St. Clair Correctional Facility

St. Clair Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security state prison for men located in Springville, Alabama. There are over 1500 male offenders housed at St. Clair, and several of them are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Because there are so many inmates serving life sentences without the chance of ever being free again, the environment and attitude at St. Clair can be dangerous for those who live and work there.

The building was completed in 1983 with the capacity to hold over 1500 male inmates. Two years later, a riot broke out in the inmate population against the correction officers. The prisoners complained of barbaric conditions as they used guns to hold 22 employees hostage, and another five workers were badly beaten. This is the first of many incidents that took place at St. Clair.

During the years 2012-2014, there were six inmates reportedly killed by the negligence of the employees who were in charge of their care. This lead to a demand for a change in leadership in hopes to get a handle on the poorly-ran correctional facility.

A secondary cause for these incidents and others is that St. Clair Correctional Facility is holding thirty percent more inmates than it was built to accommodate. If that isn’t problematic enough, they are severely understaffed by almost fifty percent.

Press reports about St. Clair have indicated that the facility is lawless. One expert said that it has a “total breakdown of the necessary basic structures that are required to operate a prison safely.”

In March 2019, the ADOC enlisted the help of 300 law enforcement officers from seven different state and local organizations to help them track down contraband in St. Clair. The officers were looking for illegal items “ranging from drugs and illegal cell phones to makeshift weapons,” according to an ADOC press release.

This special contraband search is part of the Alabama Department of Corrections plan to beef up their internal investigation division, which is attempting to cut down on inmate criminal activity and internal corruption.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Visiting hours at St. Clair Correctional Facility are in two blocks, first from 8am-11am and again from 12pm-3pm. However, inmates are allowed one visitation per week, and they are given a pre-arranged date.

You must talk directly to your incarcerated loved one to find out his visitation date and time. Or, you can call the facility directly to get the inmate’s visit date by giving them his first and last name.

Getting on the Approved Visit List

Family, friends, and associates may visit an inmate, but he must he put you on the visiting list and you must fill out a visitor application.

The inmate must mail you the visitor application, which you will then fill out completely and mail back to the inmate using the inmate mailing address provided below.

The unit team will do a background check and determine if a visitor application is approved or denied. The process takes about a month, and the unit staff will notify the inmate with the decision, who must then notify the potential visitor.

Basic Visit Procedures and Rules

There is a limit of four adults and four minor visitors for each inmate visit.

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must bring a current photo ID with you, like a state or federal ID card, driver's license, military ID, or current passport. Birth certificates are not valid forms of ID unless you are a minor.

When you enter St. Clair, you will receive a visual and pat search by an officer. You will also be scanned by a metal detector, finger printed, and stamped with ink that can be detected with ultraviolet light upon your exit from the visiting room.

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. You must return all unapproved items to your car.

Each adult visitor may enter the visitation check-in area with a maximum of $20.00 in cash, an identification card, and car keys in a clear plastic bag. Visitors may also have the option of purchasing a $20.00 debit card.

Please leave all electronic devices in your vehicle.

Visitors with babies will be allowed a maximum of four disposable diapers and one will be changed during searches. One small baby blanket and two plastic baby bottles will also be allowed in the visiting area.

The dress code in the visiting room is conservative. All dresses, skirts, and pants must be below the knee, and Splits/Slits must be knee length or lower. All blouses and shirts must be long enough to cover the waist and chest area.

Do not wear see-through or tight clothing, slippers or open-toed shoes, and uniforms like medical scrubs.

The main things to remember when visiting an inmate in prison is to dress appropriately and only bring a photo ID, car keys, and cash for the vending machine. You must bring everything in a clear plastic bag, and purses must be left in your car.

If you have any questions, call the facility directly and ask to speak with the visiting room officer.

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.

• Inmates are allowed to receive up to two (2) books of stamps per week in the mail
• Inmates are allowed to receive up to four (4) pages of internet material per letter
• Excessive letters with consistent content shall be rejected
• Inmates are not allowed to receive any form of writing pads or tablets, torn out magazine pages, news clippings, or writing instruments in the mail
• Inmates are allowed to receive no more than four sheets of loose leaf paper and four envelopes per week in the mail

If you want to send paperback books, newspapers, and magazines, they must come directly from the publisher via a subscription or mail order that is prepaid or from sites like Amazon.com.

Inmates may receive a maximum of two books and four magazines/newspapers or a combination thereof each month.

Your mail will be rejected if you mark the envelope with crayon, marker, stickers, glitter, or lipstick.

All photos must be no larger than 4"x6", however Polaroids are not allowed, and any picture that contains nudity or anything sexually suggestive will be rejected.

You can send up to five photos in an envelope with a single stamp.

How to Call an Inmate

Alabama state inmates are not allowed to have cellphones and they can't receive inbound calls, so calling an inmate is not an option. Inmates can make outbound calls during approved hours, and they must call collect or pay for the call with the money that is on their personal account.

Approved hours for phone calls are usually between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., but those times do vary by facility. Phone calls are prohibited during count times and lockdowns.

All phone calls are limited to 30 minutes and will be monitored and recorded. The use of call waiting or three-way calling may result in the call being terminated.

Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) has contracted with CenturyLink to provide calling services for inmates.

Anyone can open a CenturyLink account to prepay for inmate calls. You can either make payments directly to the inmate’s calling account, or opt for a Prepaid Collect calling plan to accommodate calls to cell phones or accounts with credit issues.

Rate tables and more detailed information about services available from CenturyLink is available by clicking here. For complete details on how to call an inmate in Alabama, please click here.

How to Send Money

There are four ways to send money to a prisoner at an ADOC facility:

• Online at www.accesscorrections.com
• By phone at (866)345-1884
• At a CashPayToday location
• Send a money order and coupon by US mail to:
• Secure Deposits - Alabama DOC
• PO Box 12486
• St. Louis, MO 63132

Inmates can receive outside funds which are deposited into their commissary accounts via Access Corrections. You can establish an account by visiting their website or calling (866) 345-1884. You can add money to an inmate’s account with a credit card or debit card.

Once you have an account, you can also put money on an inmate’s books with cash at a CashPayToday location like Dollar General and Family Dollar.

If you prefer to send a money order, start by creating your account at accesscorrections.com, and then print out a deposit coupon and follow the instructions. You can also request a coupon while visiting St. Clair Correctional Facility.

Fee schedule:

Deposit Amount       Online      Phone       Money Order   Walk-In
$0.01 - $25.00         $2.95        $3.50         no charge      $5.00
$25.01 - $100.00     $5.95        $6.50        no charge       $5.00
$100.01 - $200.00   $7.95        $8.50        no charge       $5.00
$200.01 - $300.00   $7.95        $9.00        no charge       $5.00

*The fee will be deducted from your deposited amount.

Inmates are allowed to spend money on phone calls, emails, and commissary.  The commissary (or canteen) is the prison store, where inmates can buy a variety of items like food and beverages, OTC medications, stationary, personal hygiene items, clothing, or other miscellaneous products.

​Programs For ​Inmates

• Mental health treatment has become a top priority at the ADOC in 2019
• Individual and group therapy
• Substance abuse treatment and programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous
• Educational and Vocational programs such as GED
• Medical and dental care
• Pre-release and reentry programs

Pictures of St. Clair Correctional Facility

Careers at St. Clair Correctional Facility

If you are interested in pursuing a career with the Alabama Department of Corrections, you can find available positions at St. Clair Correctional Facility by visiting the Alabama DOC website. The starting salary for a correctional officer is $30,852, but if you have an Associate’s Degree there is a 5 percent increase, and a Bachelor’s Degree will give you a ten percent increase.

Benefits include:

• Paid Leave Days
• Paid Sick Leave Days
• Paid Holidays
• Health and Dental Insurance
• State Employee Injury and Workman's Compensation Program
• State Employee Credit Union

Reviews from former employees at St. Clair Correctional Facility say that the pay and benefits are good, but it is a hostile work environment.