| Location | Seward, Alaska |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Maximum |
| Capacity | 500+ |
| Opened | 1988 |
| Managed by | Alaska Department of Corrections |
| Director | John "Craig" Turnbull (Superintendent) |
Spring Creek Correctional Center is an Alaska Department of Corrections maximum security prison for men located in Seward, Alaska, United States.[1][2] The prison is located approximately 125 miles (201 km) south of Anchorage. The prison is located on about 328 acres (1.33 km2) of land surrounded by national parks. The prison capacity consists of over 500 inmates and 200 staff workers. Built as a decentralized campus, the prison construction was completed in 1988 at a cost of $44,678,000.[3] A large portion of the prisoner population consists of "hard core" felons who committed violent crimes, such as murder. The Alaska DOC says that these prisoners "will probably spend the rest of their life in prison." Spring Creek also houses prisoners who committed less serious crimes like assault and burglary and usually have sentences from three years to ten years.[2]
Contents |
In the prison's history, there have been two murders inside the prison, one escape and at least one failed escape plot.
In 2004, Spring Creek inmate Carl Abhul, already incarcerated for another murder, killed his cellmate Gregory Beaudoin. Abhul was convicted of Beaudoin's murder and sentenced to an additional 30 years in prison.[4]
In 2008, convicted murderer John Carlin III was beaten to death in Spring Creek. Carlin was the alleged co-conspirator in the case of Mechele Linehan, a former stripper convicted in the death of her former fiance Kent Leppink.[5]
An escape involving two inmates from Spring Creek occurred in 1994. Both inmates were subsequently recaptured.[6] A second, unrelated escape plot in 2001 was unsuccessful.[7]
Spring Creek Correctional Center is the prison which houses Robert Hansen, a notorious serial killer convicted of killing numerous women in or near Anchorage, Alaska.[8]
Spring Creek was profiled in an MSNBC documentary entitled Lockup: Spring Creek, Alaska. Numerous Spring Creek inmates were profiled, including Carl Abhul, John Bright, and Cordell Boyd among others.[9]