Federal Penitentiary Atlanta 1920 postcard

The Federal Correctional Institution, Atlanta (FCI Atlanta) is a low-security United States

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...

for male inmates in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. It is operated by the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...

, a division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

. The facility also has a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates, a detention center for male pretrial inmates (also likely used for inmates serving brief sentences), and also has an additional high and/or maximum security detention center unit (possibly for holdover inmates from former USP, higher risk inmates serving brief sentences and/or inmates from the FCI with behavioural concerns).

History

In 1899, President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

authorized the construction of a new federal prison in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia Congressman Leonidas F. Livingston advocated placing the prison in Atlanta. William S. Eames, an architect from

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

; and

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...

John W. Griggs, on April 18, 1899, traveled to Atlanta to select the prison site. Construction was completed in January 1902 and the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary opened with the transfer of six convicts from the

Sing Sing Correctional Facility Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York, United States. It is about north of Midtown Manhattan ...

in upstate New York. 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" The main prison building was designed by the

architect firm of

Eames and Young Eames and Young was an American architecture firm based in St. Louis, Missouri, active nationally, and responsible for several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. History The principals were Thomas Crane Young, FAIA and Wil ...

, which also designed the main building at the

United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth The Federal Correctional Institution, Leavenworth is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It also includes ...

. It encompassed and had a capacity of 1200 inmates. The facility was subsequently renamed the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta when US government created the

in 1930. In the 1980s, USP Atlanta was used as a detention center for

Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s from the

Mariel Boatlift The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980. The term "" is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and English. While the ex ...

who were ineligible for release into American society. USP Atlanta was formerly one of several facilities, including the

Federal Transfer Center, Oklahoma City The Federal Transfer Center (FTC Oklahoma City) is a United States federal prison for male and female inmates in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice, and ...

, that were used to house prisoners who are being transferred between prisons.

Notable incidents

1987 riots

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.

Notable inmates (current and former)

*Inmates released from custody prior to 1982 are not listed on the Bureau of Prisons website.

Organized crime figures

Fraudsters

Political figures

Public officials

Others

Jim Rivera Manuel Joseph "Jungle Jim" Rivera (July 22, 1921 – November 13, 2017) was an American professional baseball outfielder. In 1944, he was found guilty of attempted rape and sentenced to life in prison. He played baseball on the prison baseball ...

(1921–2017), Major League Baseball player

References

External links

United States Penitentiary, AtlantaNational Archives and Records Administration Southeast Region, Morrow, GAAtlanta Federal Penitentiary Inmate Case Files, 1902-1921 at the National Archives at Atlanta
{{Federal Bureau of Prisons

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Prisons in Georgia (U.S. state) Buildings and structures in Atlanta 1902 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

Men's prisons