View source for Cummins Unit

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
<!-- NOTE: At some point the Arkansas Department of Correction changed its name to the Arkansas Department of Corrections (last word plural), so at different times either will be correct. -->
{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Cummins
|official_name            =
|settlement_type          = [[Unincorporated area|Unincorporated community]]
|nickname                 =
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = CumminsUnitSignArk.jpg
|imagesize                =
|image_caption            = Cummins Unit
|image_flag               =
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|pushpin_map              = USA Arkansas
|pushpin_label_position   = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location within the state of Arkansas
|pushpin_mapsize          =
|image_map                =
|map_caption              = Location within Lincoln county

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Arkansas]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Arkansas|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Lincoln County, Arkansas|Lincoln]]
|subdivision_type3        = Township
|subdivision_name3        = Auburn Township and Choctaw Township
|government_footnotes     =
|government_type          =
|leader_title             = <!-- Mayor -->
|leader_name              =
|leader_title1            =
|leader_name1             =
|established_title        =
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           =
|area_magnitude           =
|area_total_km2           =
|area_land_km2            =
|area_water_km2           =

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[United States Census, 2000|2000]]
|population_footnotes     =
|population_total         =
|population_density_km2   = auto

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[Central Time Zone (Americas)|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      =
|elevation_ft             = 177
|coordinates              = {{coord|34|03|05|N|91|35|02|W|scale:10000|display=inline,title}}

<!-- Area/postal codes & others -->
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]
|postal_code              = 71644
|area_code                = [[Area code 870|870]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               =
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 64050<ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis|id=64050|name=Cummins, Arkansas}}</ref><br />GNIS for prison building: 82008<ref name="gnisp">{{cite gnis|id=82008|name=Cummins State Prison}}</ref>
|website                  =
|footnotes                =
}}
[[File:CumminsVarnerAerialView.PNG|thumb|Aerial view of the Cummins and [[Varner Unit|Varner]] units, [[U.S. Geological Survey]], February 28, 2001]]
[[File:CumminsUnitMap.tiff|thumb|Topographic map of the Cummins Unit, U.S. Geological Survey, July 1, 1984]]
The '''Cummins Unit''' (formerly known as '''Cummins State Farm''') is an [[Arkansas Department of Corrections]] [[prison]] in [[unincorporated area|unincorporated]] [[Lincoln County, Arkansas]], United States,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st05_ar/county/c05079_lincoln/DC20BLK_C05079.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Lincoln County, AR|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|access-date=2024-11-01|page=5 (PDF p. 6/17)|quote=Cummings{{sic}} State Prison and Frm[...]Cummins Unit}}</ref><ref name="ADCCummins">{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/facilities/facilities2.html#cummins |title=Cummins Unit |publisher=[[Arkansas Department of Correction]] |access-date=August 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726132908/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/facilities/facilities2.html#cummins |archive-date=July 26, 2010}}</ref> in the [[Arkansas Delta]] region.<ref name=Nelsonrecall>{{cite news |first=Nelson |last=Melissa |date=December 9, 2001 |url=https://ualrexhibits.org/tucker/files/2016/09/Cummins_Unit_Lesson_Plan_3.pdf |title=Inmates recall prison life before reforms at harsh Cummins Unit |work=[[Log Cabin Democrat]] |access-date=November 12, 2021 |pages=40–46 |via=Cummins Prison Farm: Lesson Plan Cummins Prison Farm Lincoln County, Arkansas<!-- The link https://www.webcitation.org/6H6iCDLxy?url=http://thecabin.net/stories/120901/sta_1209010063.shtml did not work as of November 2021. -->}}</ref> It is located along [[U.S. Route 65]],<ref name="ADCCummins"/> near [[Grady, Arkansas|Grady]],<ref name="ADCCummins"/><!--ADC Cummins sources Grady--> [[Gould, Arkansas|Gould]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Barnes |first=Royl S. |date=1957 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4GzRAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Women%27s+Reformatory+at+Cummins%22 |title=Facts, Figures, and Functions of Arkansas State and Local Government |publisher=Hurley Co. |page=182 |via=[[Google Books]] |access-date=March 6, 2011 |quote=Arkansas maintains three penitentiary units: the Women's Reformatory at Cummins near Gould; one near Tucker for white men, known as the Tucker Farm; and the other near Gould, for Negro men and women, known as the Cummins Farm.}}</ref> and [[Varner, Arkansas|Varner]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3D5BC90C67787&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=Arkansas killer plans no more appeals: He is to die Wednesday in '84 death of trooper |agency=Associated Press |work=[[The Dallas Morning News]] |date=April 18, 1995 |access-date=March 5, 2011 |quote=and he was transferred to the death watch cell at the Cummins Unit near Varner.}}</ref> {{convert|28|mi|km}} south of [[Pine Bluff, Arkansas|Pine Bluff]],<ref name="ADCCummins"/> and {{convert|60|mi|km}} southeast of [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PPwgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k3UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4056,2159983&dq=cummins-ark&hl=en |title=Over 20 Convicts Flee State Farm |work=[[The Day (New London)|The Day]] |location=New London, Connecticut |date=January 20, 1916 |via=[[Google News Archive]] |access-date=March 5, 2011}}</ref><!--This source gives 60 mi--><ref name="Feeley53">{{cite book |last1=Feeley |first1=Malcolm M. |last2=Rubin |first2=Edward L. |date=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0S9IQTXjrpQC&pg=PA53 |title=Judicial Policy Making and the Modern State: How the Courts Reformed America's Prisons |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |page=53 |via=[[Google Books]] |isbn=978-0-521-77734-6}}</ref><!--This source says southeast-->

This [[prison farm]] is a {{convert|16500|acre|ha|adj=on}} correctional facility. The prison first opened in 1902 and has a capacity of 1,725 inmates. Cummins housed Arkansas's male [[death row]] until 1986, when it was transferred first to the [[Tucker Maximum Security Unit]].<!--Sourced below--> The State of Arkansas execution chamber is located in the Cummins Unit, adjacent to the location of the male death row, the [[Varner Unit]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/files/junethirteen.doc |title=State Capitol Week in Review |publisher=State of Arkansas |date=June 13, 2008 |access-date=August 15, 2010 |quote=Executions are carried out in the Cummins Unit, which is adjacent to Varner. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100623011403/http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/files/junethirteen.doc |archive-date=June 23, 2010}}</ref> The female death row is located at the [[McPherson Unit]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Haddigan |first=Michael |date=April 9, 1999 |url=http://www.arktimes.com/990409coverstory.html |title=They Kill Women, Don't They? |work=[[Arkansas Times]] |access-date=August 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990508130907/http://www.arktimes.com/990409coverstory.html |archive-date=May 8, 1999}}</ref> Cummins is one of the State of Arkansas's "parent units" for male prisoners; it serves as one of several units of initial assignment for processed male prisoners.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf |title=Guide for Family and Friends |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819032000/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf |archive-date=August 19, 2010 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |access-date=July 18, 2010}}</ref>

==History==
In 1902 the State of Arkansas purchased about {{convert|10000|acre|ha}} of land for $140,000 (${{inflation|USD|140000|1902|r=-4|fmt=c}} when adjusted for inflation) to build the Cummins Unit.<ref name="ADCHist">{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/history_gallery.html |title=Prison History and Gallery |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310123329/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/history_gallery.html |archive-date=March 10, 2011 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |access-date=September 7, 2010}}</ref> The prison was established during that year,<ref name="Facts200614">{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |title=2006 Fact Brochure |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806120702/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |access-date=March 8, 2011 |page=14}}</ref> and prisoners began occupying the site in December.<ref name="Facts200623">{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |title=2006 Fact Brochure |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806120702/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |access-date=March 8, 2011 |page=23}}</ref> The prison occupied the former Cummins and Maple Grove plantations.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24c7AAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Cummins%22+Farm+%22Maple+Grove%22&pg=PA663 |title=''Jobe et al. v. Urquhart'' |journal=The Southwestern Reporter |publisher=[[West Publishing Company]] |date=1911 |volume=136 |page=663 |via=[[Google Books]] |access-date=September 23, 2011}}</ref> Both had been used for growing [[cotton]].<ref name=AvivCOVID>{{cite magazine |last=Aviv |first=Rachel |date=June 15, 2020 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/22/punishment-by-pandemic |title=Punishment by Pandemic |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |accessdate=July 5, 2021}}</ref>

Then-[[Governor of Arkansas]] [[Jeff Davis (Arkansas governor)|Jeff Davis]] wanted the state to buy a farm in [[Jefferson County, Arkansas|Jefferson County]] owned by Louis Altheimer, a Republican Party leader who was Davis's friend. When the legislature instead purchased the land for Cummins, Davis put up political opposition, trying to force the state to cancel the purchase.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Donovan |first1=Timothy Paul |last2=Gatewood |first2=Willard B. |date=1995 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=--4x2g_9YFsC&dq=cummins+farm&pg=PA125 |title=The Governors of Arkansas: Essays in Political Biography |publisher=[[University of Arkansas Press]] |page=125 |via=Google Books |access-date=March 5, 2011 |isbn=978-1-55728-331-3}}</ref>

In 1933 Governor [[Junius Marion Futrell]] closed the [[Arkansas State Penitentiary]] ("The Walls"), and some prisoners moved to Cummins from the former penitentiary.<ref name="ADCHist"/> Since the establishment of the prison, it had housed African-American men and women. Beginning in 1936, white male prisoners with disciplinary problems were housed at Cummins. As of 1958, most prisoners worked in farming, producing cotton, livestock, and vegetables. The prison, during that year, housed clothing and lumber manufacturing facilities.<ref>{{cite book |author=Federal Writers' Project |author-link=Federal Writers' Project |date=1958 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CTWMqJNNy5AC&dq=Varner+Arkansas+School&pg=PA277 |title=Arkansas: A Guide to the State |publisher=US History Publishers |page=277 |via=Google Books |access-date=March 5, 2011 |isbn=978-1-60354-004-9}}</ref> In 1951 white female prisoners were moved from the Arkansas State Farm for Women to Cummins.<ref name="ADCHist"/>

On September 5, 1966, riots occurred at Cummins and 144 prisoners attempted a strike. [[Arkansas State Police]] ended the strike with [[tear gas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |title=2006 Fact Brochure |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806120702/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |page=24 |access-date=March 8, 2011}}</ref> In 1970 some prisoners asking for segregated housing started a riot, leading to an intervention by state police.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |title=2006 Fact Brochure |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806120702/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |page=25 |access-date=March 8, 2011}}</ref>

In 1969 [[Johnny Cash]] performed at a concert in Cummins Unit. He donated his own money so a chapel could be built there.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0130rf9 |title=Johnny Cash and the Forgotten Prison Blues |work=The Documentary |publisher=BBC |date=January 12, 2013}}</ref>

In 1972 Arkansas's first prison [[rodeo]] was held at the Cummins Unit.<ref name="ADCHist"/> In 1974 death row inmates, previously at the [[Tucker Unit]], were moved to the Cummins Unit.<ref name="Facts2006Brochure26">{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |title=2006 Facts Brochure |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806120702/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |page=25 |access-date=August 15, 2010}}</ref> In 1976 female inmates were moved from the Cummins Unit to the [[Pine Bluff Unit]]. In 1978 a new execution chamber opened at Cummins Unit.<ref name="ADCHist"/> In 1983 the Cummins Modular Unit opened.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |title=2006 Fact Brochure |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806120702/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |page=26 |access-date=March 8, 2011}}</ref> In 1986 death row inmates were moved to the [[Maximum Security Unit]]<!--This is NOT the same as the current Varner supermax!!!-->.<ref name="Facts2006Brochure26"/> In 1991 the vocational technology program moved from the Cummins Unit to the [[Varner Unit]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |title=2006 Fact Brochure |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806120702/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |page=27 |access-date=March 8, 2011}}</ref> In 2000 Arkansas's first [[Electric fence#Lethal fence|lethal electrified fence]], built with inmate labor, opened at the Cummins Unit.<ref name="ADCHist"/>

A tornado affected the Cummins Unit facility in May 2011. It damaged the dairy facility, the chicken and swine houses, and the employee housing in the Free Line area. The tornado destroyed the prison's three green houses. It also turned over a [[center pivot irrigation]] system.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://adc.arkansas.gov/resources/Documents/December_2012_Advocate_Newsletter.pdf |title=2012 Billy Max Moore Award Winner: David L. Allen |work=The Advocate |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |date=December 2012 |page=9 |access-date=April 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115023056/http://adc.arkansas.gov/resources/Documents/December_2012_Advocate_Newsletter.pdf |archive-date=January 15, 2016 |quote=In May 2011, a tornado hit the Cummins Farm, devastating the employees' free line housing, dairy facility, swine and chicken houses; turning over a center pivot irrigation system; and completely destroying three green houses.}}</ref>

In 2020 the prison was affected in the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Arkansas]]. According to correctional staff, the administration initially did not wish for correctional staff to wear masks to avoid frightening prisoners. As of April 25, 2020, 33 correctional employees and 800 prisoners had COVID-19. {{Asof|2020|06|15}} 11 Cummins prisoners had died from COVID-19.<ref name=AvivCOVID/>

===Torture===
In 1968, [[Tom Murton]] alleged that three human skeletons found on the farm were the remains of inmates who had been subjected to torture, prompting a publicized investigation which found "a prison hospital served as torture chamber and a doctor as chief tormentor."<ref>{{cite news |last1=von Zielbauer |first1=Paul |author1-link=Paul von Zielbauer |last2=Plambeck |first2=Joseph |date=February 27, 2005 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/27/nyregion/as-health-care-in-jails-goes-private-10-days-can-be-a-death.html?sec=health&pagewanted=4 |title=As Health Care in Jails Goes Private, 10 Days Can Be a Death Sentence |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=July 11, 2010}}</ref>

The revelations included allegations of electrical devices connected to the genitalia of inmates.  The [[Arkansas Department of Corrections|Arkansas State Penitentiary System]] at that time had already been found to have held inmates at the Cummins Unit under conditions rising to the level of unconstitutionally [[cruel and unusual punishment]], in cases tried by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, among others.

{{blockquote|Certain characteristics of the Arkansas prison system serve to distinguish it from most other penal institutions in this country. First, it has very few paid employees; armed [[Trusty system (prison)|trusties]] ["trusted" inmates, according to the source] guard rank and file inmates and trusties perform other tasks usually and more properly performed by civilian or "free world" personnel. Second, convicts not in isolation are confined when not working, and are required to sleep at night in open dormitory type barracks in which rows of beds are arranged side by side; there are large numbers of men in each barracks. Third, there is no meaningful program of rehabilitation whatever at Cummins; while there is a promising and helpful program at [[Tucker Unit|Tucker]], it is still minimal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://maxpages.com/arklaw/Holt_v_Sarver_II_Part_1 |title=''Holt v. Sarver'' II - 1970 |publisher=[[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas]] |via=Max Pages |year=1970 |access-date=July 11, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316113102/http://maxpages.com/arklaw/Holt_v_Sarver_II_Part_1 |archive-date=March 16, 2008}}</ref>}}

==Composition==
It is located partially in Auburn Township,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st05_ar/cousub/cs0507990075_auburn/DC20BLK_CS0507990075.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Auburn township, AR|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2022-08-01}}</ref> and partially in Choctaw Township.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st05_ar/cousub/cs0507990786_choctaw/DC20BLK_CS0507990786.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Choctaw township, AR|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2022-08-01}}</ref>

Cummins has about {{convert|16500|acre|ha}} of land.<ref name="Facts200614"/>

Prisoners working the fields are part of the Hoe Squad, and prisoners who refuse work are taken to [[solitary confinement]].<ref name=AvivCOVID/>

A white building is and has been referred to the past as the prison's "barracks". The "[[Utility pole|telephone-pole]]" style structure serves as a housing unit for prisoners. The building had eight units. In the past, one was reserved for white trustees, one for black trustees, and others for other prisoners. The housing units were [[racial segregation|racially segregated]].<ref name="Feeley54">{{cite book |last1=Feeley |first1=Malcolm M. |last2=Rubin |first2=Edward L. |date=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0S9IQTXjrpQC&pg=PA54 |title=Judicial Policy Making and the Modern State: How the Courts Reformed America's Prisons |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=54 |via=Google Books |access-date=March 5, 2011 |isbn=978-0-521-77734-6}}</ref> There was a separate unit for female prisoners.<ref>{{cite web|last=Woodward|first=Colin Edward|url=https://arktimes.com:443/news/cover-stories/2018/03/22/the-arkansas-prison-scandal|title=The Arkansas prison scandal|newspaper=[[Arkansas Times]]|date=2018-03-22|accessdate=2023-02-19}}</ref>

The prison includes the "Free Line", the prison residences for free world employees, including the warden, several prison officials, and their families; prisoners work as [[house servant]]s in the Free Line.<ref name="Feeley53"/> 
Children (dependents of correctional staff) living on the prison property are zoned to the [[Dumas School District]].<ref name="Busroutes">{{cite web |url=http://dpsd.k12.ar.us/Information/DocketSCAN-1.pdf |title=Maintenance & Transportation Department |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815054056/http://dpsd.k12.ar.us/Information/DocketSCAN-1.pdf |archive-date=August 15, 2011 |publisher=[[Dumas School District]] |access-date=March 6, 2011}}</ref><!--"Prison" is a destination on the list!--><ref>{{cite web |url=http://arkansased.org/about/pdf/RevisedSDJuly1_2010.pdf |title=Arkansas School Districts and Education Cooperatives Effective July 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116233050/http://arkansased.org/about/pdf/RevisedSDJuly1_2010.pdf |archive-date=November 16, 2010 |publisher=[[Arkansas Department of Education]] |url-status=usurped |access-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref><!--The location of Cummins corresponds to a hump in the river in the Dumas district--> The prison property was formerly within the [[Gould School District]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://digitalheritage.arkansas.gov/school-district-maps/39/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203100240/https://digitalheritage.arkansas.gov/school-district-maps/39/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |title=Arkansas Department of Education school district maps, 1952-1954 Lincoln County, 1952-1954 |journal=Arkansas Digital Archives |date=December 31, 1954 |publisher=[[Arkansas State Archives]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite map|url=https://digitalheritage.arkansas.gov/context/school-district-maps/article/1038/type/native/viewcontent |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210228224731/https://digitalheritage.arkansas.gov/context/school-district-maps/article/1038/type/native/viewcontent |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 28, 2021 |title=General Highway and Transportation Map: Lincoln County: Arkansas |publisher=[[Arkansas State Highway Commission]] |at=Cummins State Convict Farm |access-date=November 12, 2021}}</ref> On July 1, 2004, the [[Gould School District]] was merged into the Dumas district.<ref name="School districts">{{cite web |url=http://arkansased.org/about/excel/consolidaton_annexation_070110.xls |title=Consolidation/Annexations of LEA's (1983-2010) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116233653/http://arkansased.org/about/excel/consolidaton_annexation_070110.xls |archive-date=November 16, 2010 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Education |url-status=usurped |access-date=March 6, 2011}}</ref>

In the past the main entrance to the prison was at the terminus of a road off of the main highway. The main gate consisted of a wooden structure behind a chicken wire fence, which had [[barbed wire]] on top. A [[trusty shooter]] manned the main entrance.<ref name="Feeley53"/> In past eras, the prison housed a commissary and did not house educational facilities, prison factories, or medical and dental clinics.<ref name="Feeley54"/>

The Cummins Unit has an [[electric fence]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/newsletters/feb_advocate.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015235147/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/newsletters/feb_advocate.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 15, 2022 |title=Third Electric Fence Installed With Inmate Labor |work=ADC Advocate |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |date=February 2005 |page=3 |access-date=March 6, 2011}} </ref>

The Cummins/Varner Volunteer Fire Department provides fire services to the Cummins Unit property.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.fox16.com/content/news/firestations.aspx |title=Fire Department Ratings |at=Lincoln County |publisher=[[KLRT-TV|Fox 16]] |location=Little Rock |access-date=March 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623205811/http://www.fox16.com/content/news/firestations.aspx |archive-date=June 23, 2007}}</ref> The station is inside the Cummins Unit property,<ref name="FY2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/reports/Annual_Report_FY2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015235250/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/reports/Annual_Report_FY2010.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 15, 2022 |title=Annual Report Financial Year 2010 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |pages=3, 6 |access-date=March 8, 2011}} </ref> along [[Arkansas Highway 388]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=154:3:4201127096041160::NO:3:P3_FID,P3_TITLE:2116333%2CCummings%20Volunteer%20Fire%20Station |title=Cummings{{sic|nolink=yes}} Volunteer Fire Station |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |access-date=May 5, 2011 |quote=State Highway 388, Grady, Ar 71644}} {{Dead link|date=November 2021}}</ref> In fiscal year 2010 the Arkansas Department of Correction spent $81,691 on the fire station.<ref name="FY2010"/>

==Operations==
As of 2006, the Cummins Unit has the largest farming operation in the Arkansas Department of Correction system. At Cummins, over {{convert|16000|acre|ha}} of land is devoted to production of crops and farm goods, including [[cash crop]]s, hay, livestock, and vegetables.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |title=2006 Fact Brochure |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806120702/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |page=8 |access-date=March 8, 2011}}</ref> As of 2001 prisoners harvested corn, cotton, and rice from the fields and were supervised by [[prison guards]] mounted on horses.<ref name=Nelsonrecall/>

Cummins previously housed the Special Management Barracks, a unit for prisoners with counseling and mental health requirements.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |title=2006 Fact Brochure |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806120702/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/facts_brochure2006.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |page=36 |access-date=March 8, 2011}}</ref> In 2008 it moved to the [[Randall L. Williams Correctional Facility]].<ref name="NewWilliams">{{cite web |url=http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/reports/2008_annual_report.pdf |title=ADC Acquires Jefferson County Jail |work=Financial Year 2008 Annual Report |publisher=Arkansas Department of Correction |access-date=March 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429222046/http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/pdf/reports/2008_annual_report.pdf |archive-date=April 29, 2009}}</ref>

Prisoners at Cummins attend the correctional school system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://arkansased.org/about/pdf/directory/11-12_school_dist.pdf |title=School/District |publisher=Arkansas Department of Education |access-date=September 23, 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011122807/http://arkansased.org/about/pdf/directory/11-12_school_dist.pdf |archive-date=October 11, 2011}}</ref>

==Prisoner life==
In the past{{when|date=March 2017}}, each prisoner worked for 10 hours per day, six days per week in the fields. Prisoners were only excused if the outside temperature was below freezing.<ref name="Feeley53"/> Some prisoners who were sent to the fields lacked shoes.<ref name="Feeley5354">{{cite book |last1=Feeley |first1=Malcolm M. |last2=Rubin |first2=Edward L. |date=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0S9IQTXjrpQC&pg=PA53 |title=Judicial Policy Making and the Modern State: How the Courts Reformed America's Prisons |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=53–54 |via=Google Books |access-date=March 5, 2011 |isbn=978-0-521-77734-6}}</ref> Prisoners did not have fixed quotas. Instead they were told to do as much work as possible. Prisoners deemed to be not doing enough work were beaten.<ref name="Feeley54"/>

Trustee prisoners had authority over other prisoners. At night, all except for two of the free world prison guards left, so trustees kept the order during the night. Prisoners who were not trustees were sub-ranked as "do-pops" and "rankers".<ref name="Feeley54"/> In past eras, trustee prisoners were responsible for the prison's perimeter security.<ref name="Feeley53"/>

During the day, the prison barracks were empty since most prisoners worked on the fields. At night, the two free world employees patrolled the central corridor but did not venture into the barrack units. The trustees, armed with knives, kept the order at night. Some inmates, referred to as "crawlers" and "creepers", stabbed sleeping prisoners. [[Gay rape|Male on male rape]] frequently occurred in the housing units. The prison did not ask trustees to intervene in case of rape, and guards rarely intervened.<ref name="Feeley54"/>

Prisoners did not receive payment for working in the fields. In order to buy items from the commissary, some prisoners worked there.<ref name="Feeley54"/> Other prisoners sold their blood; a healthy prisoner was permitted to sell his blood once weekly.<ref name="Feeley55">{{cite book |last1=Feeley |first1=Malcolm M. |last2=Rubin |first2=Edward L. |date=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0S9IQTXjrpQC&pg=PA55 |title=Judicial Policy Making and the Modern State: How the Courts Reformed America's Prisons |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=55 |via=Google Books |access-date=March 5, 2011 |isbn=978-0-521-77734-6}}</ref>

Trustees were allowed to leave and re-enter the prison without undergoing searches, so trustees smuggled in alcohol, illegal drugs, and weapons; they then sold those items within the prison. Trustees usually bought these items from one another, since they had large amounts of money. Non-trustees, including "do-pops" and "rankers", had to pay trustees in order to get food, medicine, access to medical staff, access to outsiders, and protection from arbitrary prison punishments. Therefore non-trustees did not have large reserves of money.<ref name="Feeley55"/>

Education in the Cummins Unit began in 1968, when the [[Gould School District]] started a night program.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://doc.arkansas.gov/correctional-school-district/about-us/history/ |title=History and Description of the Arkansas Correctional School |publisher=[[Arkansas Correctional School]] |date=April 4, 2006 |access-date=November 12, 2021}}</ref>

==Wardens==
*[[Thomas G. Milner]] (1941-1949)<ref name="The Camden News">{{cite news |title=Former Warden Knows of No Former Brutality |work=The Camden News |location=Camden, Arkansas |date=February 23, 1968}}</ref>
*[[T. Don Hutto|Terrell Don Hutto]] (beginning 1967)<ref name="lithub_Bauer_SlaveryToPrison">{{cite web |first=Shane |last=Bauer |date=2018 |url=https://lithub.com/the-straight-line-from-slavery-to-private-prisons/ |title=The Straight Line From Slavery to Private Prisons: How Texas Turned Plantations into Prisons |publisher=[[Literary Hub]] |access-date=October 14, 2018}}</ref><ref name=Bauer_AmericanPrison_2018>{{cite book |title=American Prison: a Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment|page=368 |first=Shane |last=Bauer |publisher=[[Penguin Publishing Group]] |date=September 18, 2018 |isbn=978-0735223585}}</ref><ref name="motherjones_Jackson_2018">{{cite web |others=Photography by [[Bruce Jackson (scholar)|Bruce Jackson]] |url=https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2018/09/cummins-prison-farm-photo-essay/ |title=Shockingly Candid Photos of Life on a 1970s Arkansas Prison Farm: 'Just about everyone carrying a gun was a convict' |work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |date=August 9, 2017 |access-date=October 15, 2018}}</ref><ref name="nyt_Estrin_2018">{{cite web |first=James |last=Estrin |author-link=James Estrin |date=May 27, 2009 |url=https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/showcase-a-wide-view-of-a-hellish-world/ |title=Showcase: A Wide View of a Hellish World |work=The New York Times |access-date=October 15, 2018}}</ref>

==Notable inmates==
===Death Row===
*[[John Edward Swindler]], sentenced to death and executed on June 18, 1990, for the murder of Patrolman Randy Basnett.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/19/us/arkansas-electrocutes-killer-of-police-officer.html|title = Arkansas Electrocutes Killer of Police Officer|newspaper = The New York Times|date = June 19, 1990}}</ref>
*[[Ricky Ray Rector]], sentenced to death and executed on January 24, 1992, for the murder of Police Officer Robert Martin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theintercept.com/2017/11/12/arkansas-death-row-executions-kenneth-williams/|title = Arkansas Justice: Racism, Torture, and a Botched Execution|date = November 12, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/hillary-clintons-forgotten-death-penalty-shift-117441_Page2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501162422/http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/hillary-clintons-forgotten-death-penalty-shift-117441_Page2.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 1, 2015|title = Hillary Clinton's forgotten death penalty shift|website = [[Politico]]| date=April 29, 2015 }}</ref>
*[[Darryl Richley]], sentenced to death and executed on August 3, 1994, for the murder of Donald Lehman.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/05/us/arkansas-carries-out-nation-s-first-triple-execution-in-32-years.html|title = Arkansas Carries Out Nation's First Triple Execution in 32 Years|newspaper = The New York Times|date = August 5, 1994}}</ref><ref name="tampabay.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1994/08/03/arkansas-schedules-triple-execution/|title = Arkansas schedules triple execution}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-04-mn-23428-story.html|title = Three Killers Executed in Arkansas : Punishment: The three had slain a businessman in 1981. Multiple execution is decried by some as 'slaughter' as others note its efficiency|website = [[Los Angeles Times]]|date = August 4, 1994}}</ref>
*[[Hoyt Franklin Clines]], sentenced to death and executed on August 3, 1994, for the murder of Donald Lehman.<ref name="tampabay.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/arkansas-schedules-triple-execution-tonight/article_873ab5f1-43a0-5ed5-a0ed-f771a6c7845f.html|title = Arkansas Schedules Triple Execution Tonight| date=August 3, 1994 }}</ref>
*[[James William Holmes]], sentenced to death and executed on August 3, 1994, for the murder of Donald Lehman.<ref name="nytimes.com" />
*[[Barry Lee Fairchild]], sentenced to death and executed on August 31, 1995, for the murder of Marjorie "Greta" Mason.<ref>{{cite news|last=Duke |first=Lynne |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/01/09/in-arkansas-a-death-row-struggle-and-doubt/772108c9-1db5-4f2e-8ffe-0c512c842a1b/ |title=In Arkansas, A Death Row Struggle And Doubt |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1994-01-09 |accessdate=2022-06-10}}</ref><ref>[http://www.orlandosentinel.com/os-xpm-1993-09-20-9309200135-story.html ]{{dead link|date=June 2022}}</ref>
*[[Paul Ruiz and Earl Van Denton]], sentenced to death and executed on January 8, 1997, for the murders of Marvin Richie and Opal Lee James.<ref>{{cite news |title=Arkansas Executes 2 Killers Who Fled Oklahoma Prison |date=January 9, 1997 |work=The Oklahoman |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1997/01/09/arkansas-executes-2-killers-who-fled-oklahoma-prison/62327561007/ }}</ref>
*[[Marion Albert Pruett]], sentenced to death and executed on April 12, 1999, for the murder of Bobbie Jean Robertson.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/witness-federal-protection-turn-mad-dog-killer-article-1.2814083|title = Wicked witness got federal protection to turn into 'mad-dog killer'|website = [[New York Daily News]]| date=October 2016 }}</ref>
*[[Christina Marie Riggs]], sentenced to death and executed on May 2, 2000, for murders of her two children.
*[[Clay King Smith]], sentenced to death and executed on May 8, 2001, for the murders of five people.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 9, 2001 |title=Arkansas executes killer of five |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/2001/05/09/Arkansas-executes-killer-of-five/1620989380800/ |access-date=September 8, 2024 |publisher=[[United Press International]] |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Charles Laverne Singleton]], sentenced to death and executed on January 6, 2004, for the murder of Mary Lou York.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kevin Drew CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/01/06/singleton.death.row/ |title=Executed mentally ill inmate heard voices until end - Jan. 6, 2004 |publisher=CNN.com |date= |accessdate=2022-06-10}}</ref>
*[[Eric Nance]], sentenced to death and executed on November 28, 2005, for the murder of Julie Heath.
*[[Ledell Lee]], sentenced to death and executed on April 20, 2017, for the murder of Debra Reese. He was the first person executed in Arkansas in 12 years.
*[[Jack Harold Jones]], serial killer, and [[Marcel Wayne Williams]], sentenced to death and executed on April 24, 2017. It was the first double execution in the United States since 2000.
*[[Kenneth Williams (serial killer)|Kenneth Williams]], serial killer, sentenced to death and executed on April 27, 2017.

===Non Death Row===
*Kenneth Nicely, sentenced to life for the 1958 murder of a police officer and Arkansas longest-serving prisoner.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jan-06-mn-20643-story.html|title = Arkansas Prison Still Shackled to Dark Past|website = [[Los Angeles Times]]|date = January 6, 2002}}</ref>

==Bruce Jackson's prison photography==
{{main|Bruce Jackson (scholar)}}
In the 1960s, ethnographer [[Bruce Jackson (scholar)|Bruce Jackson]] began taking photographs of prisoners in Texas for his research on [[African-American work song]]s in prison. Jackson had become friends with the assistant warden of Ramsey prison farm at the time, T. Don Hutto. When Hutto became Arkansas commissioner of corrections in 1971,  their friendship provided Jackson with access to prisoners resulting in numerous publications. In 2010, Jackson's photo collection from the Cummins Unit was exhibited at the [[Albright-Knox Art Gallery]] in Buffalo, New York and at the [[Center for Documentary Studies]] at [[Duke University]] in Durham, North Carolina.<ref name="nyt_Estrin_2018"/><ref name="WSJ_2010">{{cite news |first=Steven |last=Kurutz |date=September 4, 2010 |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/09/04/bruce-jackson-on-how-he-became-the-dean-of-prison-folklore/ |title=Speakeasy: Bruce Jackson on how he became the dean of prison folklore |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Arkansas}}
* [[Trusty system (prison)|Trusty system]]
* ''[[Gates v. Collier]]'', 1974 court decision abolishing the trusty system 
* [[List of law enforcement agencies in Arkansas]]
* [[List of United States state correction agencies]]
* [[List of U.S. state prisons]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
;General
* [https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,942467,00.html "The Law: The Shame of the Prisons"]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. January 18, 1971.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041223180028/http://www.nationarchive.com/Summaries/v214i0002_09.htm "New Chapter in Horror"]. ''[[The Nation]]''. January 10, 1972.
* [http://www.nationarchive.com/Summaries/v210i0001_07.htm "One Year of Prison Reform"]. {{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} ''The Nation''. 
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20210119044350/https://doc.arkansas.gov/correction/about-us/prison-history-and-events/prison-history-and-events-2011-1838/  "Prison History and Events 2011-1838"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311143246/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844402,00.html "Prisons: Hell in Arkansas"]. ''Time''. February 9, 1968.
* ''[[Factor 8: The Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal]]'', 2005 film
* [[Bruce Jackson (scholar)|Bruce Jackson]], ''Killing Time: Life in the Arkansas Penitentiary''. Cornell University Press, 1977. {{ISBN|978-0801411014}}

;Specific
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal|url=https://digitalheritage.arkansas.gov/finding-aids/3308/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130223356/https://digitalheritage.arkansas.gov/finding-aids/3308/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 30, 2021|title=Arkansas Department of Correction, Cummins Unit collection, 1900-1998|journal=Finding Aids |date=December 31, 1998 |publisher=[[Arkansas State Archives]]}} - [https://web.archive.org/web/20220129134400/https://digitalheritage.arkansas.gov/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4307&context=finding-aids PDF]
* {{cite web|url=https://ualrexhibits.org/tucker/files/2016/09/Cummins_Unit_Lesson_Plan_3.pdf|title=Cummins Prison Farm: Lesson Plan Cummins Prison Farm Lincoln County, Arkansas|publisher=[[University of Arkansas Little Rock]]}}

==External links==
{{external media
| float  = right
| width  =
| image1 = [https://web.archive.org/web/20160115023056/http://adc.arkansas.gov/about/Pages/prisonGallery2.aspx Arkansas historical photos] - Arkansas Department of Corrections}}
* [https://doc.arkansas.gov/facilities/cummins-unit/ Cummins Unit]. Arkansas Department of Corrections.
* [https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/cummins-unit-7607/ "Cummins Unit"]. ''[[Encyclopedia of Arkansas]]''.

{{State prisons in Arkansas}}
{{Execution sites in the United States}}
{{Lincoln County, Arkansas}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1902 establishments in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Prisons in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Lincoln County, Arkansas]]
[[Category:Capital punishment in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Women's prisons in Arkansas]]<!--Previously-->
[[Category:Execution sites in the United States]]<!--Designated execution site-->