Crispus Nix, Iowa State Penitentiary's first Black warden, dies at age 93

Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register
·3 min read

One man made history on Dec. 1, 1981, when he assumed the role of warden at the Iowa State Penitentiary (ISP) in Fort Madison. Crispus Nix was the first Black warden at the penitentiary in the state of Iowa, leaving a legacy behind that changed the state's prison systems after serving as warden for 11 years.

Nix died Sunday, March 10, at the age of 93 in Montgomery, Alabama.

Nix grew up in Greenville, Alabama as the seventh of nine children. According to a Facebook post from the 15th Military Police Brigade, he graduated from Tuskegee University in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education. He also received a Masters of Science degree in vocational rehabilitation from South Carolina University in 1974.

Taking reign as warden in Dec. 1981, Nix had just left the U.S. Army as an active duty colonel after serving combat tours in Korea and Vietnam. According to Bill Petroski, a former Register reporter, Nix was seen as "somebody who could kick butt and shape up an Iowa prison staff to handle difficult inmates at the state's toughest prison."

Before serving as the first Black warden of the Iowa State Penitentiary, Nix served in the U.S. Army.
Before serving as the first Black warden of the Iowa State Penitentiary, Nix served in the U.S. Army.

Before Nix's takeover as warden, the ISP in Fort Madison made national headlines after a major prison riot left one inmate dead and caused more than $1 million in damages.

Nix came to Iowa after being the commander of a maximum security military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Replacing then-warden David Scurr, who was transferred to the Mount Pleasant correctional facility, Nix had plenty on his plate between budget limitations and troublemakers in the prison.

"We are entering a period dominated by (the) scarcity of funds that will require cutbacks, trade-offs, reallocation of programs, terminations and freezing privileges which some inmates and staff have come to regard as unnegotiable rights," Nix said to the Register in 1983. "It is hoped, by improving management skills, practical and creative thinking about the future, that we will cope with our current crisis with efficiency and effectiveness."

Crispus Nix wields the riot baton he used in 1982 to help regain control of an Iowa State Penitentiary cellblock from inmates several months after he became warden. He retired in 1993.
Crispus Nix wields the riot baton he used in 1982 to help regain control of an Iowa State Penitentiary cellblock from inmates several months after he became warden. He retired in 1993.

Implementing rules from requiring correctional officers to shine their shoes to enforcing inmates to obey their orders, Nix dramatically changed the environment of the Fort Madison prison.

"He was somebody who was just incredibly respected as a real professional," Petroski said to the Register. "He's the kind of guy that people wanted to follow."

Nix brought about change to the ISP and the Fort Madison community alike. According to Petroski, Nix made headlines for his successes while in leadership.

"We [The Des Moines Register] wrote many stories about how he made prison employees proud of themselves and provided an atmosphere where inmates knew what they could and couldn't do and didn't have to live in fear at the prison," Petroski said in an email to the Register.

According to inmates in an episode of Iowa Press in 1982, "racial discrimination is a part of life at Fort Madison."

Some inmates even cited the Ku Klux Klan operating within prison walls. Just over a week after Nix took over as warden, he started an investigation into allegations of guards recruiting inmates to join the Ku Klux Klan.

You can watch the full episode featuring Nix and his initiatives while warden at ISP on the American Archive of Public Broadcasting's website.

Nix retired in 1993 after serving as the warden at ISP for 11 years, garnering the praise of then-governor Terry Branstad.

"Crispus Nix has done an outstanding job as warden of the maximum-security prison at Fort Madison," Branstad said in 1993, according to Register archives. "He came in at a very difficult time and restored order and discipline and gained the respect of the staff and inmates. We're all going to miss him. But we're very pleased and proud of the record he has established during his time at Fort Madison."

Nix was laid to rest in the Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo, Alabama on Monday, March 18. His full obituary can be viewed at the Ross-Clayton Funeral Home website.

Kyle is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Crispus Nix, Iowa State Penitentiary's first Black warden, dies at 93