Lowell Correctional Institution is a

women's prison Approximately 741,000 women are incarcerated in correctional facilities, a 17% increase since 2010 and the female prison population has been increasing across all continents.unincorporated Marion County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) is the government agency responsible for operating state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in the state capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections oper ...

. Retrieved on December 13, 2015. "11120 NW Gainesville Rd. Ocala, Florida 34482-1479" north of

Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making it the 43rd-most popul ...

, in the unincorporated area of Lowell. A part of the

, it serves as the primary prison for women in the state. Almost 3,000 women are incarcerated in the complex, which includes the Lowell Annex.''Miami Herald'' staff.
Department of Corrections criticizes Miami Herald series on Lowell

. ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

''. December 10, 2015. Retrieved on December 13, 2015. As of 2015 2,696 women are in the main Lowell CI, making it the largest prison for women in the United States; its prison population became larger than that of the

Central California Women's Facility Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) is an American women's California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison located in Chowchilla, California. It is across the road from Valley State Prison. CCWF is the second larg ...

that year. It opened in April 1956 as the Florida Correctional Institution and was the first Florida prison for women. It houses community, minimum, medium, and close custody inmates. At the time it was opened, Lowell was the only prison that housed solely female offenders in the state. In 1999, the name was changed to Lowell Correctional Institution/Women's Unit, and in 2000 it was given the latest title of Lowell Correctional Institution. It has a maximum population of 1,456 female inmates ranging anywhere from youth (14–18) to adults (18+). The Annex has a maximum general population of 1,500 and another 150 special housing beds for close management, death row, medical isolation, and confinement. It has consistently been associated with inmate abuse, sexual abuse, inhumane conditions, and little to no intervention from the State of Florida (Miami Herald, 2015, 2017)The facility is currently under investigation for unsafe conditions with regards to the ongoing pandemic and nearly half of the inmates have tested positive as of September 11 2021 according to the Florida department of corrections (FDC, FDC Responds to COVID-19 at Lowell Correctional Institution). Inmates have taken to social media describing overcrowding, lack of medical care, and severe illness in some inmates.

Facilities

Lowell Correctional Institution houses female offenders at all security levels, including juveniles age 14 to 18 and adults. The Lowell Annex, under the supervision of the Lowell Correctional Institution, houses an inmate reception center. It also houses close security and

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

inmates. The Lowell Correctional Institution Work Camp houses inmates whose custody level allows them to work outside the gates and with the public. The Lowell Correctional Institution Boot "C.A.M.P." Jones (Correctional Alternative Military Program), is a boot camp for young offenders. The C.A.M.P. Jones facility was defunded in 2011 along with several other facilities statewide. The C.A.M.P. Jones program was moved to the Lowell Work Camp in an effort to continue to offer its rehabilitative benefits to those that qualify for the program. Lowell's Main Unit currently hosts the E.D.P Program for offenders aged 14 to 21. The Levy Forestry Camp, a forestry work camp located away in Bronson, was under the supervision of Lowell Correctional Institution until it was defunded and closed in 2012. This camp provided labor for the Florida Division of Forestry, while it was in operation.

History

Prior to the opening of the women's prison, female offenders in Florida were housed at the

Florida State Prison Florida State Prison (FSP), otherwise known as Raiford Prison, is an American correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida, with a Raiford postal address. It was formerly known as the "Florida State Prison-East U ...

, Raiford, in segregated units separate from the males. They were housed at the State Prison, Raiford in wooden dorms. The quarters were overcrowded and used double beds. Women worked in separate sections of the prison workshops and farms. The degree of segregation between males and females in comparison to other prisons was not possible. Facilities for black and white girls were also segregated. Black girls were housed at Raiford with adult offenders. White girls were held at The Industrial School for Girls in Ocala where Lowell Correctional Institution would later be established. The Industrial School for Girls provided institutional care for an average of 80 to 100 delinquent girls, mostly white. In April 1956, the first all female prison was opened in Lowell, as Florida Correctional Institution. All women at the state prison in Raiford were transferred to this facility. At that time the prison became the

for women in Florida.

Growth

The Forest Hills School for Girls, previously belonging to the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, was added to Florida C.I. in 1973. The Levy Forestry Camp was added in 1995 with a primary mission of providing labor for the Division of Forestry. In July 1997, C.A.M.P. Jones was opened as the only "boot camp"- style program for young female offenders in Florida. In 1998, Florida C.I. was combined with Marion C.I., changing the name to Lowell C.I. / Women's Unit. Then in 2000, the prison was renamed Lowell C.I. and began housing youthful pregnant offenders. At some point the Broward Correctional Institution housed female death row inmates. Lowell Annex opened in April 2002. The female death row was moved to Lowell Annex in February 2003. In 2009, renovations of Lowell Correctional Institution started. The first phase was completed and (2) 180-bed open bay dormitories were placed online in the Summer of 2009. With the opening of these two dorm, several older dorms were taken out of service. In the Fall of 2009, Phase Two began and several mission changes were put into effect, elderly inmates were moved to climate controlled dormitories at the Lowell Correctional Institution Annex and the primary dormitory where wheelchair-using inmates were housed was demolished to make way for a new food service and canteen buildings. Another mission that has changed in 2009, is Lowell Correctional Institution's housing of Pregnant Inmates. In 2009 the Department of Corrections completed a climate-controlled facility in South Florida to house long term pregnant inmates. Inmates in the final term of their pregnancy will remain housed at Lowell Correctional Institution. There are an additional (2) open bay dorms and (2) secure-cell housing units planned to begin in the final phase of the renovations. In 2010, the Lowell Correctional Institution Annex completed a (1) 240-bed secure-cell housing unit. This dormitory houses inmates that the department has classified as security risks and require housing in cells instead of dormitory bunks. In 2012, Lowell Reception Center, was scheduled to be revealed. This stand-alone facility will take over the Reception and Orientation mission from the Annex. Also scheduled to be opened at the Lowell Reception Center is a Crisis Care/Transitional Care Unit that will house inmates that require inpatient mental health treatment. The projected inmate population once these units are complete will be approximately 4000 housed within the 6 units that Lowell Correctional Institution will encompass.

''Miami Herald'' series and abuse allegations

In 2015 the ''

'' announced it was going to publish an investigative series, "Beyond Punishment," on Lowell CI, alleging misconduct. The newspaper published a short video with the same title. The FLDC criticized the newspaper, stating that it had worked with the newspaper previously. It provided a statement in advance to the newspaper. In 2020 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 ...

stated that an investigation found that widespread victimization occurred at Lowell. In August 2019, 52-year-old Cheryl Weimar was viciously beaten by correctional officers in an attack that left her a quadriplegic. She won a settlement for 4.65 million dollars and was granted conditional release. Captain Keith Mitchell Turner was later terminated from employment after being arrested on charges related to molesting two children, but not for his role in the attack. A second officer, Ryan Dionne, was allowed to resign after being implicated in the attack.

Tuberculosis outbreak

In July 2005, 3,100 prisoners and 800 staff members were tested at Lowell Correction Institution for tuberculosis. Prison officials confirmed seven cases and no fatalities. State and local officials were unsure how the infection was brought into the facility.

Notable inmates

* Dalia Dippolito - Serving 16 years for soliciting the murder of her husband, Michael Dippolito. * Emilia Carr - Serving life without parole for the murder of Heather Strong. *

Rachel Wade Rachel Marie Wade (born February 27, 1990) is an American woman who was convicted of Second degree murder, murder in the second degree in the 2009 murder of Sarah Ludemann in Pinellas Park, Florida. Rivalry with Sarah Ludemann Rachel Wade and Sa ...

- Serving 27 years for the murder of Sarah Luderman. *

Courtney Schulhoff Courtney Christine Schulhoff (born December 27, 1987 in Washington, D.C.) is an American prisoner who was convicted of the bludgeoning death of her father in his Altamonte Springs, Florida apartment when she was 16 years old. She was convicted o ...

- Serving 40 years for the murder of her father. * Jennifer Fichter - Former high school teacher serving 22 years for Sexual Battery against three of her high school students. *Julie Schenecker - Murders of Calyx and Beau Schenecker *Amanda Lewis - Murder of Adrianna Hutto * Jennifer Mee - Hiccup girl, serving life without parole. *

Tammy Lynn Sytch Tamara Lynn Sytch (born December 7, 1972), commonly known by her ring name Sunny, is an American former professional wrestling personality. Sytch was introduced to the professional industry by her longtime boyfriend Chris Candido, and debuted i ...

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r serving 17 years for DUI and manslaughter related charges. *Ashley McArthur - Serving a life sentence for the

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

of her friend,

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

and former police officer, Taylor Wright. *Nioshka Bello - Murdered her two-year-old daughter. *Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore - murderer of lotto winner Abraham Shakespeare * Tiffany Cole – Found guilty of kidnapping and first-degree murder of a St. Nicholas, Florida couple. * Jennifer Gomez - Cat Burglar, served close to 10 years for burglary of over 200 homes, netting $7 million. *Katherine "Katie" Magbanua - Life in prison for the organization of the murder of FSU professor Dan Markel *Sarah Boone - Serving life without parole for second degree murder of her boyfriend Jorge Torres.

Inmates on Death Row

;Former *Margaret Allen - sentenced to death for torturing and murdering her housekeeper, Wendy Wright. Died on death row in 2024. ;Current * Tina Lasonya Brown - sentenced to death for torturing and murdering 19-year-old Audreanna Zimmerman.

References

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-florida-prisoner-cheryl-weimer-paralyzed-medical-release-20200910-p5cmx26ldfexvgfiuw436gcpne-story.html

External links

Lowell Correctional Institution
{{Women's prisons in the United States 1956 establishments in Florida Women's prisons in Florida Buildings and structures in Marion County, Florida Prisons in Florida Capital punishment in Florida Government buildings completed in 1956