Prison cemetery

Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery in Huntsville, Texas, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison cemetery for deceased prisoners who are not reclaimed by their families

The original Point Lookout Cemetery, one of the prison cemeteries on the property of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

A prison cemetery is a graveyard reserved for the dead bodies of prisoners. Generally, the remains of inmates who are not claimed by family or friends are interred in prison cemeteries[1] and include convicts executed for capital crimes.[2]

List of prison cemeteries

• United States
  • Florida
    • Union Correctional Institution, Raiford
  • Idaho
    • Old Idaho State Penitentiary, Boise[3]
  • Kansas
    • Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery
  • Louisiana
    • Point Lookout Cemetery and Point Lookout II, Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola), West Feliciana Parish[4]
    • One cemetery at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, St. Gabriel[4]
  • Mississippi
    • Two cemeteries, Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman), Sunflower County, Mississippi[5]
  • South Carolina
    • State Cemetery, a.k.a. Penitentiary Cemetery (nicknamed "Tickleberry"), Central Correctional Institution (Columbia), Richland County, South Carolina[6]
  • Texas
    • Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery, Huntsville (the unclaimed remains of inmates who were executed for capital murder are buried here, but the cemetery also includes the remains of non-executed inmates)
    • One cemetery, Clemens Unit, Brazoria County, Texas[7]
    • Imperial State Farm Cemetery, Central Unit, Sugar Land[8]
    • Gatesville State School, Gatesville[9]

References

1. Bryant, Clifton D. Handbook of Death & Dying, Volume 1. Sage, 2003. 500. Retrieved from Google Books on March 1, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7619-2514-9.
2. Nelson's Encyclopedia. Volume IV. March 1927. 329. Retrieved from Google Books on March 1, 2011.
3. "A Brief History of Idaho and the Old Idaho Penitentiary". Behind Gray Walls (Podcast). Idaho State Historical Society. July 1, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
4. "Photo Album Archived 2010-10-23 at the Wayback Machine." (Alternate link Archived 2010-10-15 at the Wayback Machine) Louisiana State Penitentiary. Retrieved on July 20, 2010.
5. "Bowers May Be Interred at Parchman Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine." (Archive) WTOK-TV. November 7, 2006. Retrieved on March 4, 2011.
6. Trinkley, Michael; Hacker, Debi (February 2009). The Penitentiary Cemetery, Columbia, South Carolina (PDF). Chicora Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
7. Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Turner Publishing Company, 2004. 62. ISBN 978-1-56311-964-4.
8. Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Turner Publishing Company, 2004. 61. ISBN 978-1-56311-964-4.
9. "Hilltop warden, employees work to restore facility’s former glory Archived 2011-02-20 at the Wayback Machine." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. September–October 2005. Retrieved on July 24, 2010.