Florida's largest and oldest correctional institution was established in 1913 to house infirm inmates who could not be leased to private businesses.

The population at the facility remained fairly constant during these early years; the number of inmates needed for the farm would dictate the initial capacity for the prison.

The Main Housing Unit ("The Rock") was erected in 1928, a major step in the process of increasing the prison population.

This proved vital in the expansion of the center, as from this stage forward the prison would remain a maximum security facility.

The prison has an eclectic range of facilities, from hearing impaired and elderly accommodation to designated confinement space.

Several officers and inmates reported a clique of racist guards, distinguishable by the cord key chains they would wear.

Problems turned out to be far more significant, however, after a review of public records and court files revealed over 100 black agency employees were involved in lawsuits alleging rampant racism and discrimination in the prison system.

Perhaps worst of these allegations, a black recreation manager once arrived at his desk to find across his bulletin board the letters "KKK".

The report also included the story of a 1993 incident, where inmates on death row were exposed to a man wearing a KKK-style white sheet walking by their cells.