Citing deteriorating conditions, Terminal Island prison set to close

SoCal prison slated to close

The crumbling Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in the Port of Los Angeles is set to close.

LOS ANGELES - The crumbling Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in the Port of Los Angeles, onetime home to Al Capone and Charles Manson, is slated to close. 

The closure is reportedly due to the building's deteriorating underground tunnels.

What we know:

Citing a memo from federal Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall III, the reports noted Terminal Island's deficiencies include falling concrete that threatens to knock out the facility's heating system, the internal memo obtained by the Associated Press stated.

Deciding to close the facility was "not easy" Marshall wrote, "but is absolutely necessary." The Tuesday memo further noted that the closure could be temporary, but is a matter of "safety, common sense, and doing what is right for the people who work and live inside that institution."

Marshall cited problems with underground tunnels containing the facility's steam heating system, the Associated Press reported. Ceilings in the tunnels have begun to deteriorate, causing chunks of concrete to fall, putting employees and the heating system at risk.

"We are not going to wait for a crisis," Marshall said. "We are not going to gamble with lives. And we are not going to expect people to work or live in conditions that we would never accept for ourselves."

Dig deeper:

Terminal Island opened in 1938 and is the latest Bureau of Prisons facility to be targeted for closure as the agency juggles staff vacancies, a $3 billion repair backlog and an expanded mission to support President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown by taking in thousands of detainees.

Terminal Island is a low-security prison that currently houses nearly 1,000 inmates, including Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange who was convicted of fraud and related crimes in November 2023 and disgraced celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti.

What's next:

Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Randilee Giamusso told the Associated Press that inmates at the facility will be moved to other federal prisons "with a priority on keeping individuals as close as possible to their anticipated release locations."

The process is expected to take several weeks, with no timeline set for the facility's closure.

Terminal Island's future will be decided once the bureau has "assessed the situation further and ensured the safety of all those involved." Giamusso said.