Federal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee
Federal prison in Florida, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Federal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee (FCI Tallahassee), is a low security United States federal prison for female inmates in Tallahassee, Florida with a 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.
Entrance signage | |
 Interactive map of FCI Tallahassee | |
| Location | 501 Capital Circle N.E. Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 30.4451°N 84.2254°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Low security |
| Population | 753 (April 29, 2021)[1] |
| Opened | January 1938 |
| Managed by | Federal Bureau of Prisons |
| Warden | Erica Strong |
FCI Tallahassee is 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. William "Buddy" Sentner, an agent with the DOJ Office of Inspector General, shot Hill; Hill returned fire. Both died from their wounds. 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]
Conditions
An unannounced inspection by the Justice Department's inspector general in 2023 found "alarming" conditions, with inmates being fed spoiled food, and with rodent droppings and bugs being an issue. A crumbling infrastructure and staffing issues were cited as the biggest issues facing the facility.[6][7] Ian Maxwell, described the prison as a violent place, where his sister, Ghislaine, feared for her safety[8] In leaked emails, Ghislaine Maxwell claimed that there were possums in the food, people were threatening her life, and that fights were common.[9]
Notable inmates (current and former)
| Inmate name | Register No. | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jean McIntosh | 68895-066 | Serving a 40-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2045. | Convicted for her involvement in the Philadelphia basement kidnapping.[10] |
| Colleen LaRose | 61657-066 | Served 10 years; released in November 2018.[11] | 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 | Released from custody in 2013; served 6 years.[12] | 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.[13][14][15] |
| Maria Butina | 35406-016 | Served an 18-month sentence; released in October 2019.[16] | Convicted of the Espionage act. Was deported back to Russia after her release from Federal Custody.[16] |
| Catherine May Wood | 05523-045 | Served a 20–40 year sentence; released January 16, 2020.[17][18] | 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.[19] | 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.[19] |
| Jaelyn Delshaun Young | 16906-042 | Served 8 years; released on 28 October 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[20] | 02879-509 | Sentenced to 20 years in prison, release date of 17 July 2037.
Transferred to FPC Bryan in 2025. |
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.[21] |
| Lauren Handy | 93984-007 | Served seven months of a 57 month sentence. Was pardoned by Donald Trump.[22] | |
| Jatavia Johnson (JT) | 16486-104 | Served 21 Months, Turned herself in June 29,2018. Released March 7, 2020 | American Rapper sentenced for aggravated identity theft related to fraudulent credit card charges. |
