Topeka Correctional Facility
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| Location | 815 S.E. Rice Road Topeka, Kansas |
|---|---|
| Status | multi-security |
| Capacity | 764 [1] |
| Opened | 1970s |
| Managed by | Kansas Department of Corrections |
| Director | Warden Dona Hook |
Topeka Correctional Facility is a Kansas Department of Corrections state prison for women located in Topeka, Kansas. Built in the 1970s, [2] in 1995 it became the only women's prison in the state.[3] It administers a wide range of security levels, from maximum security through work-release.
The site was founded in 1905 as the Topeka Industrial Institute by the African American educator Edward S. Stephens, as a school on its own farmland, more or less modeled on the Tuskegee Institute. The school closed in 1955.[4]
The state would send a woman sentenced to death to this prison in the event that such happens.[5] The execution chamber for prisoners of all genders is at Lansing Correctional Facility.[6]
Conditions
[edit]Conditions in the facility have long been[when?] identified as extremely problematic.[citation needed]
A series of investigative articles in The Topeka Capital-Journal in September 2009 revealed a "complex black market" of contraband, bribes, and a sex trade, practices that culminated in a prison employee impregnating an inmate.[7] In January 2010 two independent audits, one by the National Institute of Corrections and another by a committee of the state legislature, recommended two dozen operational changes, and the facility's administrator was reassigned elsewhere.[8]
The result of a 2011–2012 investigation by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division found that the problems persisted. The Division's September 6, 2012 letter to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback concluded that "TCF fails to protect women prisoners from harm due to sexual abuse and misconduct from correctional staff and other prisoners in violation of their constitutional rights. TCF has a history of unabated officer-on-prisoner and prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse and misconduct."[9][10]
Notable inmates
[edit]Debora Green - Sentenced to 40 years to life for killing her two children.
References
[edit]- ^ "Topeka Correctional Facility | Visiting Hours, Applications, Mail, Money".
- ^ "Records of the Kansas Department of Corrections - State Archives - Kansas Historical Society". Kshs.org. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ "Warden Named For Topeka Correctional Facility (August 2011) — Kansas Department of Corrections". Doc.ks.gov. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ "CJOnline Blogs - King: Correctional facility has long history". Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2012-06-22.
- ^ "Capital Punishment Information — Kansas Department of Corrections". Doc.ks.gov. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ "Kansas Lawmakers to Consider Abolishing Death Penalty". Kansas Public Radio. 2019-02-20. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ "Women's prison: Sex trade | CJOnline.com". Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
- ^ "Abuse of inmates is 'rampant' at Kansas women's prison, federal report says - KansasCity.com". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
- ^ "Letter : Re: Investigation of the Topeka Correctional Facility" (PDF). Justice.gov. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ "Justice Department Releases Investigative Findings Showing Violation of Constitutional Rights in Kansas Correctional Facility". Justice.gov. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
External links
[edit]- Kansas Prison Inmate Database - Kansas Department of Corrections
39°02′23″N 95°37′28″W / 39.03984°N 95.62437°W
 Kansas Department of Corrections prisons | |
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| State prisons |
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Facilities are for men unless they are marked with "♀" (for women) | |