The United States Penitentiary, Atlanta (USP Atlanta) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Atlanta, Georgia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has a detention center for pretrial and holdover inmates, and a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates.[1]
In 1899, President William McKinley authorized the construction of a new federal prison in Atlanta, Georgia. Construction was completed in January 1902 and the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary opened with the transfer of six convicts from the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in upstate New York.[2] They were the beneficiaries of the Three Prisons Act of 1891, which established penitentiaries in Leavenworth, Kansas; Atlanta, Georgia; and McNeil Island, Washington. The first two remain open today, the third closed in 1976. The Atlanta site was the largest Federal prison, with a capacity of 3,000 inmates. Inmate case files presented mini-biographies of men confined in the penitentiary. Prison officials recorded every detail of their lives - their medical treatments, their visitors, their letters to and from the outside world[3]
In the 1980s, USP Atlanta was used as a detention center for Cubanrefugees from the Mariel Boatlift who were ineligible for release into American society.
USP Atlanta is currently one of several facilities, including the Federal Transfer Center, Oklahoma City that are used to house prisoners who are being transferred between prisons. As of 2006, the prison was housing 3 to 5 in-transit prisoners in each approximately 56-square-foot (5.2 m2) isolation cell for up to eight weeks at a time.
In November 1987, Cuban detainees, tired of indefinite confinement and in constant fear of being deported back to Cuba, rioted for 11 days, staged a bloody riot, seizing dozens of hostages and setting fire to the prison. At least one prisoner was killed. Local hospitals reported admitting a total of eight Cubans suffering gunshot wounds, along with two prison guards who were slightly injured.[5]
Originally in prison for robbery and truck hijacking, Bulger would become boss of the Winter Hill gang, being involved in at least 19 murders. Currently serving two life sentences plus five years at USP Coleman.
Released from custody in 1978 after serving 6 years.
Associate of the Lucchese crime family in New York City; Burke and fellow associate Henry Hill were convicted of extortion in 1972; Burke is the suspected mastermind of the 1978 Lufthansa Heist, in which nearly $6 million in cash and jewels were stolen at JFK Airport. Burke and Hill were portrayed in the 1990 film Goodfellas.[8]
Transferred to a hospital prison in 1943 and released in 1947 after serving 10 years.
President of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 to 1965; convicted in 1936 of sedition in connection with the assassination of Puerto Rican Police Chief Elisha Riggs, which was in retaliation for the Rio Piedras massacre, during which police killed four unarmed party supporters.[29]
Released from custody in 2005 after serving 6 months.
Baltimore Police Commissioner from 2000 to 2002; pleaded guilty in 2004 to misusing police department funds for personal expenses and tax fraud.[31][32][33]
Louisiana General contractor who supervised the construction of 26 public buildings; convicted in 1940 of tax evasion and accepting kickbacks in connection with the Louisiana Hayride scandals in 1939 and 1940.