Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women
Encyclopedia
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....
, located in Wetumpka
Wetumpka, Alabama
Wetumpka is a city in Elmore County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 5,726.The city is the county seat of Elmore County, one of the fastest growing counties in the state....
, 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...
. All female inmates entering ADOC are sent to the receiving unit in Tutwiler. Tutwiler houses the state's female death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
. Because of this, the ADOC classifies the prison as "maximum security."
Construction on the current Tutwiler Prison was completed in December 1942. The prison, built for $350,000, originally held up to 400 female prisoners. The current Tutwiler replaced the previous Wetumpka State Penitentiary
Wetumpka State Penitentiary
The Wetumpka State Penitentiary , originally known as the Alabama State Penitentiary, was the first state prison established in Alabama. Built on the east bank of the Coosa River in Wetumpka, Alabama, it was nicknamed the "Walls of Alabama" or "Walls." For much of its existence the prison housed...
, which was the first state prison. The prison was renamed after Julia Tutwiler
Julia Tutwiler
Julia Strudwick Tutwiler was an advocate for education and prison reform in Alabama. Graduating in the first class of Vassar College, she served as co-principal of the Livingston Female Academy, and then the first woman president of Livingston Normal College .-Early life and education:Tutwiler...
, an advocate for education of prisoners and an advocate for improvement of prison conditions; the woman gained the nickname "Angel of the Stockades." The prison has a clothing factory.
The walls of one dormitory are painted in a medicinal pink in order to soothe inmates. In 2003 Tutwiler was overcrowded. During that year a judge declared that Tutwiler's conditions violated the U.S. Constitution.
Notable inmates
- Lynda Lyon BlockLynda Lyon BlockLynda Cheryl Lyon Block was an American convicted murderess....
- Alabama Institutional Serial #Z575 - Executed on May 10, 2002