Florida State Prison
LocationBradford County
Coordinates30°03′31″N 82°11′08″W / 30.0585°N 82.1856°W / 30.0585; -82.1856
StatusOperational
Security classCommunity, Minimum, Medium, Close and Maximum
Capacity1,460
Opened1961
Managed byFlorida Department of Corrections
GovernorRon DeSantis
WardenDonald Davis
Street address23916 NW 83rd Ave.
CityNone (Raiford postal address)
CountyBradford
State/provinceFlorida
Country United States
Websitedc.state.fl.us/ci/205.html

Florida State Prison (FSP), otherwise known as Raiford Prison, is a correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida,[1] with a Starke postal address.[2] It was formerly known as the "Florida State Prison-East Unit" as it was originally part of Florida State Prison near Raiford (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 Florida's one of two male death row cell blocks and the State of Florida 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).

Notable inmates

Former

  • John Ashley (bandit) – Served 17 years for robbery
  • Cesar Barone – Serial killer; served time for attempting to rape a guard in a previous prison.
  • William Collinsworth, Ollie Stoutamire, Patrick Scarborough, and David Beagles - The four rapists of Betty Jean Owens. Scarborough died there, while two were released (one after committing a murder).
  • James Blake (pianist) - incarcerated for several years
  • Honey Bruce – Stripper who served a year for several thefts.
  • 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. DeFriest'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, 7 of them successful, and hundreds of disciplinary reports for minor infractions. In 34 years, he's collectively spent 27 of them in solitary confinement.
  • Bernard Giles – Serial killer; escaped and has been transferred several times.
  • Paul John Knowles – A serial killer and rapist who served time prior to his murders.
  • James Koedatich – Serial killer; sentenced for killing his first victim and later murdered a cellmate; released in 1982.[3][4]
  • Forrest Lake (politician) – Served 16 months for embezzlement.
  • Charles Nelson – Step-brother of Trapper Nelson convicted of murder.[5][6]
  • Jim Nolan (biker) – Sentenced for narcotic charges.
  • "Clyde "Bo" Pickler – Father of Kellie Pickler; served 45 months for aggravated assault and battery stemming from a 2003 stabbing incident.[7] He was released on May 6, 2006, a week after her elimination from Idol.
  • Charles Ponzi – A con artist and swindler who served a year for security and released on $1,500 bond.
  • Edward Surratt – Murderer and possible serial killer; transferred.
  • Richard Wershe Jr. – Drug trafficker who served time for car theft ring charges.
  • Purvis Young – Artist who served three years for breaking and entering.[8]

In custody

  • John Connolly, former FBI agent convicted for ties to Whitey Bulger
  • Daniel Lugo, convicted of murdering a couple. His story is the basis for the 2013 blockbuster Pain & Gain.
  • Dontae Morris – Serial killer
  • Phillup Partin, convicted for the murder of 16-year-old hitchhiker Joshan Ashbrook
  • Mark Sievers, orchestrated the murder of his wife Teresa Sievers in Bonita Springs. His co-conspirators, Jimmy Ray Rodgers and Curtis Wayne Wright, were also charged. Wright took a plea deal of 25 years for second degree murder for testimony at the other trials. Rodgers was sentenced to life without parole and Sievers was given the death penalty.

Executed

Lethal injection chamber at the Florida State Prison

Died

  • 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: The Undead Issue #9, the story takes place in Florida State Penitentiary where a death row inmate encounters Spawn.[24]
  • It was referred to in the show Blue Bloods in Season 2 Episode 15 "The Life We Choose".
  • In the 1997 Arthur Hailey novel Detective a police detective in Miami is driven in a marked cruiser for over four hours to hear the confession of a man on death row at Raiford. The book also mentions that Florida State Prison is technically not in Raiford but across the road in the town of Starke.
  • In 2021, Americana/blues artist Shane Kelley released the song "Bradford County Blues" which is the story of a man locked up in Raiford.

References

  1. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Bradford County, FL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. pp. 4-5 (PDF p. 5-6/22). Retrieved 2022-08-13. Florida State Prison
  2. ↑ "Florida State Prison". Florida Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
  3. ↑ "Jersey Man Charged In 2d Fatal Stabbing". The New York Times. 1983-12-16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  4. ↑ "PAROLEE ARRESTED IN MURDER CASE IN MORRIS COUNTY". The New York Times. 1983-01-19. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  5. ↑ "People of Palm Beach County - Vincent". 2021-05-16. Archived from the original on 2021-05-16. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  6. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cbAtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vIwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2282,338654&dq=trapper-nelson&hl=en
  7. ↑ https://www.charlotteobserver.com/
  8. ↑ "Foundation for Self-Taught American Artists". 2009-08-13. Archived from the original on 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  9. ↑ "Ted Bundy executed". Florida Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on 2007-11-18. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
  10. ↑ Thalji, Jamal. "Oba Chandler executed for murdering Ohio mom, two daughters". St. Petersburg Times.
  11. ↑ "Florida executes Donald Dillbeck; first inmate to die since 2019". Kiro 7. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  12. ↑ "Florida executes 'ninja killer' for 1989 murders of couple in Flagler County". News4Jax. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  13. ↑ "Grossman executed". WTSP.
  14. ↑ "Anti-abortion murderer executed in Florida". wsws.org.
  15. ↑ "Serial killer Danny Rolling executed". NBC News.
  16. ↑ "John Arthur Spenkelink". Clark Prosecutor.
  17. ↑ Stuart, Reginald (December 1, 1983). "Murderer executed despite plea by pope and Florida bishops". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Florida executes Wuornos". CNN. 2002-09-30. Archived from the original on 2011-08-10.
  19. ↑ "Convicted child killer Couey dies in prison, Florida officials say". CNN. 2007-03-07. Archived from the original on 2010-11-07.
  20. ↑ "Gerard Schaeferprofile". TruTV.
  21. ↑ "AMG Fugitives – Ottis Toole". America's Most Wanted. Archived from the original on 2011-01-10.
  22. ↑ Bazar, Emily; Leinwand, Donna (2008-12-17). "Police ID killer of 'Most Wanted' host's son". USA Today.
  23. ↑ Brown, Julie K. "Prison death is one of several raising questions in Florida" (Archive). Miami Herald. June 14, 2014. Retrieved on June 28, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Spawn: The Undead #9". Comixology.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
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