42°10′17″N 83°41′42″W / 42.17139°N 83.69500°W
 Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility | |
 | |
| Location | Pittsfield Township, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°10′17″N 83°41′42″W / 42.17139°N 83.69500°W |
| Status | Open |
| Security class | Levels: I, II and IV |
| Capacity | 1100 |
| Opened | 2005 |
| Managed by | Michigan Department of Corrections |
| Director | Warden Shawn Brewer |
Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility (WHV) is a prison for women located in Pittsfield Township, Michigan,[1] operated by the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC). The three-letter designation for this facility is WHV. It is the only prison in Michigan which houses women.[2]
General
editThe prison is in Region 3, Washtenaw County, and houses security levels I, II and IV. It has two perimeter fences with electronic detection devices and security cameras, both audio and video.[2] The facility is authorized 364 guards, but is rarely at full strength. Only female guards are used in the housing units for fear of sexual assault by male staff members.[3]
History
editThe prison opened in December 2005. It included thirteen housing units for 1,100 inmates in the general population and housing for specialized programs. The prison shared personnel, prisoner records, maintenance operations and business offices with the adjacent Huron Valley Men's Complex, until that complex was closed in 2009 so that women could be moved in from the Robert Scotts Correctional Facility. At this time the facility name was changed from Huron Valley Women's Complex.[4]
Capacity was increased by five hundred in 2010. Press reports in 2018 said the facility had a capacity of 2,400. At that time, the complex housed 2,100 people. The population reached a maximum of 2,257 in 2015.[5]
The prison was the center of lawsuit concerning forced overtime by the guards. Two years later the state paid $750,000 to settle the matter.[6]
Press reports in 2019 stated that the facility suffered from overcrowding and leaking roofs.[7] Storage areas had been converted to housing units in violation of building codes.[8]
Food rescue
editWomen in the prison's horticulture program operate a half-acre organic garden inside the prison which contributes 40% of the produce donated to the Washtenaw County Food Gatherers food rescue program.[9]
Notable inmates
edit- Gwendolyn Graham, serial killer[10]
- Sharee Miller, murderer
- Nancy Seaman, murderer
- Tatiana Fusari, murderer[11]
- Kelly Cochran - Murdered her lover Christopher Regan in 2014.[12]
- Judy Boyer, murderer[13]
- Jennifer Crumbley, mother of Oxford High School shooter, Ethan Crumbley[14]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "2020 Census - Census Block Map: Pittsfield charter township, MI" (PDF). p. 4 (PDF p. 5/5). Retrieved August 15, 2022.
Women's Huron Valley Corr Facility
- ^ a b "Corrections - Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility (WHV)".
- ^ Eagan, Paul (August 10, 2018). "Union: Forced overtime at Michigan women's prison is a safety threat". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ "PM Press: and I thought moving was a hassle..."
- ^ Egan, Paul (September 6, 2018). "Women say conditions at crowded Michigan prison 'cruel and unusual". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ Egan, Paul (August 31, 2018). "State of Michigan to pay $750K to settle women's prison federal lawsuit". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ Egan, Paul. "At least 24 cases of scabies found at Michigan's only women's prison". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ Danilewitz, Joel (January 17, 2019). "How Michigan is failing Huron Valley". Michigan Daily. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ "Growing food and redemption at the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility". AnnArbor.com.
- ^ "'American Horror Story' Season 6 Spoilers: Who is Gwen Graham and Cathy Wood? The Truth About the 'Roanoke' Nurses". International Business Times. September 22, 2016.
- ^ "Tatiana Elena Fusari". Michigan Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
- ^ "'Devil Woman': How investigators cracked the 2014 murder of Michigan resident Chris Regan". ABC News. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
- ^ "Boyer Sentenced to Life in Prison Without Parole". Clare County Cleaver. November 29, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ Booth-Singleton, DeJanay (April 17, 2024). "James and Jennifer Crumbley sent to separate prisons in Michigan - CBS Detroit". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved June 12, 2024.