United States Penitentiary, Tucson
Encyclopedia
United States Penitentiary, Tucson (USP Tucson) is a prison operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons
located in Tucson, Arizona
. Located 10 miles (16.1 km) southeast of Downtown Tucson near Interstate 10
and Wilmot Road, the institution is part of a larger Federal Correctional Complex
(FCC) that includes Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson
. The high security facility housed 1,416 male inmates and an additional 134 inmates in the satellite minimum security
camp as of January 6, 2011. The prison mainly receives inmates from federal court
proceedings in the District of Arizona
.
Construction was completed in 2005 at a cost of about $100 million, but additional preparations took over a year before inmates could be received. The 584000 square feet (54,255.4 m²) facility is situated on a 640 acres (2.6 km²) property and designed for 1,500 inmates, though officials had at one time planned to limit the population to around 960. The minimum-security work camp provides labor for day-to-day operations of the federal prison complex. It has been described as "its own little city" by Josias Salazar, executive assistant of the prison complex. The opening of the penitentiary on February 5, 2007 worsened a local shortage of prison officers and was cited by residents for adding to the street traffic generated by the various prison facilities.
on May 28, 2009 after several inmates were hospitalized from fights involving improvised weapons. Another inmate, Joseph William Nichols, was sentenced to 33 more months after being caught on August 12, 2009 with a concealed plastic shank
that had been fashioned from his prison chair. A search of the kitchen where Nichols had been assigned resulted in the discovery of hidden contraband
packages containing weapons and drug paraphernalia
.
reporter mail
ed former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham
to inquire about his time at the prison's work camp halfway into his 100-month sentence for tax evasion
, conspiracy
to commit bribery
, mail fraud and wire fraud
. Cunningham, who has become an advocate of prison reform
, responded in a handwritten letter that he spends his days there teaching fellow inmates to obtain their GED. He wrote: "[Too] many students have severe learning disabilities from either drugs or genetic[s]. During the past 4 years only one of my students was unable to graduate—I taught him life skills, using a calculator to add, subtract, [multiply and divide]. This way he could at least balance a check book."
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
located in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. Located 10 miles (16.1 km) southeast of Downtown Tucson near Interstate 10
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...
and Wilmot Road, the institution is part of a larger Federal Correctional Complex
Federal Correctional Complex, Tucson
Tucson Federal Correctional Complex is a prison complex operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Located 10 miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona near Interstate 10 on Wilmot Road, the complex consists of:...
(FCC) that includes Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson
Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson
The Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson is a prison operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the state of Arizona. Located 10 miles southeast of Tucson near Interstate 10 and Wilmot Road, the medium security institution is part of a larger Federal Correctional Complex that also includes a...
. The high security facility housed 1,416 male inmates and an additional 134 inmates in the satellite minimum security
Minimum Security
Minimum Security is a comic strip written and illustrated by Stephanie McMillan. It began in 1999, appearing in several alternative weeklies...
camp as of January 6, 2011. The prison mainly receives inmates from federal court
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
proceedings in the District of Arizona
United States District Court for the District of Arizona
The United States District Court for the District of Arizona is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Arizona. Court is held in the cities of Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, and Prescott. The district was created on June 20, 1910, by 36 Stat. 557...
.
History
The Federal Bureau of Prisons drafted a report on March 28, 2001 naming Tucson as an ideal site for a new federal prison housing either 1,100 medium security or 1,000 high security inmates. A hearing was arranged the following May.Construction was completed in 2005 at a cost of about $100 million, but additional preparations took over a year before inmates could be received. The 584000 square feet (54,255.4 m²) facility is situated on a 640 acres (2.6 km²) property and designed for 1,500 inmates, though officials had at one time planned to limit the population to around 960. The minimum-security work camp provides labor for day-to-day operations of the federal prison complex. It has been described as "its own little city" by Josias Salazar, executive assistant of the prison complex. The opening of the penitentiary on February 5, 2007 worsened a local shortage of prison officers and was cited by residents for adding to the street traffic generated by the various prison facilities.
Incidents
The penitentiary went into lockdownLockdown
There are several definitions for the term lockdown, the most common of which pertains to a state of containment or a restriction of progression....
on May 28, 2009 after several inmates were hospitalized from fights involving improvised weapons. Another inmate, Joseph William Nichols, was sentenced to 33 more months after being caught on August 12, 2009 with a concealed plastic shank
Shiv (weapon)
A shiv is a slang term for any sharp or pointed implement used as a knife-like weapon. However, the word in practical usage is frequently used when referring to an improvised bladed weapon. Shivs are commonly made by inmates in prisons across the world...
that had been fashioned from his prison chair. A search of the kitchen where Nichols had been assigned resulted in the discovery of hidden contraband
Contraband
The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
packages containing weapons and drug paraphernalia
Drug paraphernalia
Drug paraphernalia is a term used, often with a slightly negative connotation due to its use in criminal law field e.g. "possession of drug paraphernalia", to denote any equipment, product, or material that is modified for making, using, or concealing drugs, typically for recreational purposes...
.
Media coverage
In July 2010, a San Diego CityBeatSan Diego CityBeat
San Diego CityBeat is an alternative weekly newspaper in San Diego, California that focuses on local progressive politics, arts, and music. It is published every Wednesday and distributed around San Diego county, although with a focus on the city of San Diego itself, with a weekly circulation of...
reporter mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
ed former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham
Duke Cunningham
Randall Harold Cunningham , usually known as Randy or Duke, is United States Navy veteran, convicted felon, and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 50th Congressional District from 1991 to 2005.Cunningham resigned from the House on November 28,...
to inquire about his time at the prison's work camp halfway into his 100-month sentence for tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
, conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to commit bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
, mail fraud and wire fraud
Wire fraud
Mail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Together, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1346 reach any fraudulent scheme or artifice to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services with a nexus to mail or wire communication....
. Cunningham, who has become an advocate of prison reform
Prison reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...
, responded in a handwritten letter that he spends his days there teaching fellow inmates to obtain their GED. He wrote: "[Too] many students have severe learning disabilities from either drugs or genetic[s]. During the past 4 years only one of my students was unable to graduate—I taught him life skills, using a calculator to add, subtract, [multiply and divide]. This way he could at least balance a check book."
Notable inmates
| Inmate | Number | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Alamo Tony Alamo Tony Alamo is an American religious leader and convicted child sex offender. He and his late wife Susan are best known as the founders of an organization currently known as Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. The organization is based in and around Fouke and Alma, Arkansas, United States, and has... (Bernie Lazar Hoffman) |
00305-112 | Life imprisonment Life imprisonment Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life... |
Child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to... |
| Randy "Duke" Cunningham Duke Cunningham Randall Harold Cunningham , usually known as Randy or Duke, is United States Navy veteran, convicted felon, and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 50th Congressional District from 1991 to 2005.Cunningham resigned from the House on November 28,... |
94405-198 | To be released June 4, 2013 | Tax evasion Tax evasion Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,... , conspiracy Conspiracy (crime) In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement... to commit bribery Bribery Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or... , mail fraud, wire fraud Wire fraud Mail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Together, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1346 reach any fraudulent scheme or artifice to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services with a nexus to mail or wire communication.... |
| Steven Dale Green | 20848-058 | Life imprisonment Life imprisonment Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life... |
Mahmudiyah killings Mahmudiyah killings The Mahmudiyah killings and gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl by U.S. troops occurred on March 12, 2006, in a house to the southwest of Yusufiyah, a village to the west of the town of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Five United States Army soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment were charged with the crimes: ... |
| Jaan Laaman Jaan Laaman Jaan Karl Laaman grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts and Buffalo, New York. His family emigrated to the US from Estonia when he was a child. He has a son... |
10372-016 | To be released November 14, 2038 | Criminal conspiracy Conspiracy (crime) In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement... , bombing |
| Jared Lee Loughner Jared Lee Loughner Jared Lee Loughner is an American man who is charged with the January 8, 2011 Tucson, Arizona shooting that killed six people, including Chief U.S. District Court Judge John Roll. The shooting also left 14 others injured, including U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords... |
15213-196 | Currently undergoing treatment at a federal psychiatric clinic in Springfield, Missouri Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of... . |
Charged with committing the 2011 Tucson shooting 2011 Tucson shooting On January 8, 2011, a mass shooting occurred near Tucson, Arizona. Nineteen people were shot, six of them fatally, with one other person injured at the scene during an open meeting that U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was holding with members of her constituency in a Casas Adobes Safeway... |
| William Leonard Pickard William Leonard Pickard William Leonard Pickard is one of two people convicted in the largest lysergic acid diethylamide manufacturing case in history. In 2000, while moving the LSD laboratory, Pickard and Clyde Apperson were pulled over while driving a Ryder rental truck and a follow car... |
82687-011 | Life imprisonment Life imprisonment Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life... |
LSD production |
| Timothy P. Villagomez Timothy P. Villagomez Timothy Pangelinan Villagomez was the Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands who served under current Governor Benigno R. Fitial until his resignation on April 26, 2009. Villagomez took office as Lieutenant Governor on January 9, 2006, after being elected as a ticket during the 2005... |
00590-005 | To be released December 17, 2015 | Bribery Bribery Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or... , conspiracy Conspiracy (crime) In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement... to defraud Fraud In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation... , theft Theft In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud... , wire fraud Wire fraud Mail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Together, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1346 reach any fraudulent scheme or artifice to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services with a nexus to mail or wire communication.... |
See also
- List of U.S. federal prisons
- Arizona State Prison Complex - TucsonArizona State Prison Complex - TucsonArizona State Prison Complex – Tucson is one of 13 prison facilities operated by the Arizona Department of Corrections . ASPC-Tucson is located in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, 127 miles south from the state capital of Phoenix, Arizona....
- Federal Correctional Complex, TucsonFederal Correctional Complex, TucsonTucson Federal Correctional Complex is a prison complex operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Located 10 miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona near Interstate 10 on Wilmot Road, the complex consists of:...
- Federal Correctional Institution, TucsonFederal Correctional Institution, TucsonThe Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson is a prison operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the state of Arizona. Located 10 miles southeast of Tucson near Interstate 10 and Wilmot Road, the medium security institution is part of a larger Federal Correctional Complex that also includes a...
- Federal Correctional Institution, PhoenixFederal Correctional Institution, PhoenixFederal Correctional Institution, Phoenix is a U.S. federal prison located in Phoenix, Arizona. Operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it is a medium-security facility housing male inmates and also has an adjacent satellite prison camp that houses minimum-security female offenders...
External links
- USP Tucson at the Federal Bureau of PrisonsFederal Bureau of PrisonsThe Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
(Official site)