USP McCreary (the name comes from the surrounding Kentucky county, which has no incorporated towns) is located approximately 88 miles (142 km) north of Knoxville, Tennessee, 125 miles (201 km) south of Lexington, Kentucky and 208 miles (335 km) south of Cincinnati, Ohio.[2]
Facility and programs
The Education Department at USP McCreary offers a wide variety of academic and vocational programs ranging from Adult Literacy to post-secondary studies through correspondence. All programs are voluntary with the exception of General Education Development (GED)
and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. A representative from the Education Department interviews each inmate shortly after their arrival at the institution to determine their educational needs and goals. An inmate who does not have a verifiable high school diploma or GED is required to attend 240 hours of GED classes. For inmates who cannot proficiently speak English, mandatory attendance in ESL classes is required until the inmate is able to pass a certification test.[3]
Notable incidents
Two correction officers at USP McCreary were stabbed on November 8, 2010. A prison spokesperson told The Associated Press that the officers were conducting routine cell searches when an inmate attacked them with a homemade prison knife. The officers were taken to a local hospital with what officials called serious but non-life-threatening injuries to the chest, back and shoulder. They were later released after treatment. An investigation identified the assailant as 38-year-old James Edward Rose, an inmate with a lengthy criminal history who was serving a sentence for armed bank robbery and witness tampering. Rose was convicted of attempted murder in 2011 and sentenced to life in prison.[4] He is currently being held at the United States Penitentiary, Florence ADX, the federal supermax prison in Colorado which holds inmates who pose the highest security risks and require the tightest controls.[5]
On October 15, 2013, WBIR-TV, an NBC affiliate in Knoxville, reported that 350 federal employees, primarily correctional officers, were working without pay during the 2013 federal government shutdown. The story quoted Don Peace, an employee at USP McCreary and president of the American Federation of Government Employees local, "There are probably 1,700 inmates behind the wall. The staff is putting their life literally on the line every time they come to work and go behind that fence. You don't know if you're going to walk out at night or not and now they're asking us to do that for free or for an IOU. This job is already stressful enough without all of these added things we have no control over." While the correctional officers and other prison employees worked for free, the inmates continued receiving pay for their labor during the shutdown.[6] The shutdown ended on October 17, 2013.[7]
Gang leader in Staten Island, New York; murdered NYPD Detectives James Nemorin and Rodney Andrews, who were conducting a sting operation to buy an illegal gun in 2003.[9][10]
Afghanistan national and drug trafficker. Convicted of conspiracy, distribution of heroin for importation into the United States and narco-terrorism. Bagcho also used a portion of his drug proceeds to fund Taliban governor of Nangarhar Province and two Taliban commanders responsible for insurgent activity in eastern Afghanistan with cash, weapons and other supplies so that they could continue their "jihad" against western troops and the Afghan government.[13]
Former DEA Agent convicted of money laundering, obstruction of justice, and "extortion under color of official right" during the investigation of the Silk Road online drug marketplace.[14]
Serving a 40-year sentence; scheduled for release on April 29, 2046.
Convicted of one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, and one count of possession of an unregistered automatic firearm in connection with a terrorist plot
White supremacist convicted on charges of racketeering, racketeering in aid of murder and robbery conspiracy in connection to the kidnapping, torture and murders of William and Nancy Mueller and their 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell. Co-defendant Daniel Lewis Lee was executed for the murders at United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute on July 14, 2020. Transferred into USP Florence - High from ADX Florence in 2019, and subsequently to McCreary in December 2020.
White supremacist; convicted of civil rights violations for a shooting spree targeting African-Americans in Lubbock, Texas, which killed one man and wounded two others, in an attempt to start a nationwide race war. His co-defendants, Eli Mungia and Roy Martin are housed at USP Big Sandy and ADX Florence respectively.[19][20]
Serving a 70-year sentence; scheduled for release on January 7, 2082
Suspected of having committed additional murders. Convicted of attempted escape in 2020 after a prisoner he was plotting with three years earlier informed the FBI; transferred from state to federal custody in 2021 for unknown reasons.[21]
Flight engineer, convicted of Attempted Aircraft Piracy Interference With Flight Crew Members and Attempted Terrorism in the attempted hijacking of a Federal ExpressMcDonnell Douglas DC-10 flight from Memphis, Tennessee to San Jose, California. The flight crew managed to land the aircraft safely back at Memphis.
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