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Florida State Prison

Florida State Prison (FSP), otherwise known as Raiford Prison, is a correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida,[1] with a Starke postal address.[2] It was formerly known as the "Florida State Prison-East Unit" as it was originally part of Florida State Prison near Raiford (now known as Union Correctional Institution). The facility, a part of the Florida Department of Corrections, is located on State Road 16 right across the border from Union County. The institution opened in 1961, even though construction was not completed until 1968. With a maximum population of over 1,400 inmates, FSP is one of the largest prisons in the state. FSP houses Florida's one of two male death row cell blocks and the State of Florida execution chamber. Union Correctional Institution also houses male death row inmates while Lowell Annex houses female death row inmates.

Location

Bradford County

30°03′31″N 82°11′08″W / 30.0585°N 82.1856°W / 30.0585; -82.1856

Operational

Community, Minimum, Medium, Close and Maximum

1,460

1961

Florida Department of Corrections

Ron DeSantis

Donald Davis

23916 NW 83rd Ave.

None (Raiford postal address)

Bradford

Florida

 United States

dc.state.fl.us/ci/205.html

Lethal injection became the standard method of execution in 2000. The electric chair can still be used by request of the inmate.


FSP sits in the center of several other prisons. It sits across the river from Union Correctional Institution and is surrounded by New River Correctional Institution, New River O-Unit, FSP West Unit, all of which are now closed. Even though Union Correctional Institution is on the same property, immediately north-west of FSP, the county line (with Union County) runs in between the two, which makes Raiford the United States Postal Service address city of Union Correctional Institution, while Starke is the USPS address city of Florida State Prison.


FSP is Florida's only prison that is officially named "prison", with the other institutions being named "Correctional Institutions" (or "Correctional Facility" if it is a privately contracted prison).

– Served 17 years for robbery

John Ashley (bandit)

– Serial killer; served time for attempting to rape a guard in a previous prison.

Cesar Barone

William Collinsworth, Ollie Stoutamire, Patrick Scarborough, and David Beagles - The four rapists of . Scarborough died there, while two were released (one after committing a murder).

Betty Jean Owens

- incarcerated for several years

James Blake (pianist)

– Stripper who served a year for several thefts.

Honey Bruce

– Mark DeFriest, known as the Houdini of Florida, is a prisoner of the United States. In 1980, 19-year-old DeFriest retrieved work tools his recently deceased father had willed him before the will officially went through probate. This act was considered theft despite the fact DeFriest did not have an understanding of probate laws. DeFriest's stepmother called the police, which led to his arrest. DeFriest was sentenced to four years in prison. The original four-year sentence has since developed into 34 years for 13 escape attempts, 7 of them successful, and hundreds of disciplinary reports for minor infractions. In 34 years, he's collectively spent 27 of them in solitary confinement.

Mark DeFriest

– Serial killer; escaped and has been transferred several times.

Bernard Giles

– A serial killer and rapist who served time prior to his murders.

Paul John Knowles

– Serial killer; sentenced for killing his first victim and later murdered a cellmate; released in 1982.[3][4]

James Koedatich

– Served 16 months for embezzlement.

Forrest Lake (politician)

Charles Nelson – Step-brother of convicted of murder.[5][6]

Trapper Nelson

– Sentenced for narcotic charges.

Jim Nolan (biker)

"Clyde "Bo" Pickler – Father of ; served 45 months for aggravated assault and battery stemming from a 2003 stabbing incident.[7] He was released on May 6, 2006, a week after her elimination from Idol.

Kellie Pickler

– A con artist and swindler who served a year for security and released on $1,500 bond.

Charles Ponzi

– Murderer and possible serial killer; transferred.

Edward Surratt

– Drug trafficker who served time for car theft ring charges.

Richard Wershe Jr.

– Artist who served three years for breaking and entering.[8]

Purvis Young

is a documentary film about Florida State Prison inmate Mark DeFriest.

The Mind of Mark DeFriest

's song "Four Walls of Raiford" tells the story of a convict who escapes from the Florida State Prison; The convict is a veteran returning from the Vietnam War and pleads his case that he was wrongly convicted for armed robbery and asks to be buried with full honors if he gets caught.

Lynyrd Skynyrd

In : The Undead Issue #9, the story takes place in Florida State Penitentiary where a death row inmate encounters Spawn.[24]

Spawn

It was referred to in the show in Season 2 Episode 15 "The Life We Choose".

Blue Bloods

In the 1997 novel Detective a police detective in Miami is driven in a marked cruiser for over four hours to hear the confession of a man on death row at Raiford. The book also mentions that Florida State Prison is technically not in Raiford but across the road in the town of Starke.

Arthur Hailey

In 2021, Americana/blues artist Shane Kelley released the song "Bradford County Blues" which is the story of a man locked up in Raiford.

—Florida Department of Corrections

Florida State Prison