Virginia State Penitentiary was a prison in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. Towards the end of its life it was a part of the

Virginia Department of Corrections The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is the government agency responsible for community corrections and operating prisons and correctional facilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The agency is fully accredited by ...

First opening in 1800, the prison was completed in 1804; it was built due to a reform movement preceding its construction. Thomas Jefferson initiated these reforms and submitted an initial design which was not constructed. The original building was the first American design of

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, draw ...

, who later designed the

U.S. Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is form ...

building. In the early 19th-century, the penitentiary operated a nail factory that was staffed by its prisoners. It was in direct competition with Thomas Jefferson's nail factory and

Catharine Flood McCall Catharine Flood McCall (1766–March 9, 1828) was an early 19th-century American businesswoman, during a time when women generally did not operate businesses or manage finances in America. Before and during the American Revolutionary War, she was ...

's Alexandria factory that were staffed by enslaved and free laborers. The Penitentiary became profitable in 1807 from prisoner-made nails and other products. By 1815, it undercut McCall's and Jefferson's businesses, both of which ultimately closed down. The prison began hosting executions on October 13, 1908. In 1928 the original building was demolished and a new prison was erected on the same site in Richmond, just north of the James River. It expanded to occupy an entire campus of high-walled cellblocks and administrative buildings, in the block bordered by Byrd, Spring, Belvedere and South 2nd Streets. It once housed Virginia's men's death row and execution chamber in Building A. The prison closed in 1991, and the execution chamber was moved to the

Greensville Correctional Center Greensville Correctional Center is a prison facility located in unincorporated Greensville County, Virginia, near Jarratt. The prison, on a plot of land, is operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections. "901 Corrections Way Jarratt, VA 238 ...

near Jarratt. The Virginia State Penitentiary was demolished that year.Richardson, Selden. ''The Tri-State Gang in Richmond: Murder and Robbery in the Great Depression'' (True Crime Series).

The History Press The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 2012. , 9781609495237. p. 203. The site is owned by

Afton Chemical Afton Chemical Corporation develops and manufactures petroleum additives, including driveline, engine oil, fuel and industrial additives. Afton Chemical Corporation is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and has operations around the world. The ...

Notable inmates

Virginia Christian Virginia Christian (August 15, 1895 – August 16, 1912) was the first female criminal executed in the 20th century in the state of Virginia, and a juvenile offender executed in the United States. She was also the only female juvenile executed by ...

– Juvenile offender; executed for murdering boss in 1912. *

Floyd Allen Floyd Allen (July 5, 1856 – March 28, 1913) was an American landowner and patriarch of the Allen clan of Carroll County, Virginia. He was convicted and executed for murder in 1913 after a sensational courthouse shootout the previous year that ...

– Mass murderer convicted of his role in a courthouse shootout; executed on March 28, 1913. One of Floyd's sons, Claude, who participated in the shootings and was condemned to death as well, was executed 11 minutes after him. *

Odell Waller Odell Waller (March 6, 1917 – July 2, 1942) was an African-American sharecropper from Gretna, Virginia, executed for the fatal shooting of his white landlord, Oscar Wheldon Davis, on July 15, 1940. Waller maintained at his trial that the killin ...

– Convicted murderer; executed in 1942. *

Henry Lee Lucas Henry Lee Lucas (August 23, 1936 – March 12, 2001) was an American convicted serial killer. Lucas was convicted of murdering his mother in 1960 and two others in 1983. He rose to infamy while incarcerated for these crimes when he falsely c ...

– Serial killer; served time at the Virginia State Penitentiary for burglary in the 1950s. * Jeremiah McCray – Serial killer; executed in 1958. *

Thomas Brooks III Thomas Brooks III (born August 8, 1948) is a convicted American murderer and fugitive who is wanted by the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC). On April 3, 1968, Brooks and three other teenagers participated in the robbery and murder of ...

– Convicted murderer; served time at the Virginia State Penitentiary before being transferred to a prison work crew. He escaped in August 1970 and was never recaptured. * Frank Joseph Coppola – Robbed and murdered a woman; executed on August 10, 1982, the first person executed in Virginia after the state reinstated capital punishment. * Linwood Earl Briley – Serial killer, spree killer, and one of the

Briley Brothers Linwood Earl Briley, James Dyral Briley Jr., and Anthony Ray Briley were a sibling trio of serial/spree killers, rapists, and robbers who were responsible for a murder and robbery spree that took place in Richmond, Virginia, in 1979. Linwoo ...

; executed on October 12, 1984. * James Dyral Briley – Serial killer, spree killer, and one of the

; executed on April 18, 1985. * Morris Odell Mason – "The Killer for the Eastern Shore"; executed on June 25, 1985. * Buddy Earl Justus – Spree killer; executed on December 13, 1990, the last person executed at the Virginia State Penitentiary.

References

External links

A Guide to the Records of the Virginia Penitentiary, 1796-1991 (bulk 1906-1970)
-

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and i ...

, Accession # 41558 Buildings and structures in Richmond, Virginia Prisons in Virginia 1800 establishments in Virginia {{Virginia-stub