearby, which later proved valuable. Smith was free and employed nearby and hair and blood evidence made him a main suspect. On December 23, 1976, while Albany police were investigating the double murder, Joan Richburg, 24, was raped, murdered and mutilated in her car at Colonie Center mall in Colonie . The pattern of brutality and more hair evidence made Smith the prime suspect in that murder as well, but he remained free pending investigation. Barely two weeks later, on January 10, 1977,

2862-513: Was given the scent of the feces-stained clothing from the Hedderman store murders eleven months prior. The dog crossed the entire stadium directly to Smith. Out of sight of the dog, the five men were randomly rearranged and the experiment was repeated with the same result. It was successful a third time as well. On March 5, 1978, with the bite mark match, Smith confessed to five murders in an attempt to convince prosecutors of his insanity, including

2916-505: Was sentenced to another twenty-five years to life. Soon after, Smith unsuccessfully attempted suicide . In Albany, Smith was indicted for the Hedderman store double murder. He was found guilty on February 2, 1979, and sentenced to another fifty years to life. When the bite mark evidence was presented in the Wilson murder case, Smith was indicted for her murder. He was also indicted for the murder of Joan Richburg after confessing. Since there

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