Varner Unit

The Varner Unit is a high-security state prison for men of the Arkansas Department of Correction in Varner,[1] Choctaw Township, unincorporated Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States. It is located along U.S. Highway 65,[2] near Grady,[3] and 28 miles (45 km) south of Pine Bluff.[2] The prison can house over 1,600 prisoners, and it includes a 468-bed supermax (Super Maximum Security) facility.[4] The supermax and non-supermax facilities are separate from one another.[5]

Varner Unit
LocationVarner, Arkansas
Statusopen
Security classclose, maximum
Capacity1714
Opened1987
Managed byArkansas Department of Correction
Aerial view of the Varner and Cummins units, U.S. Geological Survey, February 28, 2001

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.[6] The female death row is located at the McPherson Unit.[7] Varner is one of the state of Arkansas's "parent units" for male prisoners; it serves as one of several units of initial assignment for processed male prisoners.[8]

History
Varner Unit Supermax (2012)

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.[4] The supermax units opened in 2000, and federal grants paid 90% of the construction costs.[9]

At one time the State of Arkansas housed all young male offenders in the state prison system in Varner. While this was the case, Correction Officers and prisoners nicknamed the facility the "Gladiator School."[10]

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.[11]

In 2011, a fight among prisoners and correctional officers led to injuries among correctional officers.[12]

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.[13]

Composition

The property is in Choctaw Township.[14]

Operations

Varner houses a vegetable processing plant.[15]

The main campus of the Riverside Vocational Technical School is located behind the Varner Unit.[16]

Prisoner life

Education

In 2011, a campus of the Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary was established in the prison.[17]

Notable inmates

Current

Former

Death row:

Non-death row

References
  1. "New hearing ordered for 3 in Ark. scout deaths." Associated Press at the Worcester Telegram. Wednesday September 29, 2010. Retrieved on March 5, 2011. "Damien Echols is interviewed in the visiting area of the Arkansas Department of Correction Varner Unit prison in Varner,"
  2. "Varner Unit." Arkansas Department of Correction. Retrieved on July 18, 2010. "28 miles south of Pine Bluff off Highway 65 in Lincoln County."
  3. "Doors to Arkansas' Death Row Open Unexpectedly for Second Time." Associated Press at KAIT. January 29, 2004. Retrieved on March 5, 2011. "The Varner Supermax is near Grady in Lincoln County."
  4. History of the Arkansas Department of Correction Archived December 6, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Koon, David. "Prison phones lead to melee" (Archive). Arkansas Times. Retrieved on February 25, 2016.
  6. "State Capitol Week in Review" (Archive) State of Arkansas. June 13, 2008. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. "Executions are carried out in the Cummins Unit, which is adjacent to Varner."
  7. Haddigan, Michael. "They Kill Women, Don't They?" Arkansas Times. April 9, 1999. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.
  8. "Guide for Family and Friends" (Archive). Arkansas Department of Correction. 2 (4/27). Retrieved on July 18, 2010. " After intake, inmates are transferred to a parent unit for their initial assignment. Male inmates are assigned to the Varner, Cummins, East Arkansas, Grimes or Tucker Units."
  9. "Prison History and Gallery Archived 2011-03-10 at the Wayback Machine." Arkansas Department of Correction. Retrieved on November 22, 2010.
  10. Parker, Allison. The rest of their lives: Life Without Parole for Child Offenders in the United States. Human Rights Watch, 2005. 75. Retrieved from Google Books on March 5, 2011. ISBN 1-56432-335-8, ISBN 978-1-56432-335-4.
  11. "Death Row On The Move ." KAIT. August 26, 2003. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.
  12. "Ark. prison guards hurt during brawl with inmates." NECN. March 3, 2011. Retrieved on March 5, 2011.
  13. "Third Electric Fence Installed With Inmate Labor." ADC Advocate. Arkansas Department of Correction, February 2005. 3 (3/25). Retrieved on March 6, 2011.
  14. "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Choctaw township, AR" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  15. "2006 Fact Brochure Archived 2009-08-06 at the Wayback Machine." Arkansas Department of Correction. 8 (8/38). Retrieved on March 8, 2011.
  16. "Campuses Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine." Riverside Vocational Technical School. Retrieved on March 6, 2011.
  17. Stephen Simpson, Prison seminary program in state looking to expand with a new facility, arkansasonline.com, USA, October 9, 2022
  18. "ADC". apps.ark.org. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  19. Feyerick, Deborah and Stephanie Chen. " Echols of West Memphis 3 talks about appeal, death row." CNN. September 29, 2010. Retrieved on September 29, 2010.
  20. "Echols , Damien." Arkansas Department of Correction. Retrieved on November 25, 2010.
  21. "Miskelly Jr , Jessie L." Arkansas Department of Correction. Retrieved on November 25, 2010.

34°02′32″N 91°36′27″W

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