Lowell Correctional Institution
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lowell Correctional Institution is a
women's prison This article discusses the incarceration of women in correctional facilities. As of 2013 across the world, 625,000 women and children were being held in penal institutions, and the female prison population was increasing in all continents.
in
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
Marion County,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,Lowell Correctional Institution


.
Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in the ...
. Retrieved on December 13, 2015. "11120 NW Gainesville Rd. Ocala, Florida 34482-1479"
north of
Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...
, in the unincorporated area of Lowell. A part of the
Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in the ...
, it serves as the primary prison for women in the state. Almost 3,000 women are incarcerated in the complex, which includes the Lowell Annex.''Miami Herald'' staff.
Department of Corrections criticizes Miami Herald series on Lowell


. ''
Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
''. December 10, 2015. Retrieved on December 13, 2015.
As of 2015 2,696 women are in the main Lowell CI, making it the largest prison for women in the United States; its prison population became larger than that of the
Central California Women's Facility Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) is a female-only California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison located in Chowchilla, California. It is across the road from Valley State Prison. CCWF is the largest female cor ...
that year. It opened in April 1956 as the Florida Correctional Institution and was the first Florida prison for women. It houses community, minimum, medium, and close custody inmates. At the time it was opened, Lowell was the only prison that housed solely female offenders in the state. In 1999, the name was changed to Lowell Correctional Institution/Women's Unit, and in 2000 it was given the latest title of Lowell Correctional Institution. It has a maximum population of 1,456 female inmates ranging anywhere from youth (14–18) to adults (18+). The Annex has a maximum general population of 1,500 and another 150 special housing beds for close management, death row, medical isolation, and confinement. It has consistently been associated with inmate abuse, sexual abuse, inhumane conditions, and little to no intervention from the State of Florida (Miami Herald, 2015, 2017)The facility is currently under investigation for unsafe conditions with regards to the ongoing pandemic and nearly half of the inmates have tested positive as of September 11 2021 according to the Florida department of corrections (FDC, FDC Responds to COVID-19 at Lowell Correctional Institution). Inmates have taken to social media describing overcrowding, lack of medical care, and severe illness in some inmates.


Facilities

Lowell Correctional Institution houses female offenders at all security levels, including juveniles age 14 to 18 and adults. The Lowell Annex, under the supervision of the Lowell Correctional Institution, houses an inmate reception center. It also houses close security and
death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...
inmates. The Lowell Correctional Institution Work Camp houses inmates whose custody level allows them to work outside the gates and with the public. The Lowell Correctional Institution Boot "C.A.M.P." Jones (Correctional Alternative Military Program), is a boot camp for young offenders. The C.A.M.P. Jones facility was defunded in 2011 along with several other facilities statewide. The C.A.M.P. Jones program was moved to the Lowell Work Camp in an effort to continue to offer its rehabilitative benefits to those that qualify for the program. Lowell's Main Unit currently hosts the E.D.P Program for offenders aged 14 to 21. The Levy Forestry Camp, a forestry work camp located away in Bronson, was under the supervision of Lowell Correctional Institution until it was defunded and closed in 2012. This camp provided labor for the Florida Division of Forestry, while it was in operation.


History

Prior to the opening of the women's prison, female offenders in Florida were housed at the
Florida State Prison Florida State Prison (FSP), otherwise known as Raiford Prison, is a correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida. It was formerly known as the "Florida State Prison-East Unit" as it was originally part of Florida St ...
, Raiford, in segregated units separate from the males. They were housed at the State Prison, Raiford in wooden dorms. The quarters were overcrowded and used double beds. Women worked in separate sections of the prison workshops and farms. The degree of segregation between males and females in comparison to other prisons was not possible. Facilities for black and white girls were also segregated. Black girls were housed at Raiford with adult offenders. White girls were held at The Industrial School for Girls in Ocala where Lowell Correctional Institution would later be established. The Industrial School for Girls provided institutional care for an average of 80 to 100 delinquent girls, mostly white. In April 1956, the first all female prison was opened in Lowell, as Florida Correctional Institution. All women at the state prison in Raiford were transferred to this facility. At that time the prison became the
death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...
for women in Florida.


Growth

The Forest Hills School for Girls, previously belonging to the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, was added to Florida C.I. in 1973. The Levy Forestry Camp was added in 1995 with a primary mission of providing labor for the Division of Forestry. In July 1997, C.A.M.P. Jones was opened as the only "boot camp"- style program for young female offenders in Florida. In 1998, Florida C.I. was combined with Marion C.I., changing the name to Lowell C.I. / Women's Unit. Then in 2000, the prison was renamed Lowell C.I. and began housing youthful pregnant offenders. At some point the
Broward Correctional Institution The Broward Correctional Institution (BCI) was a correctional facility located in the former Country Estates CDP and in Southwest Ranches, Florida, operated by the Florida Department of Corrections.Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
'' announced it was going to publish an investigative series, "Beyond Punishment," on Lowell CI, alleging misconduct. The newspaper published a short video with the same title. The FLDC criticized the newspaper, stating that it had worked with the newspaper previously. It provided a statement in advance to the newspaper. In 2020 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 ...
stated that an investigation found that widespread victimization occurred at Lowell. In August 2019, 52-year-old Cheryl Weimar was viciously beaten by correctional officers in an attack that left her a quadriplegic. She won a settlement for 4.65 million dollars and was granted conditional release. Captain Keith Mitchell Turner was later terminated from employment after being arrested on charges related to molesting two children, but not for his role in the attack. A second officer, Ryan Dionne, was allowed to resign after being implicated in the attack.


Tuberculosis outbreak

In July 2005, 3,100 prisoners and 800 staff members were tested at Lowell Correction Institution for tuberculosis. Prison officials confirmed seven cases and no fatalities. State and local officials were unsure how the infection was brought into the facility.


Notable inmates

*
Dalia Dippolito ''Cops'' (stylized as COPS) is an American television documentary reality legal programming television series that is currently in its 34th season. It is produced by Langley Productions. It premiered on the Fox network on March 11, 1989. The ser ...
- Serving 16 years for soliciting the murder of her husband, Michael Dippolito. * Emilia Carr - Serving life without parole for the murder of Heather Strong. *
Rachel Wade Rachel Marie Wade (born February 27, 1990) is an American woman who was convicted of murder in the second degree in the 2009 murder of Sarah Ludemann in Pinellas Park, Florida. Rivalry with Sarah Ludemann Rachel Wade and Sarah Ludemann were rom ...
- Serving 27 years for the murder of Sarah Luderman. *
Courtney Schulhoff Courtney Christine Schulhoff (born December 27, 1987 in Washington, D.C.) is an American prisoner who was convicted of the bludgeoning death of her father in his Altamonte Springs, Florida apartment when she was 16 years old. She was convicted o ...
- Serving 40 years for the murder of her father. *
Jennifer Fichter Jennifer Christine Fichter (born December 8, 1984) is an American former teacher who was convicted in Polk County, Florida, United States, in 2015 of sexual battery against three 17-year-old male students. She was sentenced to 22 years imprisonme ...
- Former high school teacher serving 22 years for Sexual Battery against three of her high school students. *
Jennifer Mee Jennifer Ann Mee (born July 28, 1991) is a convicted American murderer known as the "Hiccup Girl" for her long-lasting case of the hiccups. Mee appeared on national American television shows such as NBC's ''Today Show'' many times. Mee was ar ...
- Hiccup girl, serving life without parole. *Ashley McArthur - Serving a life sentence for the 1st degree murder of her friend,
private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...
and former police officer, Taylor Wright.


On death row

*
Tiffany Cole Tiffany Ann Cole (born December 3, 1981) is an American convicted murderer who was found guilty of the kidnapping and first-degree murder of a Duval County, Florida husband and wife and sentenced to death. Also found guilty in the case were three ...
– Found guilty of kidnapping and first-degree murder of a St. Nicholas, Florida couple and was sentenced to death. Her co-conspirator, Michael Jackson, was also found guilty and sentenced to death. * Marie Dean Arrington – Murderer of Vivian Ritter and the second woman to be placed on the list of FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.


References

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-florida-prisoner-cheryl-weimer-paralyzed-medical-release-20200910-p5cmx26ldfexvgfiuw436gcpne-story.html


Further reading


Beyond Punishment
" ''
Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
''. 2015.


External links


Lowell Correctional Institution
{{Women's prisons in the United States 1956 establishments in Florida Women's prisons in Florida Buildings and structures in Marion County, Florida Prisons in Florida Capital punishment in Florida