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Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women

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Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women
Map
LocationRoute 250 West
Troy, Virginia 22974
Coordinates37°59′4.8″N 78°16′12.1″W / 37.984667°N 78.270028°W / 37.984667; -78.270028
StatusOperational
Security classLevel 3[1]
Capacity1,200[2]
Population1,199 (as of June 2008)
OpenedApril 1998
Managed byVirginia Department of Corrections
WardenEric Aldridge [1]

Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women is a prison operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections. It has a Troy postal address, and is in unincorporated Fluvanna County,[3] about 55 miles (89 km) northwest of Richmond. The security level 3 facility housed 1,199 female inmates as of June 2008,[1] including formerly housing the women's death row for the Commonwealth of Virginia.[4]

History

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Future site in Fluvanna County, just to the south of U.S. Route 250 in 1994, four years before the prison was opened.

Fluvanna County became a candidate for a new women's prison after the Board of Supervisors of Bedford County rejected a 1992 proposal by the Virginia Department of Corrections for a new 600-inmate facility in Lynchburg, Virginia that would have created between 250 and 300 jobs.[5] Construction began on 30 acres (12 ha) in Fluvanna along U.S. Route 250 in January 1996, with initial plans to open by August 1997.[2]

Completed at a cost of $53.1 million,[6] the correctional center was opened in April 1998,[7] starting with about 800 prisoners.[6] The facility is the second in the state dedicated to housing only female inmates, after the Virginia Correctional Center for Women in Goochland.[7] The new prison was designed to accommodate 1,200 inmates and incorporated a 78,000 sq ft (7,200 m2) medical facility on site to minimize the risk of escape. The perimeter was secured by electronic fences and patrols.[2]

In December 1998, warden Patti Leigh Huffman refused to enforce a state order that banned cosmetics from the female prison population. The Virginia Department of Corrections was concerned about drugs being smuggled in makeup containers, but the prison was already equipped for detection of such contraband. Huffman stated, "If a woman wants to use cosmetics to make her feel better, then that's important.... Self-esteem is a core factor of every program at Fluvanna."[8]

Investigations

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In 1999, the American Civil Liberties Union investigated growing reports of sexual misconduct by the male prison staff upon the inmates. The corrections department stated that it would not consider any relationship between guards and inmates consensual under any circumstances.[9] In June 2009, state senator Frank Ruff requested that the department investigate allegations that the correctional center denied access to religious services and profiled lesbian inmates for segregation.[10]

Death Row

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Though the facility housed the death row for Virginia's female inmates prior to its abolition in 2021, executions by lethal injection were conducted at Greensville Correctional Center near Jarratt, Virginia, located to the south of Richmond.[4] Teresa Lewis, the only woman held in Fluvanna's death row,[11] was executed on September 23, 2010.[12]

Notable inmates

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Inmate Number Status Description
Teresa Lewis[13] 321094[14] Executed September 23, 2010[12] Capital murder
Elizabeth Haysom[15] 1122838 Released November 23, 2019[16] Accessory to murder before the fact
Clara Jane Schwartz 1130725

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women". Virginia Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Fluvanna prison is just for women". The Free Lance-Star. Associated Press. March 17, 1997. p. A1. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  3. ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Fluvanna County, VA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-08-14. Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women
  4. ^ a b "Virginia Death Row / Execution Facts". WTTG. November 10, 2009. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  5. ^ "Lynchburg, Bedford debate prison site". The Free Lance-Star. Associated Press. June 30, 1992. p. C3. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Green, Frank (December 11, 1998). "Corrections officials challenge ban on cosmetics for inmates". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. B5. Retrieved November 28, 2010.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ a b Moyer, Laura (April 10, 1998). "A prison built for women". The Free Lance-Star. p. B1. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  8. ^ "Warden fights lipstick ban for prisoners". The Free Lance-Star. Associated Press. December 11, 1998. p. A1. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  9. ^ Baskerville, Bill (October 11, 1999). "Prison sex allegations increasing". The Free Lance-Star. p. A1. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  10. ^ Potter, Dena (December 29, 2009). "Warden of Largest VA Women's Prison Retiring". WHSV. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  11. ^ Baskerville, Bill (June 8, 2004). "Only woman on Virginia Death Row says sentence unfair". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  12. ^ a b "Teresa Lewis Put to Death". WHSV. Associated Press. September 23, 2010. Archived from the original on September 27, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  13. ^ Harris, Donna (September 3, 2010). "Emotions Rise Over Pending Execution of Teresa Lewis". WSET. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  14. ^ "Teresa Wilson Bean Lewis #1227". Clark County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. September 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  15. ^ Conley, Jay (April 3, 2005). "Haysom murders, 20 years ago today: blood sweat and convictions". The Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on 2005-06-22.
  16. ^ Beck&Noak, Rick&Luisa (December 17, 2019). "Why some Germans applauded the return of a man convicted of a 1985 double murder in Virginia". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
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