Ironwood State Prison


Ironwood State Prison is a state prison located south of Interstate 10, in a detached section of Blythe, California, that lies west of the main portion of the city. It is located in eastern Riverside County, California, adjacent to Chuckawalla Valley State Prison.

Facilities and Programs

ISP consists of four Level III facilities and an outside Level I facility. Parts of the Level III facilities have been converted to Sensitive Needs Yard housing, and one of the Level III housing units has been converted to an Administrative Segregation Unit. Neil McDowell has been the warden or acting warden since 2014.
As of April 30, 2020, ISP was incarcerating people at 145.6% of its design capacity, with 3,203 occupants.
ISP lists the following programs as available to those incarcerated in the facility:
In 2015, ISP became the second launch site for The Last Mile, a non-profit that teaches programming in prisons.

Notable Events

In 2014, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition teamed up with the Ford Foundation and others to host a TEDx conference inside Ironwood with hundreds in attendance, including Richard Branson. ARC produced a short documentary about the event. A short documentary is accessible on YouTube.

Notable People Incarcerated at the Prison