Leavenworth Prison

Jan 24, 2007 04:01:01

Rated Capacity............1197 Current Population........1641 (5-9-02) Security Level............HIGH Custody Level.............IN and MAXIMUM Judicial District.........District of Kansas The United States Penitentiary (USP), Leavenworth is located on 1,583 acres with 22.8 acres inside the penitentiary walls. It is an all-male high security level facility committed to carrying out the judgments of the Federal Courts. It provides a safe, secure and humane environment for those offenders committed to its custody. Like all Bureau facilities, Leavenworth adheres to a balanced philosophy which recognizes that punishment, deterrence and incapacitation are all valid purposes of confinement. Opportunities for positive change are provided through work, education, training and counseling for inmates motivated toward self-improvement. Within the walls of the penitentiary, there are 5 housing units, 4 of which are located off a central rotunda. All 4 are individual cell-type units designated for close security housing. Three of the housing units are for general population, one for detainees. There is also a special housing unit for inmates confined in administrative detention and disciplinary segregation status. The USP Leavenworth came into existence through an act of Congress in 1895. Inmates from the military prison at Fort Leavenworth were used in the early construction and were marched two and one-half miles to the site daily, returning each night to the prison at Fort Leavenworth. This continued until February, 1903 when the first 418 inmates to occupy the prison site were moved into what now serves as a laundry building. In 1906, all of the federal prisoners from Fort Leavenworth were housed in the new institution and the prison at Fort Leavenworth was returned to the War Department. A milestone in the new penitentiaries' construction was reached in 1926 with the final placement of the dome overhead the rotunda - from which the penitentiary derives its famous nickname - "The Big Top."