Florida State Prison

Florida State Prison (FSP), otherwise known as Raiford Prison, is a correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida.^[1]. It was 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). 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 can still be used by request of the inmate.

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.^[2]

Notable inmates

• Mark DeFriest—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 attempts—seven of them successful—and hundreds of disciplinary reports for minor infractions. In 34 years, he’s collectively spent 27 of them in solitary confinement.

Deceased

Lethal injection chamber at the Florida State Prison

• Oscar Ray Bolin—executed January 7, 2016 for three Tampa Bay murders.
• Ted Bundy—executed January 24, 1989 after confessing to over 30 killings dating from 1970^[4]
• Allen Lee Davis-executed
• Oba Chandler—executed on November 15, 2011.^[5]
• Juan Carlos Chavez—executed February 12, 2014, for the murder of Jimmy Ryce.
• John Couey—died in prison before execution could be carried out^[6]
• Martin Grossman—executed^[7]
• Paul Jennings Hill—executed^[8]
• Manuel Pardo—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 Rolling—executed^[9]
• Gerard Schaefer—murdered by another prisoner^[10]
• John Spenkelink—executed^[11]
• Gerald Stano—executed
• Ottis Toole—died in prison^[12][13]
• Frank Valdes—died in prison^[14]
• Aileen Wuornos—executed^[15]
• Giuseppe Zangara—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.^[16]

References

External links

• Florida State Prison—Florida Department of Corrections

Coordinates: 30°03′31″N 82°11′08″W / 30.0585°N 82.1856°W / 30.0585; -82.1856