Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP) is a California State Prison for men. It was opened in June 1987, and covers located in Ione,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The prison has a staff of 1,242 and an annual operating budget of $157 million. As of July 31, 2022, MCSP was incarcerating people at 115.2% of its design capacity, with 3,785 occupants.

SNY Facility

Amador County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Ione Highlighted 0636672

In 2005, MCSP became the only California state prison exclusively for Sensitive Needs Yards (SNY) inmates. SNY inmates are segregated from the general prison population for their own safety. Many are gang dropouts, informants, sex offenders, and former law enforcement officers.

2024 Conjugal visit incident

In July 2024, Tania Thomas, a 47-year-old woman, was killed by her husband, Anthony Curry. In November 2024, Stephanie Diane Brinson was killed by her husband, David Brinson. Officials announced that conjugal visits were suspended. Curry's representatives have said that they will appeal. An independent investigation is ongoing as of March 2025, and no charges have been filed pending the results of the independent investigation.

Notable inmates

Current notable inmates

Former notable inmates

Robert John Bardo Robert John Bardo (born January 2, 1970) is an American man serving life imprisonment without parole after being convicted for the July 18, 1989, murder of American actress and model Rebecca Schaeffer, whom he had stalked for three years. Ear ...

– Stalker and killer of

Rebecca Schaeffer Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer (November 6, 1967 – July 18, 1989) was an American actress and model. She began her career as a teen model before moving on to acting. In 1986, she landed the role of Patricia "Patti" Russell in the CBS comedy '' My Si ...

, transferred to Avenal State Prison in

Avenal, California Avenal (Spanish language, Spanish for "Oat field") is a city in Kings County, California, Kings County, California, United States. Avenal is located southwest of Hanford, California, Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford, Ca ...

* John Linley Frazier – Mass murderer; committed suicide by hanging in 2009 * Joshua Bradley Jenkins - Teenage family annihilator; Transferred to

California Medical Facility California Medical Facility (CMF) is a male-only state prison medical facility located in the city of Vacaville in Solano County, California. It is older than California State Prison, Solano, the other state prison in Vacaville. Facilities ...

* Roger Kibbe – Serial killer and rapist; killed at Mule Creek in 2021 *

Suge Knight Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. ( ; born April 19, 1965) is an American former record executive, former National Football League, NFL player, and convicted felon, who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central f ...

– Record producer, music executive, former American football player released in 2004, later charged with manslaughter * Bruce Lisker – Wrongfully convicted of murder; released in 2009 * Big Lurch – Former rapper convicted of killing and cannibalizing his roommate, transferred to California Health Care Facility in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

Andrew Luster Andrew Stuart Luster (born December 15, 1963) is an American convicted sex offender and the heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune. He is the great-grandson of cosmetics giant Max Factor Sr. In 2003, he was convicted of multiple sexual assaul ...

– Rapist, transferred to Valley State Prison * Lyle Menendez – Killed his parents alongside his brother, transferred to Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego *Gregory Matthews Miley – Accomplice of serial killer

William Bonin William George Bonin (January 8, 1947 – February 23, 1996), also called the Freeway Killer and the Freeway Strangler, was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered young men and boys between 1968 and 1980 in ...

; murdered in 2016 * Herbert Mullin – Serial killer and mass murderer, died in prison in August 2022 * Gregory Powell – Kidnapped two police officers and killed one of them; died of prostate cancer in 2012 *

Geronimo Pratt Elmer Gerard "Geronimo" Pratt (September 13, 1947–June 2, 2011), also known as Geronimo Ji-Jaga and Geronimo Ji-Jaga Pratt, was a decorated military veteran and a high-ranking member of the Black Panther Party in the United States in the late 19 ...

– Military veteran wrongfully convicted of murder; released in 1997 and died of a heart attack in 2011 *

Hans Reiser Hans Thomas Reiser (born December 19, 1963) is an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, and convicted murderer. In April 2008, Reiser was convicted of the first-degree murder of his wife, Nina Reiser, who disappeared in September 2006. He ...

– Former computer programmer and entrepreneur convicted of killing his wife, transferred to

Correctional Training Facility Correctional Training Facility (CTF), commonly referenced as Soledad State Prison, is a state prison located on U.S. Route 101 in California, U.S. Route 101, north of Soledad, California, adjacent to Salinas Valley State Prison. Facilities Th ...

Soledad, California Soledad is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. It is in the Salinas Valley, southeast of Salinas, California, Salinas, the county seat. Soledad's population was 24,925 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from ...

* David Turpin – Convicted of kidnapping and torturing his own children, transferred to

California State Prison, Corcoran California State Prison, Corcoran (COR) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County, California. It is also known as Corcoran State Prison, CSP-C, CSP-COR, CSP-Corcoran, and Corcoran I. The facility is just nor ...

Charles 'Tex' Watson Charles Denton "Tex" Watson (born December 2, 1945) is an American mass murderer who was a central member of the "Manson Family" led by Charles Manson. Watson is often described as the tactical ringleader of the Tate-LaBianca murders on August ...

– Manson family cult member; later transferred to Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility

References

External links

Mule Creek State Prison
– Official website {{State prisons in California 1987 establishments in California Prisons in California Buildings and structures in Amador County, California Prisons completed in the 1980s