FMC Lexington

If Lexington is the name on paperwork you are looking at right now, there is one fact that matters more than anything else on this page: the women’s minimum-security camp at FMC Lexington is on the Bureau of Prisons’ July 1, 2026 closure list. If you or someone you love has a report date there, or is already there, confirm the current status directly with BOP or your case manager before you plan around anything else on this page.

Is the camp at FMC Lexington closing?

Yes, per BOP’s own July 2026 closure announcement. The Federal Medical Center at Lexington is primarily a medical and mental-health referral center for men; the adjacent minimum-security Federal Prison Camp for women is the facility this closure affects. The camp was reported to hold roughly 232 women at the time of the announcement. What a closure means for a specific woman, transfer to another facility, an accelerated release timeline, or something else, is not something we can state without confirmation from BOP, so treat this as the open question to ask first, not something to assume an answer to.

What is the camp at FMC Lexington?

FMC Lexington is an administrative-security federal medical complex, known primarily as a referral center for male inmates with medical or mental-health needs. Adjacent to it sits the minimum-security women’s camp affected by the closure above. As a minimum-security camp, it has dormitory-style housing, historically in Atwood Hall, with no cells or perimeter fence. Daily assignments have typically included food service, unit orderly work, and grounds and maintenance details, alongside GED classes and vocational tracks such as carpentry and culinary arts. Because the camp sits next to a medical center, on-site medical care has been a defining feature, though this is exactly the kind of operational detail a closure can change quickly.

History worth knowing

FMC Lexington opened in 1935 as the United States Narcotic Farm, the federal government’s early institution for treating drug-addicted prisoners and voluntary patients together, and it became an early hub of federal addiction research. It also holds a distinct and separate chapter in women’s incarceration history: from 1986 to 1988, the complex operated the Lexington High Security Unit, an underground women’s control unit that held political prisoners including Susan Rosenberg and Silvia Baraldini. Amnesty International condemned the unit, and a federal court ordered it closed in Baraldini v. Meese. That control unit is a separate piece of history from the present-day minimum-security camp and should not be conflated with it.

The facility has also had documented staff-misconduct problems in recent years. In 2024, former correctional officer Jacob Salcido pleaded guilty in federal court to sexual abuse of a ward involving three female inmates in late 2020, a case the Department of Justice noted was at least the fourth in as many years involving alleged staff sexual assault of women held at FMC Lexington. If you or someone you love is there before the closure resolves, read our PREA and safety guide and know how to report.

What should you do given the closure?

Confirm the current designation first, before anything else. If you are preparing to self-surrender and Lexington is on your paperwork, call your case manager or use the BOP inmate locator to confirm the camp is still your actual destination. If someone you love is already there, ask directly what the closure means for her timeline and any transfer. Once you have that answer, the same groundwork applies as anywhere in the system: set up commissary money, submit a visitor list early, and settle phone and email contacts. Our guides, part of the Getting Ready hub, cover this in How BOP Designation Works for Women, Self-Surrender Day for Women, and Commissary and Money. See our facility directory for the current status of other women’s facilities if a transfer is in play.

In their own words

• From FMC Lexington, The Nuclear Resister. First-person essay by peace activist Kathy Kelly, written from inside the women’s camp, describing Atwood Hall’s deteriorating conditions, her fellow inmates and their sentences, and the daily routine.
• My Future in Prison, Common Dreams. Kathy Kelly’s first-person account written as she prepared to report to the camp, reflecting on her conviction and what she expected of the term ahead.

A note for the family supporting her

If someone you love has Lexington on her paperwork, do not treat anything on this page, or anywhere else online, as settled until you have confirmed her actual status directly with BOP or her case manager. A closure in progress is unsettled by definition, and confirming the current, correct facility and timeline is the single most useful thing you can do right now. Once that is confirmed, get on the approved visitor list early and be her steady connection to the outside through money on her books and reliable contact. For the neutral factual record on Lexington, including its history and current closure status, see Prisonpedia’s FMC Lexington page.

Preparing for FMC Lexington

The facility is only half of it. These are the guides that cover the parts nobody warns you about, from the day you report to the money on her books.

• Self-Surrender Day for Women, Step by Step (and What to Bring) Self-surrender to federal prison, walked through calmly for women: what the day looks like hour by hour, what to bring, what to leave home, and how to steady yourself and your family.
• What to Bring (and What Not to Bring) A verified packing guide for self-surrender: the very short list you actually carry in, why almost everything stays home, how commissary seeding works, and how to confirm the rules with your facility's handbook.
• Visitation Rules and Planning How to get on the visitor list, pre-approval timelines, what ID to bring, facility visit schedules, video visitation, and what to expect during a prison visit.
• Commissary and Money: How to Put Money on Her Books, and What It Really Costs How the federal prison commissary works, how to put money on her books, what phone and email cost, and how to correct the misinformation about all of it.
• Phone, CorrLinks, and Mail: Staying Connected How federal prison phones work, CorrLinks email basics, mail rules, tips for staying connected without triggering isolation, and honest numbers on what communication actually costs.
• How BOP Designation Works for Women (and How to Advocate for a Facility Near Home) You do not choose your prison, but you can advocate for one near home. How BOP designation and security scoring work for women, and how to make your case.
• Medical Intake and Continuing Your Healthcare What happens during health screening at intake, gynecological exams and witness rights, medication continuity, mental health assessment, and advocating for your healthcare inside.
• RDAP and First Step Act Credits for Women: Eligibility and the Real Math RDAP and First Step Act credits can take real months off a federal sentence. Here is who qualifies, what the PATTERN score is, and how the credits actually apply.

Frequently asked questions

Is the women's camp at FMC Lexington closing?

It is on BOP's July 1, 2026 closure list for the women's minimum-security camp. This is the single most important thing to know if Lexington is on your paperwork. Confirm your current status directly with BOP or your case manager, because a closure in progress can change your actual designation on short notice.

Does FMC Lexington house women?

As of BOP's most recent data, yes, in its minimum-security satellite camp, while the main institution holds men. But because the camp is on the announced closure list, do not assume this will remain true; confirm your own or your loved one's current designation directly.