FCI Marion (minimum-security camp)

MALE

Gender

MINIMUM

Security Level

197

Population (Nov. 2025)

RDAP

Notes from Alumni

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

• From $400 Million Bank Sale to Prison: Shaun Hayes's Rise and Fall (Nightmare Success podcast)

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

Location

Physical location: MARION, IL 62959

Mailing address: 4500 PRISON ROAD, MARION, IL 62959

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does FCI Marion allow conjugal visits?

No. FCI Marion does not allow conjugal visits. The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not permit conjugal visits at any facility regardless of security level. This includes all minimum-security federal prison camps, low-security FCIs, medium-security facilities, and high-security USPs. Only four state prison systems (California, Connecticut, New York, and Washington) allow conjugal visits for state prisoners. Federal inmates have no access to conjugal or extended family visits anywhere in the BOP system.

Q: What types of visitation are allowed at FCI Marion?

FCI Marion allows contact visits during designated visiting hours, typically on weekends and holidays. Contact visits permit brief embraces at the start and end of visits, but prolonged physical contact is not allowed. All visits occur in supervised visiting rooms. Visitors must be pre-approved through a background check process and must follow dress code requirements. For full details, see the Visiting Policies and Procedures page.

Daily life and programs

Located a few miles from the city of Marion, FCI Marion is a federal prison complex for men situated in unincorporated Williamson County in far southern Illinois. The location pairs a medium-security Federal Correctional Institution with an adjacent minimum-security satellite prison camp (SCP). Out of a total complex population reported by third-party aggregators at around 1,179 to 1,282, the camp houses roughly 194 men. Functioning as the lowest-custody component of the facility, the SCP operates like a standard federal prison camp. It accommodates lower-risk men, typically those with short sentences, clean disciplinary histories, or a release date drawing near, with many serving time for nonviolent, drug, or white-collar offenses. It is important to distinguish the camp from the main institution, because Marion's institutional history and high-profile prisoners belong to the penitentiary, not to the camp.

Constructed to absorb high-security prisoners after Alcatraz closed that same year, the main institution officially opened in 1963 as the United States Penitentiary, Marion. Following the 1983 killing of two correctional officers, authorities placed USP Marion on an indefinite lockdown. The prison subsequently functioned as the first federal 'supermax,' establishing a model that ADX Florence later adopted. After undergoing renovations in 2006, the penitentiary was downgraded to medium security, and the site was subsequently redesignated as a Federal Correctional Institution. It also became home to one of only two Communications Management Units (CMUs) within the federal system, with the other situated at Terre Haute. By contrast, the minimum-security satellite camp is reported to have opened in 1971 and has always operated as a low-custody facility, remaining insulated from the supermax and CMU history associated with the main compound.

The Marion camp provides the open, dormitory-style setting typical of federal prison camps, accommodating men in dormitories partitioned into two-person cubicles rather than in cells behind fences. Every camp inmate must hold a job and engage in academic, vocational, and life-skills programming. Educational opportunities feature GED preparation and English-as-a-Second-Language classes, and the facility lists structured apprenticeships in fields such as Electrical, Waste Water Treatment, and Water Treatment. As is typical for satellite camps alongside their parent institutions, camp labor supports the operation and grounds of the larger complex. Scheduled visitation for the complex occurs on Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

For work and treatment programming, Marion operates a UNICOR, or Federal Prison Industries, electronics cable factory that produces cables and cable assemblies. Because UNICOR assignments generally pay more than standard institutional jobs, they are consistently sought after despite waitlists. The complex is also an approved site for the Residential Drug Abuse Program, commonly known as RDAP. For eligible participants in this roughly 500-hour, nine-month residential treatment track, successful completion can yield up to a twelve-month sentence reduction. As with most camp-and-FCI pairings, some intensive programming and industry work are anchored at the main institution, while camp residents participate under the complex's overall program menu. Prospective readers should note that population counts and the camp's 1971 opening date come from BOP-adjacent aggregators and encyclopedic summaries rather than a live BOP data readout, which did not render exact figures at the time of research.

Notable inmates

Name	Sentence	Offense	Dates
Pete Rose	Five months (fined $50,000)	Federal tax evasion (filing false income tax returns / failing to report income from memorabilia, autographs, and appearances)	August 1990 to January 1991