United States Penitentiary, Coleman

The United States Penitentiary, Coleman I and II (USP Coleman I and II) are high-security United States federal prisons for male inmates in Florida. It is part of the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Coleman) and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. USP Coleman I was opened in 2001, and in 2004 Clark Construction completed a 555000 sqft additional component for USP Coleman II.

FCC Coleman is located in Central Florida, approximately 50. mi northwest of Orlando, 60. mi northeast of Tampa, and 35 mi south of Ocala.

United States Penitentiary, Coleman 1
USP Coleman 1 is a high security federal lockup that houses several notorious and infamous criminals. Inmates at this facility consist of dozens of international terrorists, high profile drug and arms dealers and other serial and repeat offenders. Inmates housed here report extreme violence at this facility. According to one respondent, “General population is very violent, even against staff members.” Another explained, “The violence is terrible. People are regularly killed.” Another inmate agreed, stating, “Violence is very high, and safety is very poor.” Former inmates also report frequent lockdowns at this facility, due to the level of violence.

United States Penitentiary, Coleman 2
Former prisoner Nate A. Lindell wrote that USP Coleman II is "a so-called special-needs prison—a 'safe' facility where informants, former cops, ex-gang members, check-ins (prisoners who intentionally put themselves in solitary confinement to be safe), homosexuals, and sex offenders can all, supposedly, walk the Yard freely. At regular BOP lockups, these types of men are in danger of being beaten, stabbed, or killed." The Marshall Project stated that "Coleman II did not respond to multiple requests for confirmation". However, in July 2023, convicted sex offender Larry Nassar, serving a life sentence at the facility, was stabbed 10 times, leading to his transfer to another federal prison soon after.

Officer Erin J. Sharma
On February 3, 2005, while working at USP Coleman I, Erin Sharma had an altercation with inmate Richard Allen Delano where Delano grabbed Sharma's arm through a food tray slot in the door and bruised it. Sharma said to Delano, "You're a dead man."

On March 1, 2005, Delano, known to be a "snitch", was transferred into a cell with John Javilo "Animal" McCullah, a convicted murderer who had assaulted all of his previous cellmates. Prior to the transfer, witnesses overheard Sharma encouraging McCullah to attack Delano, but to do so on a day when she was not at work.

On March 4, while Sharma was on a three-day vacation, Delano was beaten into a coma. He died 13 days later. Sharma was charged with two felony counts of violating Delano's civil rights under color of law for conspiring to have him killed and with violating his Constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.

On July 29, 2009, a federal jury in Orlando found Sharma guilty of two felony federal civil rights charges related to the fatal assault of federal inmate Richard Delano in March 2005. She was subsequently sentenced to Life in prison.

Erin Sharma is the only Federal Correctional Officer that has been sentenced to life in prison for an act committed while at work.

Erin Sharma is married to Rajesh "Roger" Sharma, who works for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Officer Michael Rudkin
In late 2008, Michael Rudkin was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having sex with a female inmate and plotting with her to kill his wife while he was a correctional officer at the Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury, a federal prison for women in Connecticut. Rudkin was sent to FCC Coleman to serve his sentence. While at Coleman, Rudkin solicited the help of fellow inmates in June 2009 to find a hitman to kill his (now ex) wife, her new boyfriend, his former inmate paramour and a federal investigator. He provided a handwritten note giving physical descriptions and locations of the intended victims to fellow inmates. The inmates alerted authorities, who instructed the inmates to provide Rudkin with a false name and address of a "hitman." Rudkin subsequently mailed money from his inmate account to the alleged "hitman" as an advance. Rudkin was subsequently convicted of orchestrating the plot and sentenced to 90 years in prison, which he served at the United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, the federal facility in Indiana. On 24 August 2021, he was beaten to death by another inmate.

Notable inmates (current and former)
†The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 eliminated parole for most federal inmates. However, inmates sentenced for offenses committed prior to 1987 are eligible for parole consideration.