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FCI Leavenworth (medium-security)

From Prisonpedia
MALE
Gender
MEDIUM
Security Level
1428
Population (Nov. 2025)
No RDAP

Notes from Alumni

The following people have spoken about their time at FCI Leavenworth (medium-security) on the Nightmare Success podcast, hosted by Brent Cassity (himself formerly incarcerated in the federal system):

Please remember that experiences are unique and may not reflect today's experience.

Location

Physical location: LEAVENWORTH, KS 66048

Mailing address: 1300 METROPOLITAN, LEAVENWORTH, KS 66048

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

Operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Federal Correctional Institution, Leavenworth is a medium-security U.S. federal prison for male inmates located in Leavenworth, Kansas, roughly 25 miles northwest of Kansas City. An adjacent minimum-security satellite prison camp (FPC) accommodates lower-custody men. As of September 2024, the complex held about 1,706 people, broken down into roughly 1,579 in the main institution and 127 in the camp. It stands as one of the oldest institutions in the federal system. The first 418 prisoners arrived in 1903, followed by the completion of the first cellhouse in 1904; cellblock construction finished around 1919, and the massive main structure was completed in the mid-1920s. For most of the twentieth century, it served as the largest maximum-security federal penitentiary in the country. In 2005, the BOP lowered the facility's custody level from high/maximum to medium while keeping the historic USP name for tradition. Finally, in 2024, the institution was formally re-designated Federal Correctional Institution Leavenworth so the name matches its actual security level.

The main institution centers on a historic domed cellhouse complex known locally as the Big House, featuring four original cellhouses: A, B, C, and D. Three of these buildings underwent substantial renovations during the 1980s and 1990s, while D-cellhouse remains close to its original 1920s design. Within the main compound, housing allocations depend on an individual's security classification and program need. The neighboring minimum-security camp utilizes barracks-style, bunk-bed dormitory housing, accommodating roughly eight men per group, rather than individual cells. Additionally, these camp residents handle much of the grounds and support labor for the larger complex.

Every medically able inmate is required to work unless they are enrolled full time in education or vocational training. Standard assignments in food service, maintenance, landscaping, laundry, and orderly work pay roughly $0.12 to $0.40 per hour, whereas Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR) jobs pay about $0.23 to $1.15 per hour and rank among the most sought-after positions. The institution operates the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), which is a voluntary intensive residential treatment track lasting roughly nine months and 500 hours that can earn up to a twelve-month sentence reduction. In addition to this program, the facility provides drug education, a non-residential drug program, and the faith-based Life Connections Program offered through Religious Services. Recreational opportunities feature enclosed outdoor yards equipped with a jogging track as well as basketball and handball courts, alongside indoor weight machines, table tennis, and arts and crafts. Prisoners may also utilize both law and leisure libraries. For communication, inmates receive TRULINCS email, standard mail, and about 300 phone minutes per month, with individual calls capped near 15 minutes. Furthermore, in-person and video visiting are permitted through approved lists.

Before the 2005 redesignation, during its maximum-security penitentiary era, Leavenworth held some of the most infamous prisoners in American history. These figures belong to that earlier high-security period rather than the current medium-security FCI. The convicted murderer and self-taught ornithologist Robert Stroud, later mythologized as the Birdman of Alcatraz, was held there from 1912 to 1942. The Prohibition-era kidnapper George Machine Gun Kelly Barnes served time in the 1930s and again in the early 1950s. Additionally, the serial killer Carl Panzram was hanged at the penitentiary in 1930, and the Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger passed through briefly around 1962 to 1963. Conversely, the modern medium-security FCI era provides a contemporary window into daily life that differs sharply from the institution's storied past. During 2024 and 2025, family members posting to r/PrisonWives have described periods of lockdown, unreliable phone access, broken phone PINs, and difficult conditions for newly arrived and designated men.

First-hand accounts

First-person accounts and reporting about life at this facility. Experiences are individual and may not reflect current conditions.

  • FCI Leavenworth - first visit - Reddit. Wife of a man designated to Leavenworth asks for firsthand advice on the visiting process at the medium-security facility: guard check-in procedure, expected visit length, and whether her minor son needs a visitation form. First-hand family account confirming a currently designated (not transient) inmate.
  • FCI Leavenworth on Lockdown? - Reddit. Family member of a newly arrived inmate (2024) describes near-continuous lockdown, terrible conditions, a broken phone PIN, an unhelpful unit team, and only being able to call twice using another inmate's phone account, contradicting the BOP's claim of resumed normal operations.
  • FCI Leavenworth - Reddit. Fiancee of a man about five months into his time at Leavenworth describes going roughly four months with no phone access, then sporadic calls every four to seven days, and a reported death at the facility in early 2025. First-hand family account of communication conditions.
  • About Brent Cassity, host of Nightmare Success (served 5 years at Leavenworth) - Nightmare Success podcast. Podcast host Brent Cassity, a former CEO who pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering in 2013, served a 60-month (5-year) sentence at Leavenworth. His podcast Nightmare Success In and Out draws on that firsthand experience and features 200-plus interviews with formerly incarcerated people about life before, during, and after prison.

Notable inmates

Name Sentence Offense Dates
Tom Petters 50 years Orchestrating a roughly $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme (conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering) 2009 to present (medium-security FCI/main institution era)
Junior Siavii Died in custody January 13, 2022 while awaiting trial; cause of death not released Illegal firearms possession; former NFL defensive tackle (Kansas City Chiefs). Held as a pretrial detainee/holdover, not a sentenced inmate Died January 2022 (main institution/holdover, medium-security era)
Michael Vick[1] 23 months (served about 19) Interstate dogfighting conspiracy (Bad Newz Kennels); former NFL quarterback 2008 to 2009, housed at the adjacent MINIMUM-security satellite prison camp (barracks housing), NOT the main medium-security FCI; denied RDAP admission
Robert Stroud (the "Birdman") Life Murder; studied and raised birds in his cell. HELD DURING THE MAXIMUM-SECURITY PENITENTIARY ERA, not the current medium-security FCI 1912 to 1942 (USP maximum-security era)
George "Machine Gun Kelly" Barnes Life Prohibition-era kidnapping (1933 kidnapping of oilman Charles Urschel). MAXIMUM-SECURITY PENITENTIARY ERA 1933 to 1934 and 1951 to 1954 (USP maximum-security era)
Carl Panzram Death (hanged at Leavenworth, September 5, 1930) Serial killer under a federal death sentence for murder; executed by hanging at the penitentiary. MAXIMUM-SECURITY PENITENTIARY ERA Executed 1930 (USP maximum-security era)
James "Whitey" Bulger Held early in his federal career Boston organized crime (Winter Hill Gang); later murdered at USP Hazelton in 2018. MAXIMUM-SECURITY PENITENTIARY ERA circa 1962 to 1963 (USP maximum-security era)

References

  1. ↑ "Michael Vick". '. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
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