Iowa State Penitentiary
- Ft. Madison (Lee County)
- Maximum security
- 319-372-5432
- 510 Staff
- 950 Inmates ±
The Iowa State Penitentiary was established in 1839, the year after Iowa
became a territory and seven years before it became a state. The Penitentiary
was patterned after the Auburn, New York Penitentiary - a prison within a prison,
a cell for each convict. The Penitentiary underwent extensive renovation of its
cell houses when “unitization” was introduced in 1982. Unitization divided large
cell houses into smaller, self-contained living units that are more easily
managed. The Penitentiary is the state’s only maximum-security institution,
housing repeat and violent male offenders. The Penitentiary complex includes
ISP itself with a court-ordered capacity of 550. In addition, the complex
includes the John Bennett Correctional Center, a medium security dormitory
adjacent to the Penitentiary currently housing 169 inmates; two minimum security
farms located within a few miles of Fort Madison with a combined population of
170, and a ten-bed multiple care unit. A Special Needs Unit for inmates with
severe mental health/clinical care needs opened in August, 2002, with 40 inmates
and will increase in stages to a population of 120 inmates.
Inmates at the Penitentiary are offered Adult Basic Education and General
Education Development classes, special education for eligible individuals, as
well as vocational training in upholstering, commercial cooking, auto mechanics,
machining, and printing, as well as providing labor for a large crop farm and a
cattle and swine operation. Work opportunities with hourly wages are available
in Iowa Prison Industries shops at the Penitentiary. A six-month substance abuse
program is offered to inmates with drug or alcohol problems, and Alcoholics
Anonymous groups operate at the Penitentiary and the John Bennett Center.
Iowa State Penitentiary
31 G AVENUE
FORT MADISON, IA 52627
Lee
County
Phone: (319) 372-5432
Fax: (319) 372-6967