SEPTA Correctional Facility
The SEPTA Correctional Facility houses 106 adult felony offenders in Nelsonville, Ohio. The facility was created in response to the severe overcrowding of the state prison system.
Residents are accepted from a catchment area of fourteen Southeastern Ohio counties. Security around the facility is tighter than a halfway house, though looser than that of a prison or jail. The facility houses half of the residents in an east wing and the other half in a west wing. Residents live in dorm-style rooms in the east wing and are grouped all together in the west wing.
The facility offers many programs and activities for residents in which to take part while serving a sentence. Residents can work part-time outside of the facility under certain regulations and classes are offered at SEPTA throughout the day.
The Southeastern Probation Treatment Alternative (SEPTA) correctional facility is a community-based residental center, located in Nelsonville, Ohio. It houses approximately 106 adult felony offenders and was created in response to the severe overcrowding of the state prison system. Deputy Sheriff Lacey Casto unlocks Thomas Browning's, left, handcuffs as Charles Guess, right, waits for his handcuffs to be removed just after being admitted to intake at SEPTA.
Resident Monitor Chasity Bolyard counts residents in the east wing of the facility for the 6:30 p.m. count. Residents are counted every two hours around the clock.
Michael Hall, left, folds laundry as Mark Bouillion, right, sleeps in their living quarters in the east wing of the facility. The wings of the facility split residents into two groups according to scores on a facility entrance exam.
All residents are given a locker to secure their personal possessions Photographs of Bryan Hopkins' wife and child cover the inside of his locker.
Harold and Wendy Johnson embrace and kiss at the end of their visitation time. Inmates are allowed one thirty-minute visit from their family each week.
“I grew up with no dad, and I don’t want that for my girls,” explains resident Justin Cox. He received the tattoo pictured after the birth of Alexis, his second daughter, now 7 years old.
Bradley Bartlett writes something he could improve upon when interacting with his family as other residents wait their turn during a parenting-skills class. Residents were asked to write what skills they could improve upon on the left side of the board and things they had learned from the course on the right side. This class is one of many programs and opportunities to enrich the lives of residents and to aid them in transitioning back to civilian life once they leave the facility.
David Jenkins, bottom left, hands William Holtzapfel, top left, play money as Jeff Swick, top right, rolls the dice and Frankie Sinco, bottom right, observes the game of Monopoly in the indoor recreational area of the west wing. Residents can play board games, watch television and exercise outside during their down time.
Larenzo Fisher does pull-ups on the recreational yard's only piece of workout equipment. A former Ohio University football player, Fisher pleaded guilty to felony drug trafficking and is serving his sentence at SEPTA.
Lucas Reed, center, shoots the basketball during a game of Horse as Phil Stemble, right, and Jared Shumway, left, await the rebound. Troy Jones, foreground, smokes a cigarette, which is a form of currency between the residents.
Lucas Reed, right, looks off after reading forms allowing for his early release from the SEPTA Correctional Facility.