Kilby Correctional Facility
Encyclopedia
Kilby Correctional Facility is a Alabama Department of Corrections
prison for the state of Alabama
, located in Mt. Meigs, unincorporated
Montgomery County
, Alabama, near Montgomery
. Its current capacity inmates is 1,250. Kilby serves as receiving and processing center for all male Alabama state inmates. The current Kilby Correctional Facility warden is John Cummins. The Montgomery Women's Facility, an ADOC facility for women, is located behind Kilby.
.
The new Kilby was established as the Mt. Meigs Medical and Diagnostic Center in December 1969 and had an original capacity of 440 inmates. Kilby was designed with an on-site hospital, dormitories, and one hundred two-man cells in order to facilitate its role as receiving center for all male prisoners held by the state of Alabama.
s, and is bordered by an 18 feet (5.5 m)-high chain link double fence topped with razor wire. Montgomery security and support personnel receive employee training on-site at Kilby. Alabama state dog tracking teams
are also maintained at Kilby. The dogs are used by local law enforcement for tracking prison escapees
, criminal suspects and missing persons
.
Kilby Correctional Facility serves the Alabama state prison system with facilities for dental care
, mental health care, general and specialty medical care. Inmate health and life skills
programs are offered, including Narcotics Anonymous
, Alcoholics Anonymous
, Volunteers in Corrections, sex offender
therapy, anger management
therapy, alcohol and drug abuse counseling
, individual and group mental health therapy, General Equivalency Diploma (GED) classes, Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes, and chaplaincy services. Additionally, Kilby grows its own fresh produce
in correctional facility garden
s, and runs a correctional industry printing and graphic arts plant.
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 the state of 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...
, located in Mt. Meigs, 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...
Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Alabama
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the most populous county in the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area; its population in 2010 was 229,363 .- History :...
, Alabama, near Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
. Its current capacity inmates is 1,250. Kilby serves as receiving and processing center for all male Alabama state inmates. The current Kilby Correctional Facility warden is John Cummins. The Montgomery Women's Facility, an ADOC facility for women, is located behind Kilby.
History
In 1922 and 1923, the State of Alabama constructed and opened Kilby Prison, located on 2550 acres (10.3 km²) four miles (6 km) north of the State Capitol. Named in honor of Thomas Erby Kilby, (1865–43) Governor of Alabama, (1919–23). "Yellow Mama", the electric chair was located at Kilby Prison. Deterioration after forty-five years led to the prison closing in 1969. The prisoners were moved to the new Holman Correctional FacilityHolman Correctional Facility
Holman Correctional Facility is an Alabama Department of Corrections prison located in unincorporated southwestern Escambia County, Alabama. The facility is along Alabama State Highway 21, north of Atmore....
.
The new Kilby was established as the Mt. Meigs Medical and Diagnostic Center in December 1969 and had an original capacity of 440 inmates. Kilby was designed with an on-site hospital, dormitories, and one hundred two-man cells in order to facilitate its role as receiving center for all male prisoners held by the state of Alabama.
Current facilities
Kilby is a maximum-security prison because it serves as receiving and processing center for male Alabama state inmates. It covers 154 acres, is monitored by five watchtowerWatchtower
A watchtower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military, and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may...
s, and is bordered by an 18 feet (5.5 m)-high chain link double fence topped with razor wire. Montgomery security and support personnel receive employee training on-site at Kilby. Alabama state dog tracking teams
Police dog
A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...
are also maintained at Kilby. The dogs are used by local law enforcement for tracking prison escapees
Prison escape
A prison escape or prison break is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers...
, criminal suspects and missing persons
Missing Persons
Missing Persons is an American band who plays a blend of New Wave and Pop rock. The band was founded in 1980 in Los Angeles by guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, vocalist Dale Bozzio, and drummer Terry Bozzio. They went on to add bassist Patrick O'Hearn and keyboardist Chuck Wild. Dale's quirky voice...
.
Kilby Correctional Facility serves the Alabama state prison system with facilities for dental care
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
, mental health care, general and specialty medical care. Inmate health and life skills
Life skills
Life skills are problem solving behaviors used appropriately and responsibly in the management of personal affairs. They are a set of human skills acquired via teaching or direct experience that are used to handle problems and questions commonly encountered in daily human life...
programs are offered, including Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous is a twelve-step program modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous describing itself as a "fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem," and it is the second-largest 12-step organization...
, Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
, Volunteers in Corrections, sex offender
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
therapy, anger management
Anger management
The term anger management commonly refers to a system of psychological therapeutic techniques and exercises by which someone with excessive or uncontrollable anger & aggression can control or reduce the triggers, degrees, and effects of an angered emotional state...
therapy, alcohol and drug abuse counseling
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
, individual and group mental health therapy, General Equivalency Diploma (GED) classes, Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes, and chaplaincy services. Additionally, Kilby grows its own fresh produce
Produce
Produce is a generalized term for a group of farm-produced goods and, not limited to fruits and vegetables . More specifically, the term "produce" often implies that the products are fresh and generally in the same state as where they were harvested. In supermarkets the term is also used to refer...
in correctional facility garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s, and runs a correctional industry printing and graphic arts plant.
Famous inmates
- Bobby Frank CherryBobby Frank CherryBobby Frank Cherry was an American white supremacist and Klansman who was convicted of murder in 2002 for his role in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963...
, one of the conspirators in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing16th Street Baptist Church bombingThe 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed on Sunday, September 15, 1963. The explosion at the African-American church, which killed four girls, marked a turning point in the U.S...
. He was originally taken to Kilby for intake. Cherry was later transferred to the Holman Correctional FacilityHolman Correctional FacilityHolman Correctional Facility is an Alabama Department of Corrections prison located in unincorporated southwestern Escambia County, Alabama. The facility is along Alabama State Highway 21, north of Atmore....
in Escambia County, AlabamaEscambia County, Alabama-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*62.1% White*31.9% Black*4.4% Native American*0.2% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.5% Two or more races*1.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
. Cherry died in the Kilby Correctional Facility's hospital unit in 2004.
- The Scottsboro Nine, also known as the Scottsboro BoysScottsboro BoysThe Scottsboro Boys were nine black teenage boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial...
, the nine African American youths who were arrested and sentenced to death for the rape of two White women in 1931 were transferred to the prison after an all White jury convicted them of the crime.
External links
- Kilby Correctional Facility - Alabama Department of CorrectionsAlabama Department of CorrectionsThe 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....