The Federal Correctional Institution, McDowell (FCI McDowell) is a medium-security

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 ...

for male offenders in southwestern West Virginia. It also has an adjacent satellite prison camp which houses minimum-security male offenders. It is operated by the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

, a division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

. The complex lies in a detached rural area about four miles north of the city of Welch.

History

In the early 2000s, the Bureau of Prisons identified McDowell County, West Virginia, as a potential location for a new federal correctional facility. A panel of BOP officials held a hearing in 2004 to give residents the opportunity to register their opinions regarding the project. Two hundred residents attended the hearing and were nearly unanimous in their approval, citing the hundreds of jobs the construction project would provide. The project eventually employed approximately 100 contractors, who further boosted the local economy by patronizing local businesses. The facility was completed in 2010 at an approximate cost of $223 million. The first inmates to arrive were assigned to the minimum-security prison camp and were immediately put to work in maintenance jobs. However, in a July 2010 article, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reported that local people were not landing as many prison jobs as expected. Out of the first 87 hires, only 12 were from McDowell County and 5 from bordering Wyoming County.

Notable inmates (current and former)

References

External links

Federal Correctional Institution, McDowell
- Official website {{Federal Bureau of Prisons Federal Correctional Institutions in the United States McDowell County, West Virginia Prisons in West Virginia 2010 establishments in West Virginia

History

Notable inmates (current and former)

See also

References

External links