Penley T. Housefather Correctional Facility

Spoilers for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - A Criminal Past follow!

Penley T. Housefather Correctional Facility, known as "the Pent House"^[1] and also by the acronym PTHCF^[2], is a super-maximum security prison located in the Arizona desert and built to incarcerate augmented criminals. It is the location featured in the expansion A Criminal Past for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Background[]

The Pent House opened in 2028 and is named after Penley T. Housefather,^[3] an Arizonan senator known for his deep contempt for the augmented.^[4] The prison is part of an aug-only prison system operated under the Terminal Violation Policy system spearheaded by senator Housefather. Under this policy, the prison is permitted to deliver 24-hour execution orders without trial or appeal, if an inmate is judged to have committed an infraction falling under certain the "Terminal Violation" classification. Executions must be signed by the Warden, a professional doctor, and the prison head of security.^[5]

In 2029, the Pent House has been infiltrated by the black market group Junkyard, which utilizes the execution policy of the facility to harvest augmentations from executed inmates. The operation is headed by Hector Guerrero, a Junkyard member and undercover Interpol agent, who decides which inmates are to be executed and when. The executions are then carried out by Thomas Stenger, the Pent House's head of security,^[6] who uses Peter Wörthmüller to harvest the inmates' augmentations.

Correspondences found in the Pent House suggest that the prison's management, particularly its warden Patsy Perkins, has turned a blind eye to potential vulnerabilities of the prison. For example, unlike other prisons that replace card systems every few weeks, the Pent House has not done so for months, a matter that the warden has refused to address.^[2] Additionally, the warden has been approving Stenger's executions via proxy, indicating that she has delegated her role in approving executions to another, potentially Stenger himself. The Arizona corrections department has raised concerns over a large increase in inmate deaths, particularly deaths resulting from executions pursuant to the Terminal Violation Policy.^[7]

A Criminal Past[]

In A Criminal Past, Adam Jensen goes undercover as Derrick George Walthers, an inmate serving time for aggravated assault and negligent homicide, in order to locate a fellow agent named Hector Guerrero. Guerrero has declared himself Dark Opal, preventing Interpol from contacting him directly, as part of his work with infiltrating Junkyard. Jensen is tasked with locating Guerrero and bringing him back to Task Force 29, who need his help determining the validity of recently acquired intel suggesting terror attacks on several pro-aug groups.

Shortly after Jensen locates Guerrero, a riot breaks out in the Pent House, in part because of the inmates' contempt for the prison's execution practices. Lead by Flossy, the inmates overrun many parts of the prison, including the prison's administrative offices. Jensen's choices determine which areas are controlled by the inmates and which are controlled by the guards. For example, delivering Wörthmüller's altered biocell to Red Shoes will give the inmates a sizeable advantage, making them stronger and allowing them to overrun parts of the prison tower.

In an attempt to quell the uprising, Stenger calls in a riot response team. The correctional officers arrive by helicopter and are heavily armed. Some wear EXO-suits, granting them an advantage against the augmented inmates. Using the prison's PA system, they urge everyone taking part in the riot to surrender, either by dropping their weapons, getting on the ground, or returning to their cells. Any inmates who do not comply are shot on sight.

It is unknown what happens to the Pent House after Jensen leaves for Task Force 29, but several parts of the prison, particularly the cell blocks and the Admin building, are shown to be badly damaged. There have also been several casualties, both among the inmates and the guards.