Central Prison
Central Prison, 2006
Location1300 Western Blvd, Raleigh, North Carolina
Security classMinimum, Medium, Close
Capacity1104
OpenedDecember 1884
Managed byNorth Carolina Department of Public Safety
WardenJamel James

Central Prison is a prison operated by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety in Raleigh, North Carolina. The prison, west of Downtown Raleigh, is on 29 acres (12 ha) of land and is bounded by a double wire fence with a razor ribbon on top. The Department of Public Safety website describes the original building as "castle-like."[1]

History

Seal of the North Carolina Department of Correction

Funding for the Central Prison was authorized during the Reconstruction era by the North Carolina General Assembly of 1868–1869.[2] Inmates built the prison for 14 years, and granite quarried from an area outside of what would become the east wall of the prison was used to build the facility. The prison's construction was completed in December 1884; the prison, built for $1.25 million, was the first prison in North Carolina. A three story prison industries building, housing the state license plate fabrication shop and a complete print shop, was built in the 1940s. An acute care infirmary hospital with wards for 86 patients, operating rooms, X-ray laboratories, and a pharmacy opened in the 1960s. Two mental health wings with 144 single bed rooms opened in the 1970s. The state placed the prison under extensive renovations in the 1980s. The first phase had a price of $28.8 million. The first phase included a custody control and administration building, a maximum security housing building with 384 single cells, a central services building, and central plant utility systems. The $8.6 million second phase included a three story working resident building, which had 192 single cells for inmates assigned to jobs within the boundaries of the prison.[1]

Location

It is adjacent to Governor Morehead School, a state-operated school for the blind.[3]

Notable prisoners

Death row

  • Velma Barfield – American serial killer who was housed at Central Prison due to the lack of a women's death row unit in North Carolina at the time of her execution in 1984. Following her execution, a women's death row unit was established at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women.[4]
  • Samuel Flippen – American convicted murderer. Executed on August 18, 2006. Currently the last person executed in North Carolina and at Central Prison.[5]
  • James W. Hutchins – American convicted murderer. Executed on March 16, 1984. First person executed since 1976 in North Carolina and at Central Prison.[6]
  • Henry Louis Wallace – American serial killer who killed ten women[7]

Non-death row

References

  1. 1 2 "Central Prison." North Carolina Department of Correction. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.
  2. ↑ Release, Allen W. (2006). "Reconstruction". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  3. ↑ Welton, J. Michael (2018-05-04). "These 81 acres may be developed in Raleigh's future. What are your dreams for the site?". News & Observer. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  4. ↑ "Death Row for One." Velma Barfield. Crime Library. Retrieved on March 3, 2013. "Like most states, North Carolina had no "row" of women waiting to be executed. When she was sentenced, Velma Barfield was the only female in the state doomed by the law. She was housed in the Central Prison's section for mental cases, especially assaultive inmates, and prisoners considered prone to escape."
  5. ↑ "N.C. Man Executed Death of Stepdaughter". The Oklahoman. August 18, 2006. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021.
  6. ↑ "North Carolina Man Executed in Deaths of 3 Police Officers". New York Times. 1984-03-16. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
  7. ↑ "Offender Information Henry L Wallace". North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Serial Prison Escapee Meets His Demise". North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Offender Information Trystan A Terrell". North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Retrieved May 9, 2021.

35°46′34″N 78°39′24″W / 35.77611°N 78.65667°W / 35.77611; -78.65667

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