William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility
Encyclopedia
William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility is an Alabama Department of Corrections
prison for men located in unincorporated
Jefferson County
, Alabama
, near Bessemer
.
In 1996, according to Joe Hopper, the commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections
, the system's prison guard shortage was the most acute at Donaldson during that year. As of that year the prison housed around 1,400 prisoners, with 207 prison guards watching them.
Donaldson was the main setting of the documentary film The Dhamma Brothers
, which chronicles the establishment of a Buddhist reform program for prisoners.
classifies Donaldson as a maximum security prison. The agency uses Donaldson to house inmates who have multiple or repeated violent offenses and who ADOC cannot easily manage. Hundreds of offenders who are housed at Donaldson have life without parole sentences. The prison includes a segregation unit for 300 inmates; Donaldson's segregation unit is the largest unit in the State of Alabama. The prison includes a death row for up to 24 prisoners that are required to be located in the Birmingham, Alabama
judicial area.
Alabama Department of Corrections
The Alabama Department of Corrections, commonly referred to as , is the agency responsible for incarceration of convicted felons in the state of Alabama in the United States. It is headquartered in the Alabama Criminal Justice Center in Montgomery....
prison for men located in unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Alabama
Jefferson County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama, with its county seat being located in Birmingham.As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Jefferson County was 658,466...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, near Bessemer
Bessemer, Alabama
Bessemer is a city outside of Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States eight miles west of Hoover. The population was 29,672 at the 2000 Census, but by the 2009 U.S...
.
History
The prison opened as the West Jefferson Correctional Facility in 1982. On January 12, 1990, corrections officer William E. Donaldson was stabbed and killed by an inmate. The prison was later renamed in honor of officer Donaldson. Originally the prison had a capacity for 700 inmates in dormitory housing and 16 inmates in individual prison cells; the capacity increased as expansions opened.In 1996, according to Joe Hopper, the commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections
Alabama Department of Corrections
The Alabama Department of Corrections, commonly referred to as , is the agency responsible for incarceration of convicted felons in the state of Alabama in the United States. It is headquartered in the Alabama Criminal Justice Center in Montgomery....
, the system's prison guard shortage was the most acute at Donaldson during that year. As of that year the prison housed around 1,400 prisoners, with 207 prison guards watching them.
Donaldson was the main setting of the documentary film The Dhamma Brothers
The Dhamma Brothers
The Dhamma Brothers is a documentary film released in 2007 about a prison meditation program at Donaldson Correctional Facility near Bessemer, Alabama. The film concentrates on four inmates, all convicted of murder. It also includes interviews of guards, prison officials, and local residents. It...
, which chronicles the establishment of a Buddhist reform program for prisoners.
Operations
As of 2010 the facility can house 1,492 prisoners. The Alabama Department of CorrectionsAlabama Department of Corrections
The Alabama Department of Corrections, commonly referred to as , is the agency responsible for incarceration of convicted felons in the state of Alabama in the United States. It is headquartered in the Alabama Criminal Justice Center in Montgomery....
classifies Donaldson as a maximum security prison. The agency uses Donaldson to house inmates who have multiple or repeated violent offenses and who ADOC cannot easily manage. Hundreds of offenders who are housed at Donaldson have life without parole sentences. The prison includes a segregation unit for 300 inmates; Donaldson's segregation unit is the largest unit in the State of Alabama. The prison includes a death row for up to 24 prisoners that are required to be located in the Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
judicial area.