McPherson Unit

McPherson Unit

Location	Newport, Arkansas
Status	open
Security class	mixed
Capacity	971
Opened	1998
Managed by	Arkansas Department of Correction

McPherson Unit is a prison for women of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, located in Newport, Arkansas, off Arkansas Highway 384, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of central Newport. Established in 1998,^[1] the prison houses the state's death row for women.^[2]

The unit houses a campus of the Riverside Vocational Technical School.^[3]

Originally it was managed by the Wackenhut Corrections Corp. (now GEO Group), with the management contract beginning in July 1997. In 2001, after operating the McPherson Unit and the nearby Grimes Unit at losses, Wackenhut stated that it would not renew the contract.^[4]

Notable prisoners

Death Row

• Christina Marie Riggs – Executed May 2, 2000.

References

External links

• McPherson Unit - Arkansas Department of Correction

• v
• t
• e

Arkansas Department of Corrections prisons

State prisons

• Benton Unit
• Boot Camp Program♂♀
• Cummins Unit
• Delta Regional Unit
• East Arkansas Regional Unit
• Barbara Ester Unit
• Grimes Unit
• Hawkins Center for Women♀
• Maximum Security Unit
• McPherson Unit♀
• North Central Unit
• Ouachita River Unit
• Pine Bluff Unit
• Texarkana Regional Correction Center
• Tucker Unit
• Varner Unit
• Randall L. Williams Correctional Facility
• Wrightsville Unit

Work release centers

• Mississippi County Work Release Center
• Northwest Arkansas Work Release Center

Above facilities are male-only unless noted by ♀ (female only) or ♂♀ (both sexes)

35°37′33″N 91°11′27″W / 35.62583°N 91.19083°W / 35.62583; -91.19083