Tucker Unit
Encyclopedia
The Tucker Unit is a prison in Tucker
, unincorporated
Jefferson County
, Arkansas
, 25 miles (40.2 km) northeast of Pine Bluff
. It is operated by the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC). Tucker is one of the state of Arkansas's "parent unit"s for male prisoners; it serves as one of several units of initial assignment for processed male prisoners.
closed the Arkansas State Penitentiary ("The Walls), and some prisoners moved to Tucker from the former penitentiary. In the process the designated execution chamber moved to Tucker. "Old Sparky," in operation within the state system from 1926 to 1948, was the equipment used to kill condemned prisoners at Tucker. In 1964 Charles Fields was executed at Tucker; he was the last prisoner to be executed at Tucker before the Arkansas death penalty was declared against the U.S. constitution. In history, the prison housed the state's White convicts. In addition the prison housed some black female prisoners.
In 1967 four men escaped from the unit and abandoned a vehicle used in the escape in Fort Scott, Kansas
.
The Arkansas prison scandal occurred in the unit and involved the "Tucker telephone
." Due to the notoriety of the device, as of 2000 visitors to the Tucker Unit on a regular basis ask the warden of the telephone on his/her desk is the "Tucker Telephone."
In 1974 death row inmates, previously at the Tucker Unit, were moved to the Cummins Unit
. In 1978 a new death chamber opened in Cummins, so Tucker was no longer the place of execution in Arkansas.
In 2000 the ADC's final 100 person barracks was split into two smaller barracks.
The unit houses a campus of the Riverside Vocational Technical School. Education in the Tucker Unit began in 1968, when the England School District started a night program.
In historical eras White prisoners worked in the fields, and the prison housed clothing, license plate, and shoe factories.
Tucker, Arkansas
Tucker is an unincorporated area in Jefferson County, Arkansas. It has an elevation of 226 ft .-History:In 1871 John Woodfin Tucker established the Tucker Plantation, named after his wife, Sarah E. Tucker. The plantation, which mostly produced cotton, expanded to occupy . Paid farmworkers and...
, unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Arkansas
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its population was 77,435 at the 2010 United States Census. It is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area. Jefferson County's county seat and largest city is Pine Bluff...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, 25 miles (40.2 km) northeast of Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
. It is operated by the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC). Tucker is one of the state of Arkansas's "parent unit"s for male prisoners; it serves as one of several units of initial assignment for processed male prisoners.
History
In 1916 the State of Arkansas purchased about 4400 acres (1,780.6 ha) of land to build the Tucker Unit. In 1933 Governor of Arkansas Junius Marion FutrellJunius Marion Futrell
Junius Marion Futrell was the 30th Governor of Arkansas from 1933 to 1937, and the Acting Governor for a short stint in 1913....
closed the Arkansas State Penitentiary ("The Walls), and some prisoners moved to Tucker from the former penitentiary. In the process the designated execution chamber moved to Tucker. "Old Sparky," in operation within the state system from 1926 to 1948, was the equipment used to kill condemned prisoners at Tucker. In 1964 Charles Fields was executed at Tucker; he was the last prisoner to be executed at Tucker before the Arkansas death penalty was declared against the U.S. constitution. In history, the prison housed the state's White convicts. In addition the prison housed some black female prisoners.
In 1967 four men escaped from the unit and abandoned a vehicle used in the escape in Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States, south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,087. It is the home of the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Fort Scott National...
.
The Arkansas prison scandal occurred in the unit and involved the "Tucker telephone
Tucker telephone
The Tucker telephone is a torture device designed using parts from an old-fashioned crank telephone. The electric generator of the telephone is wired in sequence to two dry cell batteries so that the instrument can be used to administer electric shocks to another person. The Tucker telephone was...
." Due to the notoriety of the device, as of 2000 visitors to the Tucker Unit on a regular basis ask the warden of the telephone on his/her desk is the "Tucker Telephone."
In 1974 death row inmates, previously at the Tucker Unit, were moved to the Cummins Unit
Cummins Unit
The Cummins Unit is an Arkansas Department of Correction prison in unincorporated Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 65, near Grady, Gould, and Varner, south of Pine Bluff, and southeast of Little Rock.This prison farm is a correctional facility...
. In 1978 a new death chamber opened in Cummins, so Tucker was no longer the place of execution in Arkansas.
In 2000 the ADC's final 100 person barracks was split into two smaller barracks.
Composition and operations
Of the land at the Tucker Unit, 4500 acres (1,821.1 ha) are used to farm rice and soybeans.The unit houses a campus of the Riverside Vocational Technical School. Education in the Tucker Unit began in 1968, when the England School District started a night program.
In historical eras White prisoners worked in the fields, and the prison housed clothing, license plate, and shoe factories.
External links
- "Tucker Unit." Arkansas Department of Corrections.