FCI Greenville (medium-security)
Notes from Alumni
The following people have spoken about their time at FCI Greenville (medium-security) on the Nightmare Success podcast, hosted by Brent Cassity (himself formerly incarcerated in the federal system):
- Remaining Positive: A Journey of Choices and Redemption (Nightmare Success podcast)
Please remember that experiences are unique and may not reflect today's experience.
Location
Physical location: GREENVILLE, IL 62246
Mailing address: 100 U.S. HWY 40, GREENVILLE, IL 62246
Visitation
There are many specific rules and procedures to be aware of when you're considering visiting the institution. Read more on our Visitation Guide.
For full, current visiting rules and scheduling, always check the institution's official page on the Bureau of Prisons website: Official BOP Page.
Daily life and programs
The Federal Correctional Institution, Greenville (FCI Greenville) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male offenders located in Greenville, Bond County, Illinois. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the Department of Justice. The facility is situated at 100 U.S. Highway 40, which places it roughly 43 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri, and about 63 miles from Springfield, Illinois, at coordinates of approximately 38 degrees 51 minutes N, 89 degrees 24 minutes W. Within the main institution, the medium-security male population encompasses roughly 1,100 to 1,300 inmates, while specific source figures range from about 1,183 to 1,270. Adjacent to the main compound lies a minimum-security satellite prison camp that currently functions as a women's facility. The original camp was converted to house female offenders in 2000 in order to add capacity for women in the north-central United States. As a result of this transition, the unified Greenville complex pairs a medium-security men's institution with a minimum-security women's camp, functioning together as FPC Greenville.
Daily life at the medium-security men's institution is organized around the standard BOP structure. Inmates are counted at set times each day, report to work or program assignments, take meals on a fixed schedule, and have evening programming and recreation windows. Housing consists of unit-based living quarters typical of a medium-security FCI, and the facility requires most medically able inmates to hold a job unless they are enrolled full-time in education or vocational training. Institutional work assignments encompass food service, maintenance, landscaping, and orderly roles, providing pay in the range of about 12 to 40 cents per hour. Conversely, higher-skilled prison-industry jobs pay more. Recreation includes supervised outdoor yards with amenities such as basketball courts, a walking track, and softball fields, complemented by indoor options like cable/weight machines, table tennis, and arts and crafts. Finally, a law library supports legal research, and a separate leisure library serves general reading.
Programming at FCI Greenville centers on work, education, and reentry preparation. To support its employment initiatives, the facility operates a UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) factory that manufactures clothing and textiles, offering inmates paid industrial work experience at higher wage grades than standard institution jobs. The educational curriculum encompasses GED and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction, adult continuing education, and parenting classes. Additionally, inmates may pursue apprenticeships in various trades alongside vocational training in areas such as horticulture and Microsoft Office applications. Regarding substance abuse treatment, the main medium-security institution does not host the flagship Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), though RDAP is available at the adjacent camp. Both the institution and the camp facilitate the shorter Drug Abuse Education course and the Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP). Finally, religious services and reentry programming complete the schedule.
FCI Greenville has experienced notable security incidents and housed a number of nationally reported inmates within its medium-security men's population. Because the adjacent camp holds female offenders, all of the facility's publicly documented male inmates have been held at the main medium-security institution rather than at the camp. During one significant event in 2001, former Los Angeles Police Department officer David Mack was attacked by a group of inmates while jogging in the prison recreation yard. Mack, who had been convicted in connection with the Rampart corruption scandal and a 1997 armed bank robbery, suffered multiple stab wounds and a punctured lung. He survived the assault and was later released.
Notable inmates
| Name | Sentence | Offense | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry M. Helvey | Life imprisonment (court-martial) | 1992 murder of U.S. Navy petty officer Allen R. Schindler Jr. (a hate crime that spurred debate over gays in the military) | Incarcerated at the main FCI (medium) |
| David Mack | About 12 years served | Armed bank robbery of about $722,000 (1997); former LAPD officer tied to the Rampart scandal; stabbed by inmates in the Greenville rec yard in 2001 | Held at main FCI; released 2010 |
| Michael Curtis Reynolds | 30 years | Plotting attacks on U.S. fuel pipelines and attempting to aid al-Qaeda | Held at main FCI (medium); projected release 2032 |
| Walter Bond | About 12 years | Arson (Animal Liberation Front) targeting businesses | Held at main FCI; released March 2021 |
| Patrick Houston (rapper 'Project Pat') | 51 months | Felon in possession of a firearm (two counts) | Held at main FCI, March 2001 to August 2005 |
| Ed Buck | 30 years | Providing methamphetamine that caused the fatal overdoses of two men at his Los Angeles apartment | Listed at main FCI (medium); current BOP custody not independently reconfirmed |