Greensville Correctional Center was opened in September of 1990 by Governor Douglas Wilder as a relief for the Virginia Correctional system. True to Virginia’s motto, sic semper tyrannis, it has seen the fall of many criminal tyrants ranging from murderers, violent offenders, and rapists. The execution chamber was added to Greensville and moved from the state penitentiary where capital punishment was then carried out until it was abolished in 2021. Let’s learn about ‘Greensville Correctional Center’.
Greensville Correctional Center
In total, there have been 111 executions at Greensville which include 110 men and 1 woman. It houses over 3,000 male inmates in different buildings and consists of pretrial detainees and death penalty inmates. Inmates at the Greensville Correctional Center mostly serve long sentences for serious offenses.
Facilities Within the Center
The buildings at Greensville for a hexagon which consists of:
- A well-staffed health care unit,
- A mental health center,
- Death row-unit for inmates on death row,
- A security housing unit,
- Medium housing unit.
Steps in Processing an Inmate:
For pre-trial detainees and convicted felons, the processing system is quite similar. After arrival, inmates are:
- Photographed (to get their mugshot into the system. This allows the justice to trace the individual in any case of repeated offense).
- Stripped and searched to remove contraband, jewelry such as rings or piercings are cataloged and put in storage.
- A prison staff of the same gender supervises the inmate to shower.
- Clean prison clothing and shoes are issued to the inmate.
Greensville Classification of Prisoners According to Security Risk.
A part of processing is classifying prisoners based on security risk. Greensville was once classified as a maximum-security prison because it could house violent and disruptive criminals. However, after other maximum-security prisons were put in place, it was reclassified as level three. Classification of inmates is done based on these factors:
- Treatment needs (when an inmate suffers from a medical condition or is going through drug or alcohol withdrawal),
- Length of sentence or prison time,
- Offense committed,
- Behavior (whether disruptive or violent)
The security levels and types of prisoners housed are:
Maximum Security
Maximum security inmates are those serving long-term single and multiple life sentences. They are an escape risk, disruptive and violent.
Level 5
Lower threat risk than maximum security inmates.
Level 3
Inmates that are moved to level 3 are serving single or multiple life and have no recorded disruptive behavior in the past 24 months.
Work Center
Inmates that are held in the work center are offenders who haven’t committed any of these crimes or any possible combinations.
- Murder I or ll, Voluntary Manslaughter,
- Sex Offense,
- Kidnap/Abduction,
- Felony robbery with a weapon (present or implied)
- Unlawful or malicious wounding and Felony assault.
Inmates can be moved from higher security housing to lower security based on evaluation by staff on the bases of conduct and behavior.
Phone Calls, Money, and Mail
Mails
Inmates are allowed to receive mails and postcards. They are screened by prison staff before delivery to ensure that they do not contain contraband or sexual materials.
Money
Inmates can keep money in a commissary account. Family and friends can send money by check, money order, or bank draft. The money order should be made out to the Virginia Department of Corrections with the inmate’s name and ID number. Money can also be deposited online.
Phone Calls
Inmates cannot receive calls at Greensville but they can set up an account for phone calls. They can so make collect calls when the receiver accepts and pays the cost of the call.
Visitation at Greensville Correctional Center.
Visits at Greensville are scheduled ahead of time. Intended visitors should ask questions to figure out timeslots or visitation restrictions which vary based on inmates’ security level. Only persons on the inmate’s visiting list who have cleared the background check can visit. Visiting hours are weekends from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
Also, religious leaders like Rabbis, Pastors, and imams visit the prison to counsel inmates.
Conclusion
The purpose of the establishment of the Greensville Correctional Center was to provide a new location for housing, punishing, and rehabilitation of violent offenders.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Are conjugal visits allowed at Greensville Correctional Center?
Conjugal specifications vary from prison to prison. Therefore, visitors should enquire from prison officials at Greensville.
- How do collect calls work?
Callers must be on the inmate’s list of callers prior. Also, an account must be opened with the prison first.
- How many executions have been carries out at Greensville Correctional Center?
There have been a total of 111 executions which consists of one woman and a Paraguay national. The murderers, rapists, serial killers and abductors include:
- Brandon Wayne Hedrick.
- John Allen Muhammad.
- Teresa Wilson Bean Lewis.
- Robert Charles Gleason Jr., and a host of others
- What is the parole process?
Parole is based on improved behavior as observed by prison officials.
