The Federal Correctional Institution, Phoenix (FCI Phoenix) is a medium-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 people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...
for male and female inmates in Arizona. It is operated by the
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...
, a division of the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
. The facility houses female offenders in an adjacent minimum-security satellite prison camp. The campus houses 1,150 total inmates as of 7/15/2024.
FCI Phoenix is located approximately 25 miles north of downtown Phoenix, also west of Anthem, Arizona but still within the city limits.
History
An environmental impact study was prepared in 1980 for the proposed prison,
which was being planned while the
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 people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...
system was overwhelmed with incoming inmates.
The facility was opened in April 1985 with two housing units, each containing 66 rooms at the time. By 2002, it employed 349 staff and held 1,525 inmates.
Notable events
On November 4, 2005,
Earl Krugel, an activist for the
Jewish Defense League, a far right pro-Israel organization, was in the exercise yard when another inmate bludgeoned him to death with a block of concrete. Krugel, who had been convicted for plotting to bomb the office of Arab-American Congressman
Darrell Issa
Darrell Edward Issa ( ; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 48th congressional district. He represented the 50th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A memb ...
in California, had only been at the prison for three days. Inmate David Frank Jennings was subsequently identified as the attacker. In 2007, Jennings pleaded guilty to
second-degree murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excus ...
and was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2008.
Notable Inmates (current and former)
See also
*
List of U.S. federal prisons
*
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...
*
Incarceration in the United States
Incarceration in the United States is one of the primary means of punishment for crime in the United States. In 2021, over five million people were under supervision by the criminal justice system, with nearly two million people incarcerated ...
References
External links
Official profilefrom the
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...
{{Coord, 33, 50, 01, N, 112, 10, 06, W, scale:10000, display=title
Buildings and structures in Phoenix, Arizona
Federal Correctional Institutions in the United States
Prisons in Arizona
1985 establishments in Arizona
Prisons completed in the 1980s