Top 10 Most Notorious Prisons In The U.S. (2024)

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In our continuing series focusing on the prison system in America, we bring you a list of the 10 most notorious jails in the country.

Many of these prisons on the list are familiar by name to many like Folsom, San Quentin, and ADX in Colorado to name a few.

Check out the list below.

10. United States Penitentiary Marion

Location: Marion, Illinois

Size: 1,000

Famous Inmates: Pete Rose, John Gotti, Thomas Silverstein

The U.S. Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois opened in 1963 and in 15 years became the United States highest control security prison. It became the nation’s first control unit when violence forced a long-term lockdown.

While the prison is no longer a “SuperMax,” it is one of only two prisons to have a “Communication Management Units” which is mostly comprised of mostly Arab inmates.

9. Rikers Island

Location: Queens, New York

Size: 14,000

Famous Inmates: Lil Wayne, David “Son of Sam” Berkowitz, Tupac Shakur, Plaxico Burress, DMX, Sid Vicious

Rikers Island is New York City’s main jail complex. It consists of ten jails and close to 12,000 inmates with 8,000 officers monitoring them.

The jail mostly holds local offenders, those who couldn’t post bail, and anyone serving a sentence of one year or less or waiting for a transfer.

8. Louisiana State Penitentiary

Location: Angola, Louisiana

Size: 5,000

Famous Inmates: The Angola 3

Also known as the Alcatraz of the South, the Louisiana State Penitentiary aka Angola, is the largest maximum security prison in the U.S. holding 5,000 offenders with 2,000 officers watching over them.

The State of Louisiana’s death row for men and the state execution chamber are there.

The 18,000 acre complex was once a slave plantation.

7. Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary

Location: Leavenworth, Kansas

Size: 2,000

Famous Inmates: Bugs Moran, Michael Vick, George “Machine Gun” Kelly

Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary is more than just the prison that Michael Vick served his dogfighting sentence in.

The prison is an all male, medium-security facility committed to carrying out the judgments of theFederal Courts.

The prison consists of close to 2,000 inmates.

6. Folsom State Prison

Location: Folsom, California

Size: 1,813

Famous Inmates: Suge Knight, Charles Manson, Rick James

Folsom State Prison opened in 1880 and is the second-oldest prison in the state of California. It was also the first in the country to have electricity.Folsom was one of the firstmaximum security prisons.

It’s most known for having two concerts at its facility by musician Johnny Cash in the late 1960s.

5. Attica Correctional Facility

Location: Attica, New York

Size: 2,150

Famous Inmates: Tupac Shakur, Mark David Chapman, David “Son of Sam” Berkowitz

As you can see from the list of famous inmates to stay at this prison, the supermax penitentiary has seen its share of celebrities turned bad guys and vice versa.

The prison now holds many inmates who are serving various types of sentences (short-term to life), and who are usually sent to the facility because of disciplinary problems in other facilities.

In 1971, the prison had a riot which resulted in 39 deaths after 10 guards were taken hostage. This brought the installation of a tear gas system for any violence that came in the future.

4. United States Penitentiary Atlanta

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Size: 2,000

Famous Inmates: Michael Vick, Big Meech, Bernard Madoff

A medium security prison for males in Atlanta, Georgia, USP it is primarily used as a transfer prison.

It once held many Cuban refugees from the Mariel Boatlift.

As of 2006 the prison was housing 3—5 in-transit prisoners in each approximately 56-square-foot (5.2m2) isolation cell for up to eight weeks at a time.

3. Sing, Sing

Location: Ossining, New York

Size: 1,700

Famous Inmates: Charles “Lucky” Luciano

Ossining’s original name, “Sing Sing”, came from the Native American Sinck Sinck (Sint Sinck) tribe from whom the land was purchased in 1685.

Sing Sing houses approximately 1,700 prisoners.There are plans to convert the original 1825 cell block into a museum.

Sing Sing was the third prison built by New York State.

2. San Quentin State Prison

Location: Marin County, California

Size: 3,302

Famous Inmates: Stanley “Tookie” Williams

California’s onlydeath row for male inmates, the largest in the United States, is located at the prison. It has agas chamber, but since 1996, executions at the prison have been carried out bylethal injection. It opened in July 1852 and is the oldest prison in the state.

1. ADX Florence Facility

Location: Florence, Colorado

Size: 490

Famous Inmates: Ted Kaczynski, Larry Hoover, Timothy McVeigh

TheUnited States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility is asupermax prison for men that is located inunincorporated Fremont County, Colorado,United States, south ofFlorence.It is unofficially known asADX Florence, Florence ADMAX, orTheAlcatraz of the Rockies.It is operated by theFederal Bureau of Prisons, a division of theUnited States Department of Justice. ADX, a part of theFlorence Federal Correctional Complex (FCC), houses the prisoners who are deemed the most dangerous and in need of the tightest control of all the prisoners within the United States Federal Prison System.

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Top 10 Most Notorious Prisons In The U.S. (2024)

FAQs

What state has the most prisons top 10? ›

States With the Highest Prison Population
  • Texas – 133,772.
  • California – 101,441.
  • Florida – 80,417.
  • Georgia – 47,010.
  • Ohio – 45,029.
  • Pennsylvania – 37,194.
  • Arizona – 33,914.
  • Michigan – 32,186.

Where are the Supermax prisons in the United States? ›

Supermax prison is a term for maximum security that describes the most secure prisons and prison units that house the most dangerous criminals. There is only one federal maximum-security prison in the U.S., the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) located in Florence, Colorado.

Is the US number 1 in incarceration? ›

In 2018, the United States had the highest incarceration rate in the world. Incarceration rates by state. From various years; latest available as of June 2024. State, federal, and local inmates.

Who is prisoner number 1? ›

Number 1 is the entity (presumably) in charge of The Village and is presented as the unseen primary antagonist of the 1967-68 British television series The Prisoner.

Who is the most beautiful prisoner? ›

Jeremy Meeks was a criminal who became famous for being very handsome. However, behind his beautiful face was a man capable of betraying his wife and children... in pursuit of status and money.

Which US town has the most prisons? ›

Colorado's location within the U.S. Fremont County comprises the Cañon City, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Pueblo-Cañon City, CO Combined Statistical Area. Rural Fremont County is the location of 15 prisons; most of these are operated by the state.

What state has the most convicted felons? ›

As of December 2022, there was a total of 139,631 prisoners in the state of Texas, the most out of any state. California, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio rounded out the top five states with the most prisoners in the United States.

What state locks up the most people? ›

The ten states with the highest prison populations in the country are Texas (1535,906), California (97,328), Florida (81,027), Georgia (47,141), Ohio (45,036), Pennsylvania (39,357), Arizona (37,731), New York (34,128), Michigan (33,617), and Virginia (31,838).

Are there secret prisons in the United States? ›

Black sites are clandestine detention centers operated by a state where prisoners who have not been charged with a crime are incarcerated without due process or court order, are often mistreated and murdered, and have no recourse to bail.

What do Supermax prisoners do all day? ›

Moreover, in most supermax facilities, inmates are alone in their cells. Inmates are locked down for 23 hours a day, receive only one hour of recreation (which may or may not take place outdoors), and have limited contact with correctional staff and visitors.

Do Supermax prisoners get TV? ›

Inmates can see outside of their cell through a single window that is three feet high and four inches wide, according to the New York Times. Most cells have televisions. According to SF Gate, ADX “is the only prison specifically designed to keep every occupant in near-total solitary confinement.”

What state has the best jail? ›

  • New Hampshire. #1 in Corrections Outcomes. #2 in Best States Overall. ...
  • Hawaii. #2 in Corrections Outcomes. ...
  • Vermont. #3 in Corrections Outcomes. ...
  • Maine. #4 in Corrections Outcomes. ...
  • Washington. #5 in Corrections Outcomes. ...
  • Massachusetts. #6 in Corrections Outcomes. ...
  • Utah. #7 in Corrections Outcomes. ...
  • New Mexico. #8 in Corrections Outcomes.

How many murders in US prisons per year? ›

Number of state and federal prisoner homicides in the United States from 2008 to 2019
CharacteristicNumber of state prisoner homicides
2019143
2018124
2017114
201696
8 more rows
Jul 5, 2024

Who is the most protected prisoner in the world? ›

There is perhaps no other man in the world who is now more heavily guarded than Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán. The Sinaloa cartel leader, who was recaptured earlier this month, is watched by security cameras 24 hours a day. He sleeps in a different cell each night and the dogs who help guard him are also his food tasters.

Which is the world's toughest jail? ›

Black Dolphin Prison, Russia

Black Dolphin Prison in Russia is renowned as one of the world's worst prisons due to its stringent regime and harsh conditions. Located in a remote area, the prison houses some of Russia's most dangerous criminals, including serial killers and terrorists.

Who is the highest serving prisoner in the world? ›

Francis Clifford Smith is currently the oldest living prisoner still in jail. Smith is serving a life sentence at the Osborn Correctional Institution for murdering a night watchman named Grover Hart on July 23, 1949. At the time, he was only 23 years old and he has been in prison for 71 years.

Who is the most isolated prisoner in the world? ›

Thomas Silverstein entered the federal prison system in 1975 after he was convicted of three bank robberies that he pulled with his father and his uncle.

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