Security class close, maximum Capacity 1,714 | Status open Phone +1 870-575-1800 Opened 1987 | |
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Managed by Arkansas Department of Correction Address 320 State Highway 388, Gould, AR 71643, USA Similar Arkansas Community Correction, Barbara Ester Unit, Arkansas County Jail, Randy Hardin Farms Inc, Corrections Departme | ||
Varner unit
The Varner Unit is a high-security state prison of the Arkansas Department of Correction in Varner, Choctaw Township, unincorporated Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States. It is located along U.S. Highway 65, near Grady, and 28 miles (45 km) south of Pine Bluff. The prison can house over 1,600 prisoners, and it includes a 468-bed supermax (Super Maximum Security) facility. The supermax and non-supermax facilities are separate from one another.
Contents
- Varner unit
- Varner unit fish fry on the arkansas river june 3 1991
- History
- Operations
- Notable inmates
- References
The Varner Unit Supermax houses male inmates scheduled for execution in Arkansas, currently performed by lethal injection. The actual executions take place at the nearby Cummins Unit. The female death row is located at the McPherson Unit. Varner is one of the state of Arkansas's "parent unit"s for male prisoners; it serves as one of several units of initial assignment for processed male prisoners.
Varner unit fish fry on the arkansas river june 3 1991
History
The Varner Unit was opened in 1987 with 300 beds, and its capacity was soon increased to 700 beds. Further construction has brought the total capacity to over 1,600 prisoners. The supermax units opened in 2000, and federal grants paid 90% of the construction costs.
At one time the State of Arkansas housed all young male offenders in the state prison system in Varner. While this was the case, prison guards and prisoners nicknamed the facility the "Gladiator School."
On Friday August 22, 2003, all 39 Arkansas death row inmates were moved from the Maximum Security Unit to the Supermax at the Varner Unit.
In 2011, a fight among prisoners and correctional officers led to injuries among correctional officers.
During 2004/2005, ADC installed an electric fence between two non-electric fences in the Varner Unit. It received testing in late December 2004 and was activated in January 2005. The system used inmate labor to assist with the construction of the fence.
Operations
Varner houses a vegetable processing plant.
The main campus of the Riverside Vocational Technical School is located behind the Varner Unit.
Notable inmates
The West Memphis Three Death row:
Non-death row
All released on August 19, 2011.