Florida State Prison (FSP), formerly known as the "Florida State Prison-East Unit" as it was originally part of Florida State Prison in Raiford, Florida (now known as Union Correctional Institution), is a correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida. The facility, a part of the Florida Department of Corrections, is located on State Road 16 right across the border from Union County. The institution opened in 1961, even though construction was not completed until 1968. With a maximum population of over 1,400 inmates, FSP is one of the largest prisons in the state. FSP houses one of the state's three death row cell blocks, and the state's execution chamber. Union Correctional Institution also houses male death row inmates while Lowell Annex houses female death row inmates.
Lethal injection became the standard method of execution in 2000. The electric chair is still used, but only if the inmate requests it and was convicted during the time when the electric chair was the only execution method used.
FSP sits in the center of several other prisons. It is surrounded by New River Correctional Institution, New River O-Unit, FSP West Unit, and sits across the river from Union Correctional Institution. Even though Union Correctional Institution is on the same property, immediately north-west of FSP, the county line (with Union County) runs in between the two, which makes Raiford the United States Postal Service address city of Union Correctional Institution, while Starke is the USPS address city of Florida State Prison.
FSP is Florida's only prison that is officially named "prison", with the other institutions being named "Correctional Institutions" (or "Correctional Facility" if it is a privately contracted prison).
History
The death of Frank Valdes, a death row inmate, occurred on July 17, 1999.
Notable inmates
- Mark DeFriestâ€"Mark DeFriest, known as the Houdini of Florida, is a prisoner of the United States. In 1980, 19-year-old DeFriest retrieved work tools his recently deceased father had willed him before the will officially went through probate. This act was considered theft despite the fact DeFriest did not have an understanding of probate laws. Mark’s stepmother called the police, which led to his arrest. DeFriest was sentenced to four years in prison. The original four-year sentence has since developed into 34 years for 13 escape attemptsâ€"seven of them successfulâ€"and hundreds of disciplinary reports for minor infractions. In 34 years, he’s collectively spent 27 of them in solitary confinement.
Current
- John Connolly (FBI)â€"former FBI agent convicted for ties to Whitey Bulger
- Konstantino Fotopoulosâ€"convicted of The Boardwalk Murders in Daytona.
- Phillup Partin-convicted for the murder of 16-year-old hitchhiker Joshan Ashbrook.
Deceased
- Oscar Ray Bolinâ€"executed January 7, 2016 for three Tampa Bay murders.
- Ted Bundyâ€"executed
- Oba Chandlerâ€"executed on November 15, 2011.
- John Coueyâ€"died in prison before execution could be carried out
- Martin Grossmanâ€"executed
- Paul Jennings Hillâ€"executed
- Manuel Pardoâ€"executed on December 11, 2012. Ex-police officer who was charged and subsequently found guilty of murdering 6 men and 3 women, during a series of robberies over a three-month period in early 1986.
- Danny Rollingâ€"executed
- Gerard Schaeferâ€"murdered by another prisoner
- John Spenkelinkâ€"executed
- Gerald Stanoâ€"executed
- Ottis Tooleâ€"died in prison
- Frank Valdesâ€"died in prison
- Aileen Wuornosâ€"executed
- Giuseppe Zangaraâ€"executed March 20, 1933, convicted of the murder of in the assassination of Anton Cermak; who may have been sent to assassinate President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Bayfront Park in Miami, Florida, on February 15, 1933.
In popular culture
- The Mind of Mark DeFriest is a documentary film about Florida State Prison inmate Mark DeFriest.
- Lynyrd Skynyrd's song "Four Walls of Raiford" tells the story of a convict who escapes from the Florida State Prison; The convict is a veteran returning from the Vietnam War and pleads his case that he was wrongly convicted for armed robbery and asks to be buried with full honors if he gets caught.
- In Spawn (comics): The Undead Issue #9, the story takes place in Florida State Penitentiary where a death row inmate encounters Spawn.
References
External links
- Florida State Prisonâ€"Florida Department of Corrections
