FCI Memphis (low-security)

FCI Memphis. Public domain photograph, via Wikimedia Commons.

FCI Memphis is a low-security federal correctional institution for men in Memphis, Tennessee, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It held about 1,037 people as of November 2025. The institution's main number is 901-372-2269.

MALE

Gender

LOW

Security Level

1037

Population (Dec. 2025)

RDAP

Location

Physical location: MEMPHIS, TN 38134

Mailing address: 1101 JOHN A DENIE ROAD, MEMPHIS, TN 38134

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 within its Mid-Atlantic Region, FCI Memphis is a low-security federal prison for male inmates located in Memphis, Tennessee (Shelby County). The complex includes an adjacent satellite prison camp that holds minimum-security men. Constructed in 1977, the main institution was originally designed to house youthful offenders, a mission that changed in 1984. The combined population runs roughly 1,000 to 1,160 depending on the reporting date, with the low-security FCI designed for about 1,012 inmates and the camp holding several hundred. The main compound is laid out as five multiple-occupancy dormitory units, six single-occupancy cell units, and a 24-bed Special Housing Unit. A short drive away, the satellite camp uses four open-bay dormitory buildings.

Daily routines follow a structured schedule of standing counts, work assignments, meals, and recreation periods, although inmates are afforded more freedom of movement inside the compound than at higher-security prisons. Medically cleared inmates are mandated to work unless enrolled full time in school or vocational training, with job assignments distributed across food service, safety, education, recreation, laundry, commissary, and health services. Wages for standard institutional roles range from roughly $0.12 to $0.40 per hour, whereas Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR) positions pay from about $0.23 to $1.15 per hour. In addition to labor requirements, facility regulations cap commissary spending at around $360 per month. Communication privileges are similarly restricted, as inmates receive roughly 300 telephone minutes per month with all calls actively monitored and time-limited.

The institution runs the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), a voluntary 9-month, 500-hour residential treatment track whose successful completion can earn up to a 12-month sentence reduction. The Education Department offers GED preparation, English as a Second Language, adult basic and continuing education, vocational and apprenticeship training, and parenting classes, supported by a leisure and law library with interlibrary loan access tied to the Memphis and Shelby County library system. Recreation includes basketball courts, jogging tracks, and fitness equipment (cable machines rather than free weights), along with team sports, walking, horseshoes, ping pong, crafts, and music.

In 2012, federal authorities disclosed that a marijuana distribution ring had operated inside FCI Memphis between September 2009 and May 2010. Investigators reported that a group of inmates led by Mark Evans, along with Vincent West, Tyrone Bryant, David Chambers, and Larry Burse, moved marijuana into the prison through the kitchen with the help of a food service employee named Debra Thompson. The group then resold the marijuana inside the facility for as much as $900 an ounce, generating at least $85,000. The case drew new federal charges against Evans and became the facility's most widely reported incident.

Notable inmates

Name	Sentence	Offense	Dates
Mitchell Johnson	Held in federal juvenile custody until age 21	One of two shooters in the 1998 Westside Middle School shooting near Jonesboro, Arkansas, which killed four students and a teacher	Released from FCI Memphis on his 21st birthday, August 11, 2005
Andrew Golden	Held in federal juvenile custody until age 21	The second shooter in the 1998 Westside Middle School shooting near Jonesboro, Arkansas	Released from FCI Memphis on his 21st birthday, May 25, 2007
Joseph Chase Winkle	10 years in federal prison; projected release March 6, 2032	Former Muncie, Indiana police officer who pleaded guilty to eleven federal civil-rights and obstruction offenses for assaulting arrestees and filing false reports	Sentenced 2024