Greensville Correctional Center
 1994 aerial photo of the prison |
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| Location | 901 Corrections Way Jarratt, Virginia 23870-9614 |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Level 3 (correctional center) Level 1 (work center) |
| Population | 3,055[1] (as of June 2008) |
| Opened | September 1990 |
| Managed by | Virginia Department of Corrections |
| Warden | George M. Hinkle[1] |
Greensville Correctional Center is a prison facility located in unincorporated Greensville County, Virginia, near Jarratt. It is operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections.[1] Greensville houses the execution chamber used to carry out capital punishment by the Commonwealth of Virginia.[2]
Contents |
[edit] History
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010) |
Opened in September 1990 in a ceremony presided over by Governor L. Douglas Wilder, the $106 million facility was built to provide initial relief to the then overcrowded Virginia correctional system. The facility opening allowed for the subsequent closure of two century-old Virginia State Penitentiary facilities in downtown Richmond.
Initially, the center was classified as a maximum security facility. However, with the subsequent opening of other facilities intended for the most hardened violent criminals, the security classification at Greensville has been lowered to medium security. There is a double perimeter fence topped with razor wire as well as six 52-foot (16 m) high guard towers to bolster perimeter security.
The facility consists of 4 pod-style buildings (three have a capacity for 516 inmates each; the fourth can handle 192 higher-risk inmates) arranged in a semicircle in a 125-acre (0.51 km2) campus-like setting. The tract of land upon which the Correctional Center is constructed measures 1,105 acres (4.47 km2). It is located one mile (1.6 km) from Interstate 95. The primary contractor for the project was Morrison-Knudsen.
In 1995, a minimum-security work camp for low-risk inmates was constructed adjacent to the main complex. Together, the two facilities have a capacity of 3,007 inmates.
The facility contains a dedicated health care unit and mental health center which serves inmates in the eastern region of the Virginia corrections system. It is also home to the state death chamber, which was completed in April 1991. 109 executions by electrocution or lethal injection have taken place in the L Building, located at the rear of the facility. The unit containing condemned prisoners was nicknamed "Hellsville" by the inmates.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Greensville Correctional Center / Greensville Work Center". Virginia Department of Corrections. http://www.vadoc.virginia.gov/facilities/eastern/greensville/. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^ "Virginia Death Row / Execution Facts". WTTG. November 10, 2009. http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/virginia/virginia-death-row-execution-facts-111009. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^ Beck, Catie (September 25, 2010). "'I watched a woman die': Eye-witness reveals haunting first-hand account of the execution of Teresa Lewis". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1314993/Teresa-Lewis-execution-I-watched-woman-die-One-witness-hand-account.html. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
