The United States Penitentiary, Lee (USP Lee) is a high-security 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 ...

for male inmates in Virginia. 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 Stat ...

. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp which houses minimum-security male offenders. USP Lee is located in the Lee County Industrial Park an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

Lee County, Virginia Lee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,173. Its county seat is Jonesville. History The area of far western Virginia and eastern Kentucky supported large Archai ...

, in the southwest part of the state. The prison is located off of U.S. Route 58 at the intersection of Route 638, near Pennington Gap and east of Jonesville.

History

The annual

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

of Lee County was $12,917 in the early 1990s, making the Virginia area a prime candidate to host a

and bring money into the community. Architectural and construction work of the facility was administered by Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern, now known as

AECOM AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm. AECOM has approximately 51,000 employees, and is number 157 on the 2019 Fortune 500 list. The company's official name from 1990 t ...

Computer modeling Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be dete ...

was utilized to identify and minimize blindspots of prison

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

s. Construction began in the summer of 1998 on a budget of $102 million. The penitentiary was completed in August 2001 and began receiving inmates in 2002. According to project manager Gary Carsten of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the main recurring problem of the facility is the excessive strain on Lee County's

sewage system Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff (stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and scree ...

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

discoveries on the prison property include arrowheads and pottery from a Native American gravesite believed to be associated with an ancient hospital dating as far back as 10,000 years.

Notable incidents

On February 25, 2008, inmate

Edward Porta Edward Porta (born November 13, 1954) is an Argentinian former textile trader who was based in the area of Spartanburg, South Carolina. He pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture of more tha ...

was noted to be missing during a 4 p.m. count after apparently walking away from the minimum security camp. Porta defrauded the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

of more than $400,000. He remained a fugitive for over eight years until he was recaptured in May 2016, and was profiled on the television program ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

''. There have been incidents of violence at USP Lee and several homicides. Inmate Quinten Corniel was killed on September 30, 2008, and inmate Ernest Bennett died on January 22, 2010, both during altercations with other inmates. On April 29, 2010, Filikisi Hafoka, a member of the Tongan Crip Gang, was taken off

life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...

after being stabbed on the previous weekend. As is procedure, USP Lee went into

lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

after these incidents and investigations were conducted. The killers of Corniel and Bennett were subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Notable inmates (current and former)

Organized crime

Other crimes

References

External links

USP Lee
at the

(Official site) {{Federal Bureau of Prisons 2002 establishments in Virginia Archaeological sites in Virginia Prisons in Virginia Buildings and structures in Lee County, Virginia United States Penitentiaries