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United States · CA · Crescent City
Pelican Bay State Prison
State prisonSupermax / MaximummaleUnder capacity (92%)LowHigh
Verified · Data dated
Fresh · 2mo ago
Sources last reviewed on · data-as-of
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit Pelican Bay State Prison
Step-by-step guidance using the United States system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
Gallery
From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).
Photo by Jelson25 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Photo by Unknown via Wikimedia Commons (Copyrighted free use)
Photo by California Department of Corrections via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
California adult institution operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. CDCR code: PBSP.
Capacity
2,380
Current population
2,200
Occupancy
92%
Year opened
1989
Operational
Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology
Facility profile
Population held
male
Opened
1989
Region
CA
Security level
Supermax / Maximum
Death-row facility
No
Conditions
Restrictive Housing Unit reformed after Ashker v. Brown (2015) settlement, which capped long-term SHU placement.
Visiting
Pre-approved visits Saturday and Sunday. SHU inmates non-contact only.
Mailing
Inmate Name & CDCR #, Pelican Bay State Prison, 5905 Lake Earl Dr, Crescent City, CA 95531.
Practical info
Significant logistical effort for visitors — facility is in California's far north, 8 hours from Sacramento.
Known issues
Ashker v. Brown class action ended decades of indefinite SHU placements based on alleged gang affiliation.
Notable inmates
- Donny Johnson1960 · painter
Donald Clayton "Donny" Johnson (born 1960) is an American painter and convicted murderer.
Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
8/100
Low concern8/100
- Overcrowding
- 0/30
- Oversight reports
- 0/30
- Structural flags
- 5/15
- Death signals
- 0/15
- Conditions text
- 3/10
What the score is responding to:
- · Substantial documented known-issues record
- · Severe-conditions keyword in sources
This facility scores 8. The national average across 7,437 scored United States facilities is 2 — 6 points above national average.
Related facilities
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
- Oakhill Correctional InstitutionOregonMinimumState prison210% occupancy
- Stonewall Jackson Youth Development CenterConcordJuvenileState prison236% occupancy
- Woodman State JailGatesvilleMaximumState prison720% occupancy
- Okaloosa Regional Juvenile Detention CenterCrestviewJuvenileState prison221% occupancy
- Residential Correctional Facility, DavenportDavenportState prison208% occupancy
- Diagnostic And Evaluation CenterLincolnMaximumState prison178% occupancy
Compared to other facilities in United States
7436 peersConditions risk scorethis: 5/100 · peers avg: 2/100 (+116%)
Higher risk than 75% of peer facilities in United States.
Occupancythis: 92% · peers avg: 93% (0%)
Capacity (beds)this: 2380 · peers avg: 547 (+335%)
Reports
- marshall-project24 Mar 2016
n solitary, the results of which became the “first systematic look” at the psychological effects long-term segregation. In 1993, he interviewed a group in solitary at California’s Pelican Bay State Prison. When he returned 20 years later, seven of those prisoners were still in the restricted housing. The interviews offer rare insight into what it’s like to spend decades in solitary. From Solitary
- marshall-project8 Sept 2015
f I would have read a review similar to mine.” Some reviews are earnest attempts to make sense of a complicated experience. “Well it's my old home,” begins one Google review of Pelican Bay State Prison, California’s notorious supermax prison. Jason Bowlin’s 2-star entry includes a long list of friends he left behind. “Lol much love to you all. much pain has been handed to Your families from the
- marshall-project26 Mar 2015
create walkie-talkies. Prisoners face numerous restrictions when communicating with one another or the outside world. But where there is a rule, there is often a workaround. At Pelican Bay State Prison in Northern California, inmates have yelled to one another through drainpipes under their cells; inmates in Texas talk through cans connected with twine; and in facilities throughout the country,
- marshall-project23 Dec 2014
litary Watch, including a seminal New Yorker article describing solitary as a form of torture, the ACLU taking up the issue in 2011 and a 2013 anti-solitary hunger strike in the Pelican Bay State Prison in California. Below, a closer look at every solitary reform measure implemented in the United States. The list does not include pending legislation, such as the three solitary reform bills that
Data completeness
100%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- CDCR facility â Pelican Bay State Prison
- CDCR Facility Locator
- California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation â Facility Locator — State of California
- Wikidata (Q1670936)
- Wikipedia
- Wikimedia Commons
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.
Cite this page
Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.
APA
World Prisons. (2026). Pelican Bay State Prison. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/supermax-pelican-bay
Chicago
"Pelican Bay State Prison." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/supermax-pelican-bay.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-supermax-pelican-bay,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {Pelican Bay State Prison},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/supermax-pelican-bay},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}