Folsom State Prison
Encyclopedia
Folsom State Prison is a California State Prison located in the city of Folsom
, California
, 20 miles (32.2 km) northeast from the state capital of Sacramento
. Opened in 1880, Folsom is the second-oldest prison in the state of California after San Quentin
and was the first in the country to have electricity. Folsom was one of the first maximum security prisons
, and as such witnessed the execution of 93 condemned prisoners over a 42-year period. It is possibly best known in popular culture for two concerts performed at the facility by musician Johnny Cash
in the late 1960s. Folsom State Prison is one of 33 prisons operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
.
(SAC) share the mailing address: Represa, CA 95671. Represa (translated as "dam
" from the Spanish language
) is the name given in 1892 to the State Prison post office because of its proximity to a dam on the American River
that was under construction at the time (this dam was replaced in 1955 by the Folsom Dam
).
As of the 2000 United States Census, FSP and SAC had a combined inmate population of 7,246 housed at level 1 and 2 security, the two lowest levels of security for prisons operated by the CDC. Level 1 prisoners are housed in open dormitories without a secure perimeter, and Level 2 prisoners may be housed in open dormitories with secure perimeter fence
s and armed guard coverage. However, there are no dormitories within the FSP secure perimeter, and prisoners are housed in one man cells, two to a cell. In 2004, the majority of level 2 prisoners were moved to other prisons and level 3 prisoners took their place. FSP's population in early 2005 was approximately 3,400.
There are five housing units within the secure perimeter, including the original two-tiered structure. Unit 1 is the most populous cellblock in the United States, with a capacity of nearly 1,200 inmates on four five-tiered sections.
All cells include toilet, sink, bunks and storage space for inmate possessions. There are two dining halls, a large central prison exercise yard, and two smaller exercise yards. The visiting room includes an attached patio as well as space for non-contact visits.
FSP is California's second-oldest prison, long known for its harsh conditions in the decades following the California Gold Rush
. Although FSP now houses primarily medium security prisoners, FSP was one of America's first maximum-security prisons
.
Construction of the facility began in 1878 on the site of the Stony Bar
mining camp along the American River
. The prison officially opened in 1880. Folsom was built to hold 1,800 inmates. Inmates spent most of their time in the dark behind solid boiler plate doors in stone cells measuring 4 feet by 8 feet (1.2 by 2.4 m) with 6 inch (150 mm) eye slots. Air holes were drilled into the cell doors in the 1940s, and the cell doors are still in use today.
FSP was the first prison in the world to have electric power, which was provided by the first hydroelectric powerhouse in California.
After the State of California
took sole control of the death penalty in 1891, executions were held at Folsom and at San Quentin State Prison
. A total of 93 prisoners were hanged
at FSP between December 13, 1895, and December 3, 1937, after which executions were carried out in the gas chamber
at California's San Quentin State Prison
.
Prison industries include metal fabrication and a print shop. The quarry at FSP provided granite for the foundation of the state capitol building and much of the gravel used in the early construction of California's roads. California's vehicle license plates have been manufactured at FSP since the 1930s.
In 1968 each prisoner in Folsom lived in his own cell. Almost every one of the prisoners was in an education program or learning a trade. Most prisoners who were released did not return to prison after being released. Laura Sullivan of National Public Radio said that the costs of housing prisoners "barely registered" in the state's budget. In 2009 Folsom was overcrowded, having 4,427 inmates. Around that year most of its prisoners who were released returned to prison after being released.
, a license plate factory where the inmates have been making California
license plates since before the 1930s, maintenance, metal fabrication, a sign shop, and a furniture
factory.
, mill and cabinet, office services, and welding
. Half of these programs have been eliminated due to budget cuts in 2010.
, the inmates were desperate to escape. Prior to the completion of the granite wall in the 1920's, the prison saw numerous escape attempts; the first one occurring shortly after the first inmates arrived in the 1880's. Throughout Folsom's violent and bloody history, numerous riots and escape attempts have resulted in both inmate and staff deaths.
Guards had to drain the pond to recover the inmate's body.
The inmates involved in the attack were said to have used shanks
, prison-made knives, to attack the Warden and the officer. Also, a prison-made wooden semiautomatic pistol was found, and was carved and meant for use in the attack.
One of the seven inmates who attempted to escape was wanted for the murder of Officer James Hill, of the Marlow, Oklahoma Police Department, on April 20, 1931.
Two of the escaping inmates were fatally shot during the incident. The remaining five were all sentenced to death and eventually executed. Two suspects, including the one who had murdered Officer Hill, were executed in the gas chamber on December 2, 1938. Two others were executed on December 9, 1938, the leader of the group was executed on December 16, 1938.
, whose escape from Folsom earned him a spot on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
list.
In 1987, Godwin attempted to escape during his incarceration at Deuel Vocational Institute in Tracy, California, and he was moved to Folsom State Prison, a maximum-security prison. Authorities believe Godwin's wife Shelly Rose Godwin and his former cellmate in Deuel, Lorenz Karlic, helped to plan his escape.
A hacksaw
and other tools had been smuggled into the prison for Godwin. On June 5, 1987, he cut a hole through fence wire and escaped into a storm drain
that emptied into the American River
. Godwin dropped through a manhole and crawled 750 feet through the pitch-black drain. Either Godwin's wife or Karlic, an accomplice, had left a raft
that Godwin used to float down the river, following painted arrows on rocks that directed him where to go.
In June 1987, Karlic was arrested in Hesperia, California
, and convicted for aiding Godwin's escape.
In January 1988, Shelly Godwin was classified as a federal fugitive
for her role in her husband's escape. She was captured by the FBI in Dallas, Texas
, on February 7, 1990.
Prison spokesman
Lt. Anthony Gentile did not elaborate on the circumstances of how the men got away, only saying that the two men fled from the prison's Minimum Support Facility, and that the escape was discovered when the two failed to report to their work areas.
Folsom State Prison correctional staff and CDCR
's Office of Correctional Safety agents initiated escapee apprehension efforts.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
, the local law enforcement agencies and the California Highway Patrol
have been notified and are all searching for the two men.
During the 1970s and 1980s violence
at Folsom peaked, when the Aryan Brotherhood
and other prison gangs made prisons increasingly dangerous. The establishment of Secure Housing Units, first at California State Prison, Sacramento
, and later at Pelican Bay State Prison
in Crescent City, and California State Prison, Corcoran
, did much to control gang-related violence.
On August 27, 2010, seven federal inmates at Folsom were admitted to a hospital
after corrections officers discharged firearm
s during a riot
involving 200 inmates. None of the inmates' injuries were life-threatening, and no corrections officers were injured during the incident.
. Cash narrated a fictional account of an outlaw's incarceration in his song "Folsom Prison Blues
" (1956). In addition, Cash performed two live concerts at FSP. The first was in 1966 and the most famous live concert was at the FSP cafeteria on January 13, 1968, which was recorded as the album At Folsom Prison
. Cash later said of the FSP inmates "they were the most enthusiastic audience I have ever played to." The "Folsom Prison Blues" single from that album was #1 on the country music chart
for four weeks, and the album was on the top 200 pop album chart
for 122 weeks. A 40th anniversary tribute concert was to take place in the same cafeteria at FSP on January 13, 2008, with a special appearance by Cash's original drummer W.S. "Fluke" Holland
. The original plans were to stream the concert over the internet, with four nonprofit groups underwriting the show and sharing in any profits the show might realize. However, a few days before the concert was to occur, it was canceled in a dispute over filming rights, media access, and security concerns.
FSP has been the location of a number of feature films, including Riot in Cell Block 11
, Heat, American Me
, The Jericho Mile
, Another 48 Hrs.
, Diggstown
, parts of Walk the Line
(a biographical film
of Johnny Cash
), and Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison
, which was the inspiration for Cash's song. The television drama 21 Jump Street
also featured FSP when Johnny Depp
's character Tom Hanson was imprisoned for murder.
FSP was renamed for the movie Frankie and Johnny with Al Pacino. In the FSP Museum there is the identification of the fake Penitentiary.
A Johnny Cash tribute band on the East coast is named The Folsom Prison Gang.
Folsom, California
Folsom is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. Folsom is most commonly known for its famous Folsom Prison. The population was 72,203 at the 2010 census....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 20 miles (32.2 km) northeast from the state capital of Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. Opened in 1880, Folsom is the second-oldest prison in the state of California after San Quentin
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
and was the first in the country to have electricity. Folsom was one of the first maximum security prisons
Maximum security prison
Maximum security prison and Supermax are grades of high security level used by prison systems in various countries.*For the United States see Incarceration in the United States#Security levels...
, and as such witnessed the execution of 93 condemned prisoners over a 42-year period. It is possibly best known in popular culture for two concerts performed at the facility by musician Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
in the late 1960s. Folsom State Prison is one of 33 prisons operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. CDC&R is the second largest law enforcement or police agency in the United States behind the New York City Police Department which employs approximately...
.
Facilities
Both FSP and California State Prison, SacramentoCalifornia State Prison, Sacramento
California State Prison, Sacramento is a male-only state prison located in the city of Folsom, in Sacramento County, California. The facility is also referenced as Sacramento State Prison, CSP-Sacramento, CSP-SAC, and occasionally, New Folsom or New Folsom Prison which was its official name prior...
(SAC) share the mailing address: Represa, CA 95671. Represa (translated as "dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
" from the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) is the name given in 1892 to the State Prison post office because of its proximity to a dam on the American River
American River
The American River is a California watercourse noted as the site of Sutter's Mill, northwest of Placerville, California, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush...
that was under construction at the time (this dam was replaced in 1955 by the Folsom Dam
Folsom Dam
Folsom Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the American River in Northern California, about northeast of Sacramento. Folsom Dam is high concrete and long, flanked by earthen wing dams...
).
As of the 2000 United States Census, FSP and SAC had a combined inmate population of 7,246 housed at level 1 and 2 security, the two lowest levels of security for prisons operated by the CDC. Level 1 prisoners are housed in open dormitories without a secure perimeter, and Level 2 prisoners may be housed in open dormitories with secure perimeter fence
Perimeter fence
A perimeter fence is a structure that circles the perimeter of an area to prevent access. These fences are frequently made out of single vertical metal bars connected at the top and bottom with a horizontal bar. They often have spikes on the top to prevent climbing. Residential perimeter fences are...
s and armed guard coverage. However, there are no dormitories within the FSP secure perimeter, and prisoners are housed in one man cells, two to a cell. In 2004, the majority of level 2 prisoners were moved to other prisons and level 3 prisoners took their place. FSP's population in early 2005 was approximately 3,400.
There are five housing units within the secure perimeter, including the original two-tiered structure. Unit 1 is the most populous cellblock in the United States, with a capacity of nearly 1,200 inmates on four five-tiered sections.
All cells include toilet, sink, bunks and storage space for inmate possessions. There are two dining halls, a large central prison exercise yard, and two smaller exercise yards. The visiting room includes an attached patio as well as space for non-contact visits.
History
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
. Although FSP now houses primarily medium security prisoners, FSP was one of America's first maximum-security prisons
Supermax
Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...
.
Construction of the facility began in 1878 on the site of the Stony Bar
Stony Bar, El Dorado County, California
Stony Bar is a former settlement and mining camp in El Dorado County, California. It was located on the South Fork of the American River upstream from Coloma.-References:...
mining camp along the American River
American River
The American River is a California watercourse noted as the site of Sutter's Mill, northwest of Placerville, California, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush...
. The prison officially opened in 1880. Folsom was built to hold 1,800 inmates. Inmates spent most of their time in the dark behind solid boiler plate doors in stone cells measuring 4 feet by 8 feet (1.2 by 2.4 m) with 6 inch (150 mm) eye slots. Air holes were drilled into the cell doors in the 1940s, and the cell doors are still in use today.
FSP was the first prison in the world to have electric power, which was provided by the first hydroelectric powerhouse in California.
After the State of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
took sole control of the death penalty in 1891, executions were held at Folsom and at San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
. A total of 93 prisoners were hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
at FSP between December 13, 1895, and December 3, 1937, after which executions were carried out in the gas chamber
Gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
at California's San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
.
Prison industries include metal fabrication and a print shop. The quarry at FSP provided granite for the foundation of the state capitol building and much of the gravel used in the early construction of California's roads. California's vehicle license plates have been manufactured at FSP since the 1930s.
In 1968 each prisoner in Folsom lived in his own cell. Almost every one of the prisoners was in an education program or learning a trade. Most prisoners who were released did not return to prison after being released. Laura Sullivan of National Public Radio said that the costs of housing prisoners "barely registered" in the state's budget. In 2009 Folsom was overcrowded, having 4,427 inmates. Around that year most of its prisoners who were released returned to prison after being released.
PIA
The PIA program includes administrationManagement
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, a license plate factory where the inmates have been making California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
license plates since before the 1930s, maintenance, metal fabrication, a sign shop, and a furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
factory.
Vocational
The Vocational Inmate Program formerly included auto body & fender, auto mechanics, building maintenance, electronics, graphic arts, janitorial, landscape gardening, masonryMasonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
, mill and cabinet, office services, and welding
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
. Half of these programs have been eliminated due to budget cuts in 2010.
Academic
The Academic Inmate Program includes Adult Basic Education, High School/GED, English as a Second Language, a literacy program, Computer Assisted Instruction.Other
Community Service Crews, Youth Diversion Program, Religious Program, Folsom Project for the visually impaired. Arts in Corrections was a very successful program closed due to budget cuts in 2010.Escape attempts
Since Folsom was one of the first maximum-security prisons in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the inmates were desperate to escape. Prior to the completion of the granite wall in the 1920's, the prison saw numerous escape attempts; the first one occurring shortly after the first inmates arrived in the 1880's. Throughout Folsom's violent and bloody history, numerous riots and escape attempts have resulted in both inmate and staff deaths.
1920 Prison train attempt
In 1920, three convicts hijacked a prison train that was used to move materials and smashed it through a prison gate to escape. One of the escaped convicts was never recaptured.1932 Diving suit attempt
An inmate tried to escape in 1932 using a diving suit fashioned from a football bladder, a goggle lens and other scrounged materials. According to Floyd Davis, a prison guard of 13 years who continued to volunteer at the museum after his retirement, the inmate only made one mistake: he didn't make his breathing tube long enough, and ended up drowning in the power house mill pond.Guards had to drain the pond to recover the inmate's body.
September 19, 1937
Approximately 40 inmates had been waiting to talk to Warden Clarence Larkin concerning upcoming parole hearings when seven of the inmates suddenly attacked him. As they took him into the yard other guards started firing. In the commotion that followed Officer Harry Martin and Warden Larkin were both stabbed to death. Officer Martin died at the scene and Warden Larkin died of his wounds five days later.The inmates involved in the attack were said to have used shanks
Shiv (weapon)
A shiv is a slang term for any sharp or pointed implement used as a knife-like weapon. However, the word in practical usage is frequently used when referring to an improvised bladed weapon. Shivs are commonly made by inmates in prisons across the world...
, prison-made knives, to attack the Warden and the officer. Also, a prison-made wooden semiautomatic pistol was found, and was carved and meant for use in the attack.
One of the seven inmates who attempted to escape was wanted for the murder of Officer James Hill, of the Marlow, Oklahoma Police Department, on April 20, 1931.
Two of the escaping inmates were fatally shot during the incident. The remaining five were all sentenced to death and eventually executed. Two suspects, including the one who had murdered Officer Hill, were executed in the gas chamber on December 2, 1938. Two others were executed on December 9, 1938, the leader of the group was executed on December 16, 1938.
June 5, 1987 (Glen Stewart Godwin)
A notable Folsom Prison escape was Glen Stewart GodwinGlen Stewart Godwin
Glen Stewart Godwin is an American fugitive and convicted murderer who was added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on December 7, 1996, nine years after he escaped from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California where he was serving a 26-years-to-life...
, whose escape from Folsom earned him a spot on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service Editor-in-Chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the...
list.
In 1987, Godwin attempted to escape during his incarceration at Deuel Vocational Institute in Tracy, California, and he was moved to Folsom State Prison, a maximum-security prison. Authorities believe Godwin's wife Shelly Rose Godwin and his former cellmate in Deuel, Lorenz Karlic, helped to plan his escape.
A hacksaw
Hacksaw
A hacksaw is a fine-tooth saw with a blade under tension in a frame, used for cutting materials such as metal or plastics. Hand-held hacksaws consist of a metal arch with a handle, usually a pistol grip, with pins for attaching a narrow disposable blade. A screw or other mechanism is used to put...
and other tools had been smuggled into the prison for Godwin. On June 5, 1987, he cut a hole through fence wire and escaped into a storm drain
Storm drain
A storm drain, storm sewer , stormwater drain or drainage well system or simply a drain or drain system is designed to drain excess rain and ground water from paved streets, parking lots, sidewalks, and roofs. Storm drains vary in design from small residential dry wells to large municipal systems...
that emptied into the American River
American River
The American River is a California watercourse noted as the site of Sutter's Mill, northwest of Placerville, California, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush...
. Godwin dropped through a manhole and crawled 750 feet through the pitch-black drain. Either Godwin's wife or Karlic, an accomplice, had left a raft
Raft
A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is the most basic of boat design, characterized by the absence of a hull...
that Godwin used to float down the river, following painted arrows on rocks that directed him where to go.
In June 1987, Karlic was arrested in Hesperia, California
Hesperia, California
Hesperia is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located in the Mojave Desert north of San Bernardino. The locals refer to the surrounding area as the High Desert...
, and convicted for aiding Godwin's escape.
In January 1988, Shelly Godwin was classified as a federal fugitive
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
for her role in her husband's escape. She was captured by the FBI in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, on February 7, 1990.
October 19, 2010
Two minimum-security inmates, Jeffrey William Howard, 43, and Garrett Daniel Summet, 34, escaped from Folsom on October 19, 2010.Prison spokesman
Spokesman
A spokesperson or spokesman or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and...
Lt. Anthony Gentile did not elaborate on the circumstances of how the men got away, only saying that the two men fled from the prison's Minimum Support Facility, and that the escape was discovered when the two failed to report to their work areas.
Folsom State Prison correctional staff and CDCR
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. CDC&R is the second largest law enforcement or police agency in the United States behind the New York City Police Department which employs approximately...
's Office of Correctional Safety agents initiated escapee apprehension efforts.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. CDC&R is the second largest law enforcement or police agency in the United States behind the New York City Police Department which employs approximately...
, the local law enforcement agencies and the California Highway Patrol
California Highway Patrol
The California Highway Patrol is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and also acts as the state police....
have been notified and are all searching for the two men.
Violent incidents
In 1937, a warden of FSP, Clarence Larkin, was stabbed during an escape attempt and died from his wounds.During the 1970s and 1980s violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
at Folsom peaked, when the Aryan Brotherhood
Aryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...
and other prison gangs made prisons increasingly dangerous. The establishment of Secure Housing Units, first at California State Prison, Sacramento
California State Prison, Sacramento
California State Prison, Sacramento is a male-only state prison located in the city of Folsom, in Sacramento County, California. The facility is also referenced as Sacramento State Prison, CSP-Sacramento, CSP-SAC, and occasionally, New Folsom or New Folsom Prison which was its official name prior...
, and later at Pelican Bay State Prison
Pelican Bay State Prison
Pelican Bay State Prison is a supermax California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison near Crescent City in unincorporated Del Norte County, California. The facility is explicitly designed to keep California’s alleged “worst of the worst” prisoners in long-term solitary...
in Crescent City, and California State Prison, Corcoran
California State Prison, Corcoran
California State Prison, Corcoran is a male-only state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County, California. Also known as Corcoran State Prison, CSP-C, CSP-COR, CSP-Corcoran, and Corcoran I, it should not be confused with the newer California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and...
, did much to control gang-related violence.
On August 27, 2010, seven federal inmates at Folsom were admitted to a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
after corrections officers discharged firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s during a riot
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
involving 200 inmates. None of the inmates' injuries were life-threatening, and no corrections officers were injured during the incident.
In popular culture
FSP was made known to the outside world by country music legend Johnny CashJohnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
. Cash narrated a fictional account of an outlaw's incarceration in his song "Folsom Prison Blues
Folsom Prison Blues
"Folsom Prison Blues" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career...
" (1956). In addition, Cash performed two live concerts at FSP. The first was in 1966 and the most famous live concert was at the FSP cafeteria on January 13, 1968, which was recorded as the album At Folsom Prison
At Folsom Prison
At Folsom Prison is a live album by Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in May 1968. Since his 1955 song "Folsom Prison Blues", Cash had been interested in performing at a prison. His idea was put on hold until 1967, when personnel changes at Columbia Records put Bob Johnston in charge of...
. Cash later said of the FSP inmates "they were the most enthusiastic audience I have ever played to." The "Folsom Prison Blues" single from that album was #1 on the country music chart
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
for four weeks, and the album was on the top 200 pop album chart
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
for 122 weeks. A 40th anniversary tribute concert was to take place in the same cafeteria at FSP on January 13, 2008, with a special appearance by Cash's original drummer W.S. "Fluke" Holland
W. S. Holland
W. S. "Fluke" Holland is a drummer who worked extensively with numerous rock and roll musicians, beginning with Carl Perkins, but became well known as the drummer in singer Johnny Cash's succession of backing bands: The Tennessee Three, The Great Eighties Eight, and The Johnny Cash Show Band...
. The original plans were to stream the concert over the internet, with four nonprofit groups underwriting the show and sharing in any profits the show might realize. However, a few days before the concert was to occur, it was canceled in a dispute over filming rights, media access, and security concerns.
FSP has been the location of a number of feature films, including Riot in Cell Block 11
Riot in Cell Block 11
Riot in Cell Block 11 is a 1954 drama film starring Neville Brand and Leo Gordon. It was directed by Don Siegel, based on the screenplay by Richard Collins.-Plot:...
, Heat, American Me
American Me
American Me is a 1992 biographical crime drama film produced and directed by Edward James Olmos, his first film as a director, and written by Floyd Mutrux and Desmond Nakano. Olmos also stars as the film's protagonist, Montoya Santana...
, The Jericho Mile
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, Another 48 Hrs.
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Another 48 Hrs. is a 1990 action-comedy film and a sequel to the 1982 film 48 Hrs.. It was directed by Walter Hill and stars Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, Brion James, Andrew Divoff, and Ed O'Ross. Nolte returns as San Francisco police officer Jack Cates, who has 48 hours to clear his name from a...
, Diggstown
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Diggstown is a 1992 movie directed by Michael Ritchie, and starring James Woods, Louis Gossett, Jr. and Bruce Dern. It also features Heather Graham, Oliver Platt and Randall "Tex" Cobb.-Synopsis:...
, parts of Walk the Line
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Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
(a biographical film
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A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
of Johnny Cash
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John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
), and Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison
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Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison is a 1951 drama film starring Steve Cochran and David Brian. Set in Folsom State Prison in California, the film was seen both in the United States and Europe....
, which was the inspiration for Cash's song. The television drama 21 Jump Street
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21 Jump Street is an American police procedural crime drama television series that aired on the Fox Network from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focused on a squad of youthful-looking undercover police officers investigating crimes in high schools,...
also featured FSP when Johnny Depp
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John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
's character Tom Hanson was imprisoned for murder.
FSP was renamed for the movie Frankie and Johnny with Al Pacino. In the FSP Museum there is the identification of the fake Penitentiary.
A Johnny Cash tribute band on the East coast is named The Folsom Prison Gang.
Notable prisoners
- Sonny Barger of the Hells AngelsHells AngelsThe Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
- Edward BunkerEdward BunkerEdward Heward Bunker was an American author of crime fiction, a screenwriter, and an actor. He wrote numerous books, some of which have been adapted into films....
- Eldridge CleaverEldridge CleaverLeroy Eldridge Cleaver better known as Eldridge Cleaver, was a leading member of the Black Panther Party and a writer...
- Joseph Gamsky, aka Joe Hunt, of the Billionaire Boys ClubBillionaire Boys ClubThe Billionaire Boys Club was an investment-and-social club organized by Joseph Gamsky, also known as "Joe Hunt", in southern California in 1983...
- Glen Stewart GodwinGlen Stewart GodwinGlen Stewart Godwin is an American fugitive and convicted murderer who was added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on December 7, 1996, nine years after he escaped from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California where he was serving a 26-years-to-life...
, whose escape from Folsom earned him a spot on the FBI Ten Most Wanted FugitivesFBI Ten Most Wanted FugitivesThe FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service Editor-in-Chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the...
list - Cameron Hooker
- Rick JamesRick JamesJames Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...
, musician - Edmund KemperEdmund KemperEdmund Emil "Big Ed" Kemper III , also known as "The Co-ed Killer", is an American serial killer who was active in California in the early 1970s. He started his criminal life by shooting both his grandparents when he was 15 years old. Kemper later killed and dismembered six female hitchhikers in...
, the co-ed killer - Suge KnightSuge KnightMarion "Suge" Knight, Jr. is the founder and CEO of Black Kapital Records and co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Death Row Records rose to dominate the rap charts after Dr. Dre's breakthrough album The Chronic in 1992. After several years of chart successes for artists including...
, owner of Death Row RecordsDeath Row RecordsDeath Row Records is a record label founded in 1991 by Marion "Suge" Knight Jr., Andre Young , Tracy Lynn Curry and Michael Harris . It is known to have been home to many popular West Coast hip hop artists such as Dr... - Timothy LearyTimothy LearyTimothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
- Charles MansonCharles MansonCharles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
- Erik Menendez
- James MitoseJames MitoseJames Masayoshi Mitose James Masayoshi Mitose James Masayoshi Mitose (born Masayoshi Mitose, (December 30, 1916 — March 26, 1981) was a Japanese American martial artist who brought the art of Kenpo to the United States starting in the late 1930s....
- Ed MorrellEdward MorrellEdward H. Morrell , commonly known as Ed Morrell, was an accomplice to the Evans and Sontag gang that robbed the Southern Pacific Railroad in California's San Joaquin Valley in the 1890s. According to his memoir, "The 25th Man", the robberies were revenge for the large railroad corporation's...
, accomplice to the Evans-Sontag railroad robbers of the 1890s - Bobby PurifyJames & Bobby PurifyJames & Bobby Purify were an R&B singing duo, whose biggest hits were "I'm Your Puppet" in 1966, which reached #6 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and in a re-recorded version #12 in the UK Singles Chart , and "Let Love Come Between Us" in 1967, which reached #23 in the U.S.James Lee Purify was...
(Original singer of "I'm Your Puppet") - Shorty RossiShorty RossiLuigi Francis "Shorty" Rossi is the star of Pit Boss, a reality series on Animal Planet. He is also the owner and talent manager of Shortywood Productions, a company that works with dwarfs in the entertainment industry and Shorty's Rescue, an organization set up for Pit Bull...
, star of the Animal PlanetAnimal PlanetAnimal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
show Pit BossPit Boss (TV series)Pit Boss is an American television series docudrama that follows Shorty Rossi, owner of Shorty's Rescue, an organization set up for Pit Bull rescue. The series premiered on Animal Planet on January 16, 2010.... - Leo RyanLeo RyanLeo Joseph Ryan, Jr. was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served as a U.S. Representative from California's 11th congressional district from 1973 until he was murdered in Guyana by members of the Peoples Temple shortly before the Jonestown Massacre in 1978.After the Watts Riots...
, U.S. Congressman who while an AssemblymanCalifornia State AssemblyThe California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
had posed as a prisoner to investigate conditions. - Glen SherleyGlen SherleyGlen Milborn Sherley was a country singer-songwriter, who famously penned "Greystone Chapel" made famous by Johnny Cash in 1968, when Cash performed the song live at Folsom Prison.- Early life :...
, musician - Danny TrejoDanny TrejoDan "Danny" Trejo is an American actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, most notably in roles as an antagonist, or anti-hero.-Early life:...
, actor
External links
- Folsom State Prison – official site
- California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Official website
- Code of Silence documentary film
- Folsom Embodies California's Prison Blues – August 13, 2009 NPR story
- "Folsom Prison Boasts A Rich History Spanning One Hundred Thirty Years." California Department of Corrections and RehabilitationCalifornia Department of Corrections and RehabilitationThe California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. CDC&R is the second largest law enforcement or police agency in the United States behind the New York City Police Department which employs approximately...