FCI Tallahassee
Map
Location501 Capital Circle N.E. Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
StatusOperational
Security classLow security
Population753 (April 29, 2021)[1]
OpenedJanuary 1938
Managed byFederal Bureau of Prisons
WardenErica Strong

Federal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee (FCI Tallahassee), is a low security United States federal prison for female inmates in Tallahassee, Florida with a designed designated capacity of 812.[1] It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent detention center that houses administrative security level male inmates.

FCI Tallahassee is located three miles (5 km) east of downtown Tallahassee on US Highway 319.[2]

History

2006 shootings

On June 21, 2006 at 7:42 a.m. local time, Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General agents attempted to arrest six correctional officers in connection with a corruption investigation into correctional officers trading drugs and other contraband for sex with female inmates.

One of the correctional officers, Ralph Hill, used a personal handgun and opened fire on the agents. The shooting began in the lobby of the building and moved into the courtyard near the US 319 highway. Hill killed William "Buddy" Sentner, an agent with the DOJ Office of Inspector General. Agents killed Hill. A lieutenant with the Federal Bureau of Prisons was injured in the shooting and transported to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

The federal officers were unarmed at the time and the correctional officers were supposed to have been unarmed as well. Michael Folmar, the FBI's special agent in charge in Jacksonville, said "This arrest situation was done in a manner to be very controlled ... where nobody would have any weapons, and we could take this down so there wouldn't be any violence, and this is exactly how it would be handled normally across the United States."[3] The officers to be arrested, Alfred Barnes, Gregory Dixon, Alan Moore, and E. Lavon Spence were transported to Wakulla County Jail south of Tallahassee. Vincent Johnson, the last officer named in the indictment, was not involved in the sexual misconduct, but was alleged to have illegally influenced the prisoners to engage in the behavior.[4]

All five surviving guards were convicted and sentenced to one year in prison plus three months probation in January/February 2007. However, Spence, who had suffered a stroke, was re-sentenced to one year home detention plus three months probation. The case did bring about metal detector screening and bag searches of guards coming to work - which was and is still strongly opposed by the guards' union.[5]

Notable inmates

Inmate name Register No. Status Details
Alan Todd May 14675-111 Housed at FCI Tallahassee as of 15 September, 2023. Organized a $700,000 fraud scheme while in prison for wire fraud and then escaped from FCI Englewood before being recaptured nearly five years later in Fort Lauderdale.[6]
Colleen LaRose 61657-066 Served 10 years; released in November 2018.[7] US citizen known as "Jihad Jane;" pleaded guilty in 2011 to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism and conspiracy to kill in a foreign country for using the Internet to recruit people to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe.
Chelsea Gerlach 69097-065[permanent dead link] Released from custody in 2013; served 6 years.[8] Member of the ecoterrorist group Earth Liberation Front (ELF); pleaded guilty in 2006 to committing arson at the Vail Ski Resort in Colorado and businesses in Oregon between 1996 and 2001; several other members were also sentenced to prison.[9][10][11]
Maria Butina 35406-016 Served an 18-month sentence; released in October 2019[12] Convicted of the Espionage act. Was deported back to Russia after her release from Federal Custody.[12]
Catherine May Wood 05523-045 Served a 20–40 year sentence; released January 16, 2020.[13][14] Serial killer who murdered nursing home patients in conjunction with her partner Gwendolyn Graham.
Narcisa Veliz Novack 91518-004 Life in prison without parole for the beating deaths of her husband and mother-in-law.[15] In 2009, Bernice Novack and her son, multi-millionaire Ben Novack Jr., were murdered three months apart. Narcy Novack, Ben's estranged wife, was convicted of orchestrating the murders.[15]
Jaelyn Delshaun Young 16906-042 Scheduled for release in 2024. American woman from Vicksburg, Mississippi, who was convicted of attempting to join ISIS with her fiancé, Muhammad "Moe" Dakhlalla. On August 11, 2016, Young was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Dakhlalla pleaded guilty and testified against Young and received 8 years in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell[16] 02879-509 Sentenced to 20 years in prison, release date on 17 July 2037. Associate of Jeffrey Epstein, convicted of sexual trafficking of minors and related offenses.
Mary Wilkerson 96283-020 Served 5 years in prison, released on 9 February 2020. Quality control officer of the Peanut Corporation of America convicted of obstruction of justice.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Audit Report" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Prisons. PREA Auditors of America, LLC. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  2. ^ "FCI Tallahassee". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
  3. ^ "Sex and drug arrest triggers deadly Florida prison gunfight". CNN. 2006-06-22. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  4. ^ Associated Press. "2 federal employees die in Fla. prison shooting". MSNBC. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  5. ^ "Six Florida Federal Prison Guards Convicted, Sentenced on Rape and Corruption Charges | Prison Legal News".
  6. ^ "Fugitive fraudster caught 'living high on the hog' in Florida 4 years after escape from Colorado prison". NBC News. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  7. ^ Dale, Maryclaire (January 8, 2014). "Colo. Woman Gets 8 Years in Pa. in Jihadist Plot". ABC News. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Moved to Tallahassee". August 17, 2010. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. ^ Lipsher, Steve (May 25, 2007). "Nine years for Vail eco-terrorist". Denver Post. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  10. ^ "OAKLAND WOMAN SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS IN PRISON FOR 2001 ARSON AT UW CENTER FOR URBAN HORTICULTURE". US Department of Justice. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  11. ^ Yardley, William (May 26, 2007). "Radical Environmentalist Gets 9-Year Term". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Maria Butina, convicted for conspiracy in U.S, deported to Russia". CBC & The Associated Press. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  13. ^ "'American Horror Story' Season 6 Spoilers: Who Is Gwen Graham and Cathy Wood? The Truth About The 'Roanoke' Nurses". International Business Times. September 22, 2016.
  14. ^ Paine, Hannah (24 January 2020). "'Could do it again': Warning as killer freed". News.com.au.
  15. ^ a b "Alejandro Garcia Sentenced In White Plains Federal Court To 17 Years And Six Months In Prison For The Beating Deaths Of Ben And Bernice Novack". www.justice.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Ghislaine Maxwell sent to 'low security' Tallahassee prison for role in Epstein sex-trafficking ring".
  17. ^ https://www.foodsafetynews.com/tag/mary-wilkerson/

External links


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