United States Penitentiary, Lee
Encyclopedia
United States Penitentiary, Lee (USP Lee) is a prison operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons
. It is located in the Lee County Industrial Park in unincorporated
Lee County, Virginia
, near Pennington Gap
, off U.S. Route 58
at the intersection of State Route 638. The facility is 8 miles (12.9 km) east of Jonesville
. The high security facility housed 1,500 male inmates and an additional 129 inmates in the adjacent minimum security
camp as of July 22, 2010. The prison mainly receives inmates from federal court
proceedings in the Western District of Virginia
.
of Lee County was $12,917 in the early 1990s, making the Virginia area a prime candidate to host a federal prison
and bring money into the community.
Architectural and construction work of the 635097 square feet (59,002.4 m²) facility was administered by Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern, now known as AECOM
. Computer modeling was utilized to identify and minimize blindspots of prison watchtower
s. Construction began in the summer of 1998 on a budget of $102 million. The penitentiary was completed in August 2001 and began receiving inmates in 2002. According to project manager Gary Carsten of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the main recurring problem of the facility is the excessive strain on Lee County's sewage system.
discoveries on the prison property include arrowheads and pottery from a Native American
gravesite believed to be associated with an ancient hospital dating as far back as 10,000 years. As of 2005, the tribal
owners of the graveyard had yet to be identified.
apparently walked away from the minimum security camp when he turned up missing during a 4 p.m. count. Police believe Porta, who defrauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture
of more than $400,000, could be anywhere in the United States or Latin America. He remains a fugitive profiled on America's Most Wanted
.
The penitentiary went into lockdown
with the deaths of Quinten Yancey Corniel on September 30, 2008 and Ernest Bennett on January 22, 2010, both in altercations with other inmates. On April 29, 2010, former gang member Filikisi Hafoka was taken off life support
after being stabbed in a prison riot
during the previous weekend.
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
. It is located in the Lee County Industrial Park 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...
Lee County, Virginia
Lee County, Virginia
According to the census 2009 estimates, there were 25001 people, 11,587 households, and 6,852 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 11,587 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
, near Pennington Gap
Pennington Gap, Virginia
Pennington Gap is the most populous town in Lee County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2000 census.The Lee Regional Medical Center is in Pennington Gap, and the United States Penitentiary, Lee is nearby.-Geography:...
, off U.S. Route 58
U.S. Route 58
U.S. Route 58 is an east–west U.S. Highway that runs for from U.S. Route 25E just northwest of Harrogate, Tennessee to U.S. Route 60 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Until 1996, when the Cumberland Gap Tunnel opened, US 58 ran only inside the commonwealth of Virginia...
at the intersection of State Route 638. The facility is 8 miles (12.9 km) east of Jonesville
Jonesville, Virginia
Jonesville is a town in and the county seat of Lee County, Virginia, United States. The population was 995 at the 2000 census.- History :Jonesville was established in 1794 as the county seat of Lee County. The town was known as Glade Spring in its infancy. It was incorporated in 1884, and...
. The high security facility housed 1,500 male inmates and an additional 129 inmates in the adjacent minimum security
Minimum Security
Minimum Security is a comic strip written and illustrated by Stephanie McMillan. It began in 1999, appearing in several alternative weeklies...
camp as of July 22, 2010. The prison mainly receives inmates from federal court
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
proceedings in the Western District of Virginia
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia is a United States district court.Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in...
.
Background
The annual per capita incomePer capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
of Lee County was $12,917 in the early 1990s, making the Virginia area a prime candidate to host a federal prison
Federal prison
Federal prisons are run by national governments in countries where subdivisions of the country also operate prisons.In the United States federal prisons are operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In Canada the Correctional Service of Canada operates federal prisons. Prison sentences in these...
and bring money into the community.
Architectural and construction work of the 635097 square feet (59,002.4 m²) facility was administered by Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern, now known as AECOM
AECOM
AECOM Technology Corporation is a professional technical and management support services firm. The company is ranked as the number one design firm for 2010 and 2011 by Engineering News-Record and number one by Architectural Record. It provides services in the areas of transportation, planning,...
. Computer modeling was utilized to identify and minimize blindspots of prison watchtower
Watchtower
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. Construction began in the summer of 1998 on a budget of $102 million. The penitentiary was completed in August 2001 and began receiving inmates in 2002. According to project manager Gary Carsten of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the main recurring problem of the facility is the excessive strain on Lee County's sewage system.
Archaeology
ArchaeologicalArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
discoveries on the prison property include arrowheads and pottery from a Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
gravesite believed to be associated with an ancient hospital dating as far back as 10,000 years. As of 2005, the tribal
Indian tribe
In the United States, a Native American tribe is any extant or historical tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Indigenous peoples in the United States...
owners of the graveyard had yet to be identified.
Incidents
On February 25, 2008, inmate Edward PortaEdward Porta
Edward Porta was an Argentinian textile trader based in the area of Spartanburg, South Carolina. He pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture of more than $400,000. In February 2008, Porta escaped from the minimum security camp at the U.S...
apparently walked away from the minimum security camp when he turned up missing during a 4 p.m. count. Police believe Porta, who defrauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
of more than $400,000, could be anywhere in the United States or Latin America. He remains a fugitive profiled on America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
.
The penitentiary went into lockdown
Lockdown
There are several definitions for the term lockdown, the most common of which pertains to a state of containment or a restriction of progression....
with the deaths of Quinten Yancey Corniel on September 30, 2008 and Ernest Bennett on January 22, 2010, both in altercations with other inmates. On April 29, 2010, former gang member Filikisi Hafoka was taken off life support
Life support
Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
after being stabbed in a prison riot
Prison riot
A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners in attempt to force change or express a grievance....
during the previous weekend.
Notable inmates
| Inmate | Number | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Jenne Ken Jenne Kenneth C. "Ken" Jenne II , is a former Democratic member of the Florida State Senate and a former sheriff of Broward County, which encompasses Fort Lauderdale in southeastern Florida. Jenne resigned as sheriff in September 2007, after having pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion and mail fraud... |
77434-004 | Released September 29, 2008 | Tax evasion Tax evasion Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,... and mail fraud |
| Chevie Kehoe Chevie Kehoe Chevie O'Brien Kehoe was said to be a self-proclaimed white supremacist and convicted murderer currently serving three consecutive life sentences for the kidnapping, torture, and murder of William Mueller and his family.-Early life:Kehoe, the oldest of eight sons born to Kirby and Gloria Kehoe,... |
21300-009 | Life imprisonment Life imprisonment Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life... |
Kidnapping Kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority... , torture Torture Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion... , and murder Murder Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide... |
| Edward Porta Edward Porta Edward Porta was an Argentinian textile trader based in the area of Spartanburg, South Carolina. He pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture of more than $400,000. In February 2008, Porta escaped from the minimum security camp at the U.S... |
18862-058 | Escaped 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... |
Conspiracy to defraud |
| Brian Patrick Regan Brian Patrick Regan Brian Patrick Regan is a former master sergeant in the United States Air Force who was convicted of offering to sell secret information to foreign governments.... |
41051-083 | Life imprisonment Life imprisonment Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life... |
Espionage Espionage Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it... |
| Clayton Roueche United Nations (gang) The United Nations Gang or Global United Nations Syndicate is a criminal gang active in the Vancouver, British Columbia area... |
36994-177 | To be released July 5, 2034 | Drug lord Drug lord A drug lord, drug baron or kingpin is the term used to describe a person who controls a sizable network of persons involved in the illegal drugs trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they might never be directly in possession of something illegal, but are insulated from... |
See also
External links
- USP Lee at the Federal Bureau of PrisonsFederal Bureau of PrisonsThe Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
(Official site)