User:WhisperToMe/Donaldson

History

The prison opened as the West Jefferson Correctional Facility in 1982. Originally the prison had a capacity for 700 inmates; the capacity increased as expansions opened.

Operations

The Alabama Department of Corrections classifies Donaldson as a maximum security prison. The agency uses Donaldson to house inmates who have multiple or repeated violent offenses and who ADOC cannot easily manage. Hundreds of offenders who are housed at Donaldson have life without parole sentences. The prison includes a segregation unit for 300 inmates; Donaldson's segregation unit is the largest unit in the State of Alabama. The prison includes a death row for 24 prisoners. The inmates housed at Donaldson are required to be located in the Birmingham, Alabama judicial area.