The Federal Medical Center, Lexington (FMC Lexington) is a United States

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those s ...

in Kentucky for male or female inmates requiring medical or mental health care. It is designated as an administrative facility, which means that it holds inmates of all security classifications. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp for female inmates. FMC Lexington is located 7 miles (11 km) north of Lexington and 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Frankfort, the state capital.

History

The site opened on May 15, 1935 on under the name "United States

Narcotic Farm The Federal Medical Center, Lexington (FMC Lexington) is a United States federal prison in Kentucky for male or female inmates requiring medical or mental health care. It is designated as an administrative facility, which means that it holds inmate ...

" then changed shortly after to "

U.S. Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant ...

Hospital." In 1967, it changed its name again to "National Institute of Mental Health, Clinical Research Center." Its original purpose was to treat people who "voluntarily" were admitted with

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

problems and treat them, with mostly experimental treatments; it was the first of its kind in the United States. The site included a farm where patients would work. Throughout the life of the institution as a prison/hospital, approximately two-thirds of those sent to the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital were considered volunteers. While many traveled to the institution on their own to volunteer for treatment, other so-called volunteers were in fact motivated to go there in lieu of federal sentencing. The remaining one-third of the prison's population, which reached 1,499 inmates at its peak, were there due to federal charges either directly or indirectly related to drug use. In 1974, the institution became a federal prison but maintained a "psychiatric hospital" title until 1998, the year 2 inmates killed another with a fire extinguisher. Most psychiatric patients were subsequently moved to other federal medical centers, although the change in mission was due to the psychiatric function being transferred to a new Federal Medical Center in Devens, Massachusetts, and not the homicide.

Literature

*In

Nelson Algren Nelson Algren (born Nelson Ahlgren Abraham; March 28, 1909 – May 9, 1981) was an American writer. His 1949 novel ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' won the National Book Award and was adapted as the 1955 film of the same name. Algren articulated ...

's novel '' The Man With the Golden Arm'' and the 1955 screen adaptation, the main character Frankie the Machine, a morphine addict, returns to his Chicago neighborhood after being detoxed at the Lexington Medical Center. *In William S. Burroughs' book ''

Junkie Junkie is a pejorative usually referring to a person with an addiction. Entertainment and media * ''Junkie'' (novel), a novel by William S. Burroughs * "Junkie" (song), 2013 song by Medina featuring Svenstrup & Vendelboe * ''The Junkies'', a ...

'', the autobiographical main character spends a period of time at "Lexington," where he checks himself in voluntarily in order to quit his heroin addiction. Burroughs and his son, William Seward Burroughs III, were both patients at the facility. *In Alexander King's book '' Mine Enemy Grows Older'', King recounts his sojourns at "Lexington Bluegrass Hospital," where he "heard the best jazz ever played anywhere" by a continually changing lineup of famous jazz musicians, all there voluntarily for treatment for heroin addiction.

Notable inmates (current and former)

Former

† Inmates released from custody prior to 1982 are not listed on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.

References

External links