Federal Correctional Institution, Ashland
Map
LocationBoyd County,
near Ashland, Kentucky
StatusOperational
Security classLow-security (with minimum-security prison camp)
Population1,300 (300 in prison camp)
Opened1940
Managed byFederal Bureau of Prisons

The Federal Correctional Institution, Ashland (FCI Ashland) is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in the unincorporated area of Summit in Boyd County, Kentucky,[1] approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) outside the city of Ashland. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It also includes a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male offenders.

FCI Ashland is located approximately 125 miles (201 km) east of Lexington, Kentucky.[2]

History and description of facility

FCI Ashland opened in 1940. It currently holds inmates who are serving short-term sentences and are engaged in a "phasing down process" for prisoners who are close to completing their sentences in one of the regional prisons. FCI Ashland's primary service area includes Kentucky, southern Indiana, southern Ohio, western Pennsylvania (Greater Pittsburgh), Tennessee, and West Virginia.[3]

FCI Ashland has a satellite camp which Forbes magazine ranked as one of the best places to go to prison in the United States. The camp holds a "wellness" program including aerobic exercise and stress reduction programs.[4]

Notable incidents

In 1944, future civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, then 32 years old and serving a three-year sentence for his political (socialist) and religious (Quaker) refusal of the draft in World War II, helped lead a nonviolent campaign for racial integration of prison cell blocks and dining halls, including a hunger strike. The campaign was partially successful, although Rustin served time in solitary confinement and was eventually subjected to a punitive transfer to Lewisburg Penitentiary.[5]

On December 5, 2008, former National Football League receiver Mark Ingram Sr. failed to report to FCI Ashland after being sentenced to 92 months on bank fraud and money laundering charges. Ingram, who was in and out of jail after his playing days ended in 1996, had already been granted a delay to watch his son, Mark Ingram Jr., finish his freshman season as a running back at the University of Alabama. Ingram asked for a second delay to watch his son play in the 2009 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans between Utah and Alabama. When the judge said no, Ingram went on the lam. US Marshals arrested him a month later in a Michigan motel room, two hours before the Sugar Bowl kickoff. He was on the bed watching the pre-game show on television. Ingram subsequently had two years added to his sentence.[6][7] He was held at the Federal Correctional Institution, Yazoo City, a low-security facility in Mississippi, and was released in 2015.[8]

On May 13, 2014, local media outlets reported that 46-year-old James Lewis, a former correctional officer at FCI Ashland, had been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Lewis had pleaded guilty to conspiring with inmate Gary Musick and Musick's girlfriend, Cindy Gates, to bring marijuana and nude photographs into the prison between December 2010 and February 2012. Musick was convicted of conspiracy while Gates pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor conspiracy charge and was sentenced to probation.[9]

Notable inmates (current and former)

Inmate Name Register Number Photo Status Details
Mark Ciavarella 15008-067 Serving a 28-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2034. A former Luzerne County, Pennsylvania President Judge, Ciavarella was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison in 2011 for racketeering, fraud, money laundering, extortion, bribery and tax evasion, many of the charges stemming from his involvement in the kids for cash scandal.[10]
Kevin James 12303-028 Released in 2022; served 15 years. Former inmate at California State Prison, Sacramento; pleaded guilty in 2007 to conspiring to wage war against the US for founding an Islamic terrorist group while in prison and planning attacks at LA International Airport and several other targets.[11][12]
David Kernell 32341-074 Released from custody in November 2011; served 10 months.[13] Convicted in 2010 of unauthorized access to a computer and obstruction of justice for hacking into then-Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's e-mail account in 2008.[14][15][16] Died at 30 years old, on 2/1/18, or 2/2/18, of complications of multiple sclerosis.[17]
Azamat Tazhayakov 95090-038 Released in 2016; served 3 years. Lied to federal investigators during an investigation related to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Boston Marathon bombing).[18] His former University of Massachusetts classmates Robel Phillips [sic] and Dias Kadyrbayev, remain housed at low security federal prisons in Loretto, Pennsylvania, and Big Springs, Texas, respectively.
Ryan Collins 75212-067 Released on February 13, 2018, from federal Residential Reentry Management housing in Philadelphia. Hacked into a number of celebrity owned Google Drive and iCloud accounts to steal explicit photos.[19]
Nico Walker 57016-060 Served an 11 year sentence, released 2020 Author and US Army Veteran charged with bank robberies
John Russell Whitt 19945-057 Currently serving a federal prison sentence for robbery. Now at FMC Butner. Scheduled for release on January 16, 2037. Pled guilty on January 15, 2020, to two charges of second degree murder and two charges of concealment of death and was sentenced to 26 to 32 years for each murder, to be served consecutively after he completes his sentence in federal prison for robbery in 2037.
Paul Miller 32607-509
Served a 41 month sentence; released on July 3, 2023. White supremacist charged with possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and possession of an unregistered firearm.[20]
John F. Johnson 20257-509 Serving 7 years; Scheduled for a July 2, 2028 release Founder and Leader of the Black Militia Not Fucking Around Coalition Sentenced to a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 27 years for pointing a rifle at federal agents, claiming he was mistaking them for protesters with paintball guns, until he turned on a rifle mounted flashlight and revealed who they actually were.[21][22]
Troy Titus 58299-083 Serving a 30-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2034. Former real estate investor; convicted in 2009 of fraud, money laundering and other charges for orchestrating a Ponzi scheme in which 30 victims lost over $5 million; Titus's story was featured on the CNBC television program American Greed.[23][24]

See also

References

  1. ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Boyd County, KY" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 3 (PDF p. 4/17). Retrieved 2022-08-15. Federal Correctional Institution Ashland
  2. ^ "FCI Ashland". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  3. ^ "Inmate Handbook: Ashland Federal Correctional Institution" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  4. ^ Rose, Lacey (25 May 2006). "Best Places To Go To Prison". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  5. ^ "Before Montgomery: Bayard Rustin and the Fight for Racial Justice During World War II". The National WWII Museum. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  6. ^ Nocera, Kate (March 22, 2010). "Ex-Giants WR Mark Ingram sentenced for jumping bail to watch Heisman-winning son play football". New York Daily News. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  7. ^ Armstrong, Kevin (December 12, 2009). "Mark Ingram Wins Heisman Trophy in Close Race". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  8. ^ "Inmate Locator: Inmate # 22749-050". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  9. ^ "Former Ashland Corrections Officer sentenced to federal prison". Wkyt.com. 2014-05-13. Archived from the original on 2014-05-26. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  10. ^ Jon Meyer (2014-01-26). "Five Years Since Ciavarella and Conahan were Charged". WNEP. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  11. ^ Lichtblau, Eric (September 1, 2005). "4 Men in California Accused of Plotting Terrorist Attacks". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  12. ^ "Man Who Formed Terrorist Group that Plotted Attacks on Military and Jewish Facilities Sentenced to 16 Years in Federal Prison". Federal Bureau of Investigation. US Department of Justice. March 6, 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  13. ^ "UT student David Kernell convicted of hacking Sarah Palin's e-mail, in halfway house". WBIR-TV Knoxville. August 2, 2011. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Palin hacking case: David Kernell found guilty". The Washington Post. April 30, 2010.
  15. ^ Poovey, Bill (12 November 2010). "David Kernell, Palin E-mail Hacker, Sentenced To Year In Custody". Huffington Post.
  16. ^ Poovey, Bill (January 13, 2011). "Convicted Palin hacker David Kernell at prison camp in Kentucky". The E.W. Scripps Co. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  17. ^ Tennessee man who famously hacked Sarah Palin’s Yahoo email account in 2008 is dead, Commercial Appeal, Ryan Poe, February 9, 2018.
  18. ^ Sweet, Laurel J. "Tsarnaev pal set to be released from prison." Boston Herald. Monday May 16, 2016. Retrieved on June 6, 2016.
  19. ^ Collins, Ryan (January 13, 2011). "Man sentenced To 18-months For Hacking Apple and Google E-mail". justice.gov. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  20. ^ "Southern District of Florida | Florida Man Who Called for Race-Based Civil War Sentenced on Multiple Firearms Offenses | United States Department of Justice". 28 September 2021.
  21. ^ "Grandmaster Jay indicted by grand jury, faces 20 years in prison". 20 October 2021.
  22. ^ "NFAC leader sentenced for brandishing AR-15 at federal officers".
  23. ^ McGlone, Tim (2010-04-16). "Disbarred attorney sentenced to 30 years for fraud | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com". HamptonRoads.com. Archived from the original on 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  24. ^ "FBI — Real Estate Investor, Disbarred Lawyer Sentenced 30 Years for Massive Fraud Schemes". Fbi.gov. Retrieved 2012-07-01.

External links

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