Federal Correctional Complex - Terre Haute

The Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Terre Haute) is a federal prison complex for male prisoners located in Terre Haute, Indiana, and it contains both the Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute (FCI Terre Haute) and United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute (USP Terre Haute).

FCI Terre Haute is a medium-security federal correctional institution for male offenders that features a Communication Managements Unit to hold inmates that need increased monitoring of their communication with others. Most inmates in this unit are Arab Muslims who are incarcerated for terrorism-related offenses.

The FCI also has an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp.

USP Terre Haute is a high-security facility that holds all male federal death row inmates, and it also has an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp. The USP has a Special Confinement Unit to house inmates who are sentenced to death.

The USP houses a total of 1,411 inmates, and the FCI and camp house a total of 1,283 inmates.

Notable inmates who have been executed at FCC Terre Haute include Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and drug kingpin Juan Raul Garza.

Inmates who are currently on death row include Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who killed nine parishioners at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.

This facility was opened in 1940, and it hosted the Terre Haute prison experiments in 1943 and 1944. These experiments were approved by the Surgeon General to study sexually transmitted infections.

Because of the prevalence of gonorrhea in the armed forces and civilian population, the federal government decided to “volunteer” 241 prison inmates and exposed them to gonorrhea. The prisoners were paid $100 for their participation.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Visiting hours at FCI Terre Haute and USP Terre Haute are as follows:

Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, and Federal Holidays from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Visiting hours at the camp are on Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal Holidays from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. And Fridays from 2:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

Because of limited visiting facilities and manpower for supervision of visits, the number of visitors per inmate for the visiting room will not exceed five (5).

The visiting rules and regulations are the same for all facilities in the complex. However, there are some special rules for visiting inmates in the Communications Management Unit and the Special Confinement Unit. Please contact the prison for more details if you wish to visit someone housed in either one of those units.

Getting on the Approved Visit List

Authorized visitors who can visit an inmate include family, friends, and associates. You can't visit an inmate unless he puts you on the visiting list.

Everyone must fill out a visitor form, and they must have a relationship with the inmate prior to incarceration. If a potential visitor does not have a prior relationship with the inmate, their request will be reviewed by the warden.

Once the inmate requests to add someone to their visit list, a correctional counselor will provide them with a visiting form, and the inmate is responsible for mailing these out and letting the potential visitor know that they need to fill out the form and return it to the institution staff.

The unit team will do a background check and determine if a visitor application is approved. They make their decision based on constructive and security factors. The process takes about a week, and the unit staff will notify the inmate when the requested visitor is approved or refused.

It is the inmate’s responsibility to notify the visitor of the decision, and the process is the same for both adult and minor visitors.

Basic Visit Procedures and Rules

All visitors are subject to a visual and pat search by an officer. You will also be scanned by a metal detector and an ION spectrometry device, plus you will be stamped with ultra violet ink.

All inmate visitors entering the institution will be randomly screened for the presence of narcotic residue on their person. This test will be conducted using the drug screening machine.

Any item you bring into the facility will be opened and searched by a staff member, and anyone who refuses a search of themselves or their property will not be allowed to visit with the inmate.

Visitors 16 years of age or older must have a current government-issued photo ID (driver’s license, state ID, passport). Birth certificates and expired photo IDs are not proper forms of identifications.

No phones, cameras, or electronic devices of any kind are allowed in the institution.

All personal items will be secured in the visitor's vehicle, or in the event the visitor is dropped off, their belongings will be secured in a metal locker provided for visitor storage.

All coats, hats, jackets, personal keys, cell phones, electronic devices, hand bags and billfolds are considered personal items. All materials stored in the lockers will be examined by the Front Entrance Officer.

Visitors will be permitted to take a small, clear, plastic bag with them to the visiting room. The bag should be the size of a large wallet or smaller. Exceptions in the bag size may be made for those containing necessary baby care items; however, the bag must be clear.

Feminine hygiene items and any necessary medications (only the amount of these items needed during the visiting period) will be allowed to be brought in, and kept with the Visiting Room Officer until needed by the visitor.

No unopened parcels will be permitted in the visiting room. No electronic devices, purses, packages, or toys will be permitted into any of the visiting rooms. Social visitors are not authorized to bring anything to give or show the inmate.

Visitors will be authorized to bring into the visiting room an amount of U.S. currency not to exceed $20.00 in the form of $1's, $5's, or coins to be carried in the clear plastic bag.

All visitors are expected to dress appropriately. Visitors will not be permitted to wear opened toed shoes. hats. revealing, form fitting, or suggestive clothing.

At the USP, visitors are prohibited from wearing lime green clothing.

Visitors will be permitted to enter the front entrance regardless of attire. In cases where the appropriateness of the attire is questionable, the Front Entrance Officer will summon the Operations Lieutenant or the Institution Duty Officer (IDO) to the Front Entrance.

The Operations Lieutenant and/or the IDO will make the final decision as to the appropriateness of attire and whether admittance to the visiting room will be permitted.

There is no limit on the amount of mail that inmates receive, but all correspondence must have the inmate’s complete name, registration number, facility name, and address.

You can only send cards or letters to these addresses. Paperback books, newspapers, and

magazines must come directly from the publisher via a subscription or mail order.

Inmates cannot receive packages through the mail, with the exception of a package of release day clothing. You can't send the release day package until 30 days prior to the scheduled release date.

How to Call an Inmate

Federal inmates are not allowed to have cellphones and they can't receive inbound calls. They can make outbound calls during approved hours, and they must pay for them with the money that is on their personal account or call collect.

Inmates will use TRULINCS to call to both landline and cell phones. This is also how inmates are able to send and receive emails. Your number must be added to the contact list for approval.

All phone calls are limited to 15 minutes, and will be monitored and recorded.

How to Send Money

Sending money is one of most important things you can do for an inmate. The prison will issue each prisoner the minimum amount of clothing and hygiene items, and provide them with three meals a day. But, it is extremely difficult for prisoners to have any level of comfort when living with just the items that are prison-issued.

Inmates can receive outside funds while incarcerated at a BOP-managed facility, which are deposited into their commissary accounts.The process for sending money is the same for prisoners at every facility at FCC Terre Haute.

Postal Service

For federal prisoners, you can send money through the United States Postal Service by MONEY ORDER to the following address:

Federal Bureau of Prisons
Inmate Name
Eight-Digit Register Number
Post Office Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001

Send the funds to the address above. Replace the second line with the inmate's valid, full committed name. Replace the third line with the inmate's eight digit register number.

Never send money directly to the prison. If you are using the postal service, you must always send your money order to the bureau of prisons using the above address.

MoneyGram

You can send an inmate funds electronically using MoneyGram's Express Payment Program.To send funds using this method, please read and follow these steps carefully:

Wait until an inmate has physically arrived at FCC Terre Haute.Gather the information you'll need. Which includes the inmate’s name and number.Visit moneygram.com to complete your payment.

Information needed to complete MoneyGram payment:

Account Number: Inmate's eight-digit register number with no spaces or dashes, followed immediately by the inmate's last name (example: 12345678DOE).
Company Name: Federal Bureau of Prisons
City & State: Washington, DC
Receive Code is always: 7932
Beneficiary: Inmate's full committed name

Western Union

If you would like to see a sample Western Union form click here. On their website, they have a special form for sending money to inmates, and you go directly to it by clicking here.

You will need to know the inmate’s full name and number, and you can pay with a debit or credit card at westernunion.com. Remember, any time you send money to an inmate you must always include their name and registration number on everything.

There are a few things that inmates can spend their money on. This includes phone calls, emails, and commissary.  The commissary is the prison store, where inmates can buy things like beverages, meals and snacks, OTC medications, stationary, personal hygiene items, electronics, clothing, or other miscellaneous products.

Please be aware that prisoners have their own economy inside the prison walls just like we do in the real world. Inmates that have a lot of money can do a lot of things both legal and illegal. Prisoners can potentially use the money in their account to buy things for other inmates in exchange for drugs and paraphernalia. This activity is illegal and can get an inmate in a lot of trouble.

Is important to keep track of how much money you are sending your incarcerated loved one, and watch out for any suspicious behavior.

​Programs For ​Inmates

FCI Terre Haute:

• STAGES Program
• Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP)
• Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP)
• Drug education class
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• GED
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• Parenting Program
• Literacy
• Adult Continuing Education (ACE)
• High School Diplomas and Post-Secondary Programs via paid correspondence
• Vocational training in Building Trades and Computers (FCI Only)
• Vocational training in Diesel Mechanic and Computer Applications (Camp only)
• Apprenticeships in Baker, Barber, Cook, Housekeeping, Office Manager, and Tutor (FCI only)
• Apprenticeships in Electronic Automotive, Fish Hatchery Worker, and Office Manager (Camp only)
• UNICOR facility that handles fleet management and vehicle components
• Intramural sports
• Art program

USP Terre Haute:

• Challenge Program
• Anger Management
• Life Connections Program
• Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP)
• Drug Abuse Education
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Narcotics Anonymous
• GED
• Literacy
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• Parenting Program
• Adult Continuing Education (ACE)
• High School Diplomas and Post-Secondary Programs via paid correspondence
• Apprenticeships in Baker, Barber, Cook, Housekeeping, Office Manager, and Tutor
• UNICOR facility that produces clothing and textiles
• Arts and crafts
• Intramural sports
• Physical fitness and weight reduction programs

Pictures of Federal Correctional Complex - Terre Haute

Careers at Federal Correctional Complex - Terre Haute

If you are interested in pursuing a career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, you can find available positions at FCC Terre Haute by visiting USAJobs.gov. The salaries at the facility begin around $40,000 and can go up into the six-figure range, depending on the position.

Reviews from employees report that FCC Terre Haute is a decent place to work, has an okay work/life balance, and the salary and benefits are above average.