Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute

Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute
Location Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana
Status Operational
Security class Medium-security (with minimum-security prison camp)
Population 1,190 (455 in prison camp)
Managed by Federal Bureau of Prisons

The Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute (FCI Terre Haute) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Indiana. It is part of the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Terre Haute) and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp for minimum-security male offenders.[1]

FCC Terre Haute is located 2 miles south of the City of Terre Haute and 70 miles west of Indianapolis.

Communication Management Unit

FCI Terre Haute has a controversial high-security wing known as the Communication Management Unit (CMU) for inmates who were determined to pose a serious threat if their communications were not severely restricted. The CMU at FCI Terre Haute is a 55-cell unit located in the former death row and was opened in December 2006. Prisoners there are under open and covert audio and video surveillance, and all of their phone calls are monitored except for talks with their attorneys. Prisoners are prohibited from touching family members during tightly controlled visits. All telephone calls and mail are monitored, and inmates are required to conduct all conversations in English unless special permission is arranged for conversations in other languages. Without such strong security, the government claims, inmates would be able to conspire with outsiders to commit terrorist or criminal acts. The Federal Bureau of Prisons created the CMU in response to criticism that it had not been adequately monitoring the communications of prisoners. According to the Bureau of Prisons, "By concentrating resources in this fashion, it will greatly enhance the agency's capabilities for language translation, content analysis and intelligence sharing," according to the Bureau's summary of the CMU.[2]

When the CMU at FCI Terre Haute opened, 15 of the first 17 inmates were Muslim. In August 2008, 38 prisoners signed up for Ramadan observances. The disproportionate number of Muslims at the CMU led the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to raise a concern about racial profiling.[3] The ACLU also charged that the communication restrictions were unduly harsh for prisoners who are not sufficiently serious security threats to warrant placement in USP Florence ADX, the federal supermax facility in Colorado. In response, according to civil rights lawyers, the Bureau of Prisons started moving in non-Muslims. The group included tax resisters, a member of the Japanese Red Army and inmates from Colombia and Mexico. Inmates say the guards there called them "balancers." As of 2011, the Bureau of Prisons says a total of 71 men now live in the units.

Most of the inmates are Arab Muslims convicted of terrorism-related offenses. The CMU population has included men convicted in high-profile post-September 11th cases, as well as defendants from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1999 "millennium" plot to bomb the Los Angeles airport, and airline hijacking cases from 1976, 1985 and 1996. Also in the CMUs are men who have threatened officials from behind bars, ordered murders using contraband cellphones, or engaged in other communications that officials deem threatening. The population also includes several black Muslims who have been disciplined for alleged radicalization and recruitment while incarcerated for other crimes at other facilities.[4]

Minimum-security prison camp

The minimum-security prison camp at FCI Terre Haute was built in 1960 for the purpose of housing non-violent felons to perform farm and maintenance duties. The camp has two, eight, and twelve-person rooms. Programs provided for inmates in this facility include GED, ESL, and drug education classes. Sports, cards, golf, and crafts are all different recreational activities in which the inmates may take part within the camp. A selected group of inmates at the camp take part in a community talk tour called, "Choices," where these inmates visit schools and speak to children that are already involved in meth. The Federal Bureau of Prisons National Bus Center is operated through this camp.[5]

Notable inmates (current and former)

Domestic terrorists

Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
El-Sayyid Nosair

Fares Khallafalla

35074-054

34856-054

Nosair: serving a life sentence; Khalafalla: serving a 30-year sentence, scheduled for release in 2019. Al-Qaeda operatives and followers of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman; convicted in 1996 of seditious conspiracy and other charges for their involvement in the foiled NYC landmark bomb plot.[6]
John Walker Lindh 45426-083 Serving a 20-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2019. US citizen; pleaded guilty in 2002 to supplying services to the Taliban and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony for fighting with Taliban forces during the United States' 2001 invasion of Afghanistan; known as the "American Taliban."[7]
Daniel McGowan 63794-053 Released from custody in June 2013; served 7 years. Member of the ecoterrorist group Earth Liberation Front; pleaded guilty to terrorism conspiracy in 2006 for setting fires at lumber and a genetic engineering companies in 2001; nine co-conspirators were also sentenced to prison.[8][9]
Mohamed Alessa 61801-050 Serving a 22-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2029. Arrested as part of Operation Arabian Knight; pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder persons outside the US for attempting to join Al-Shabaab, an terrorist group based in Somalia; co-conspirator Carlos Almonte was sentenced to 20 years.[10][11]
Rezwan Ferdaus 94133-038 Serving a 17-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2026. Al-Qaeda supporter; pleaded guilty in 2012 to terrorism conspiracy for plotting to attack The Pentagon and the United States Capitol Building with remote-controlled model aircraft packed with C-4 explosives.[12]
Farooque Ahmed 77315-083 Serving a 23-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2030. Al-Qaeda supporter; pleaded guilty in 2011 to performing surveillance, taking videos, and making diagrams as part of a plot to bomb Washington DC Metro stations in 2010.[13][14]
Mohamad Shnewer 61283-066 Serving a life sentence. Involved in the 2007 Fort Dix attack plot; convicted in 2008 of conspiring to kill US soldiers at the New Jersey military base; four co-conspirators were also sentenced to prison.[15]
Russell DeFreitas 64347-053 Serving a life sentence Al-Qaeda supporter; convicted in 2010 of terrorism conspiracy for masterminding a foiled plot to bomb John F. Kennedy Airport in New York in 2007; three co-conspirators were also sentenced to prison.[16]

Foreign terrorists

Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
Khalid Aldawsari 42771-177 Serving a life sentence. Saudi Arabian citizen and former Texas resident; convicted in 2012 of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction for collecting bomb-making materials and researching possible targets, including the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush.[17][18]
Hysen Sherifi 51768-056 Serving a life sentence. Member of the Raleigh jihad group; convicted in 2011 of terrorism conspiracy; convicted in 2013 plotting to kill six witnesses who had testified against him at his 2011 trial.[19][20]
Hosam Smadi 39482-177 Serving a 24-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2030. Pleaded guilty in 2010 to the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction for plotting to destroy the 60-story Fountain Place office building in Dallas, Texas with a truck bomb in 2009.[21][22]

Others

Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
George Ryan 16627-424 Released from custody in July 2013; served 5 years.[23] Governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003; convicted in 2006 of racketeering and fraud for awarding state contracts, including a $25 million IBM computer deal, to his political allies in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of money and gifts.[24][25]
Stewart Nozette 25004-016 Serving a 13-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2021. Planetary scientist and consultant to NASA and the US Department of Defense; pleaded guilty to attempted espionage for selling classified information to an FBI Agent posing as an Israeli Mossad operative.[26]
Seale, James FordJames Ford Seale 09193-043 Died in custody in 2011 while serving a life sentence. Former Ku Klux Klan member; convicted in 2007 of conspiracy and kidnapping charges for his role in the 1964 abduction and murder of two 19-year-old African-Americans, Henry Dee and Charles Moore.[27][28][29]
Mufid Abdulqader 32590-177 Serving a 20-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2026. Former Chief Fundraiser for the Holy Land Foundation, once the largest Islamic charity in the US; convicted in 2008 of providing material support for terrorism for funneling money to the terrorist organization Hamas. Four co-conspirators were also sentenced to prison.[30]
Rivera, Oscar LopezOscar Lopez Rivera 87651-024 Serving a 70-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2023. Leader of the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña (FALN), a Puerto Rican militant group which carried out bombings in Chicago, Washington, DC, Newark, and Miami between 1974 and 1980.[31]
Abduwali Muse 70636-054 Serving a 33-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2038. Somali pirate leader; pleaded guilty to hijacking in 2010 for leading a group who seized the Merchant Vessel Maersk Alabama and took the captain hostage in 2009; US Navy SEALs killed the three other pirates involved in the hijacking and rescued the captain.[32][33]
Russell Wasendorf 12191-029 Serving a 50-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2056 Peregrine Financial Group founder; pleaded guilty in 2012 to mail fraud, embezzlement and making false statements for stealing over $100 million from the clients over a 20-year period and falsifying documents to cover up the fraud.[34][35][36]

In popular culture

FCI Terre Haute was referenced in the film The Blues Brothers by Matt "Guitar" Murphy, who said that the prison served cabbage rolls for dinner.

See also

References

  1. "FCI Terre Haute". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
  2. Eggen, Dan (February 25, 2007). "Facility Holding Terrorism Inmates Limits Communication". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  3. "Benkahla v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, et al.". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  4. Williams, Carrie; Williams, Margot (March 3, 2011). "'Guantanamo North': Inside Secretive U.S. Prisons". NPR. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  5. Steve Eckert, Ph.D.; Jacqueline Cranmer, Psy.D. "Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute, Indiana: Predoctoral Psychology Internship 2013-2014" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  6. Fried, Joseph P. (1996-01-18). "Sheik Sentenced To Life In Prison In Bombing Plot - New York Times". Egypt; Holland Tunnel; Middle East; Israel; United States: Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  7. "The case of the Taliban American". CNN. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  8. Penland, Neal (May 22, 2001). "Arson Attacks on Research Center, Tree Farm". ABC News. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  9. "Man sentenced to seven years for ecoterrorism fires". KOMO News. June 4, 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  10. "Lawyers for terror suspects from North Bergen and Elmwood Park will ask federal judge to allow bail at hearing today in Newark". NJ.com. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
  11. Archived July 13, 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  12. NBC News wire services (2012-11-02). "Massachusetts man gets 17 years for plot to bomb Pentagon, Capitol with model planes". Usnews.nbcnews.com. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  13. Cratty, Carol; Barnett, Jim (April 11, 2011). "Guilty plea entered in thwarted Metro station bomb plot". CNN. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  14. Vicini, James (April 11, 2011). "Pakistani-American gets 23 years for U.S. subway plot". Reuters. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  15. "USDOJ: Two Additional Defendants Sentenced for Conspiring to Kill U.S. Soldiers". Justice.gov. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  16. Burruss, Logan (February 17, 2011). "Man sentenced to life in prison for JFK bomb plot". CNN. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  17. "Texas Resident Convicted on Charge of Attempted Use of Weapon of Mass Destruction | OPA | Department of Justice". Justice.gov. 2012-06-27. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  18. "Saudi man Aldawsari sentenced to life in prison in failed US bomb plot". Fox News. 13 November 2012.
  19. Cratty, Carol (November 8, 2012). "Convicted terrorist guilty of plotting murder-for-hire from behind bars". CNN. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  20. "Convicted Terrorist Sentenced to Life in Prison for Plotting to Kill Witnesses in His Terrorism Trial". US Department of Justice. May 13, 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  21. Associated Press (18 October 2010). "Jordanian Man Faces Sentencing in Plot to Blow Up Dallas Skyscraper". Fox News. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  22. "Jordanian man sentenced to 24 years in undercover bomb plot". CNN. October 19, 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  23. Yaccino, Steven (January 30, 2013). "Then There Was One: An Illinois Ex-Governor Leaves Prison". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  24. Slevin, Peter (September 7, 2006). "Ex-Governor Is Sentenced To Prison". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  25. Associated Press (April 17, 2006). "Jury finds former Ill. gov. Ryan guilty". USA Today. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  26. Washington Post, Maryland scientist Stewart Nozette sentenced for passing secrets to supposed Mossad agent, expresses regret, Mar 12 2012
  27. "Hate Crimes Selected Case Summaries: US v. Seale". US Department of Justice. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  28. "Reputed former Klansman convicted in 1964 kidnappings dies in prison". CNN. August 3, 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  29. Hevesi, Dennis (August 4, 2011). "James Ford Seale, Imprisoned Klansman, Dies at 76". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  30. "Federal Judge Hands Downs Sentences in Holy Land Foundation Case | OPA | Department of Justice". Justice.gov. 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  31. Kolb, Ron (December 22, 2010). "The Unrepentant Terrorist". The American Spectator. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  32. Rivera, Ray (May 18, 2010). "Somali Man Pleads Guilty in 2009 Hijacking of Ship". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  33. "Somali pirate sentenced to 33 years in US prison". BBC. February 16, 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  34. "Peregrine Financial Group CEO Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Embezzlement, And Lying To Regulators". US Department of Justice. September 17, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  35. Reuters (2012). "Peregrine CEO Wasendorf pleads guilty in $100 million embezzlement scheme". Thomson Reuters. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  36. Huffstutter, P.J. (January 31, 2013). "Peregrine Financial's Ex-CEO sentenced to 50 years in jail". Fox Business. Retrieved May 3, 2013.

Coordinates: 39°24′44″N 87°27′12″W / 39.41222°N 87.45333°W / 39.41222; -87.45333

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