Howard McLeod Correctional Center

A minimum-security state prison for men in Atoka, Oklahoma — an agricultural facility on a large working farm.

Overview

Howard McLeod Correctional Center is a state prison for men operated by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. It is in Atoka County, in southeastern Oklahoma. The facility houses men in minimum custody.

Oklahoma DOC assigns custody level based on factors that include sentence length, time remaining, and conduct, and a person’s custody level can change during incarceration. The custody class and housing unit held at a given prison determine whether visits are contact or non-contact, so families confirm the arrangement that applies to the specific person before a first visit.

What Makes Howard McLeod Correctional Center Different

Howard McLeod Correctional Center is an agricultural facility. It sits on a large working farm, and incarcerated workers carry out crop and livestock production on the property — a mission that distinguishes it from Oklahoma’s higher-security prisons.

It is one of two Oklahoma DOC prisons in Atoka County, which can cause confusion. The other is Mack Alford Correctional Center, a medium-security men’s prison at Stringtown. The two are separate facilities at different locations with different security levels, mailing addresses, and phone numbers. Because a search or an older directory may not make the distinction clear, families confirm which facility holds the person — and that it is still their current location — on the Oklahoma DOC offender lookup before traveling or sending anything.

Visiting

The statewide Oklahoma DOC rules above — the approved visitor list, the dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at Howard McLeod Correctional Center. The facility’s own arrangements:

Getting There and Parking

Howard McLeod Correctional Center is at 19603 E Whippoorwill Lane in Atoka County, in southeastern Oklahoma. The facility is southeast of the town of Atoka and is reached by way of US Highway 69 and US Highway 75, which run through the area. The nearest large commercial airports are in the Oklahoma City area to the northwest and the Dallas–Fort Worth area to the south.

Parking is on site. Visitors confirm current entry procedures, the visitor-processing location, and what may be brought onto the grounds with the facility before arriving, because electronic devices and personal items are not permitted inside — visitors may generally bring only identification, a car key, and coins for vending machines.

Nearby Services

Atoka has limited lodging and dining, with additional options in the surrounding Atoka County communities and a wider range in the Oklahoma City area to the northwest and across the state line in the Texas communities to the south. Emergency medical care is available locally, with larger hospitals in the Oklahoma City and Dallas–Fort Worth areas. Visitors traveling a long distance generally find the most options for fuel, food, and overnight stays along the US Highway 69/75 corridor.

Mail

Oklahoma DOC routes incoming personal mail through an off-site digital vendor. As of September 1, 2024, letters and photos are mailed to the Securus Digital Mail Center in Dallas, where they are scanned and delivered to the inmate as a digital color image on a Securus tablet or kiosk — the original is not delivered. Inmates without device access get a free black-and-white printout. Address personal mail exactly as:

Inmate’s Full Name + ODOC Number Securus Digital Mail Center - Okla. Dept. of Corrections P.O. Box 223566 Dallas, TX 75222-3566

Illegible or incorrectly addressed mail may be returned or delayed.

Legal mail and special correspondence are not sent to the digital center — they go directly to the facility and are handled under the rules for privileged mail. Publications (magazines, newspapers, books) also go to the facility and must come directly from the publisher or an approved vendor. Packages cannot be sent to the digital mail center and must go to the facility.

Learn More

• Visiting in Oklahoma — the approved visitor list, scheduling through the Visitation Unit, dress code, and what you can bring.
• Mail in Oklahoma — how Oklahoma’s digital mail scanning works and where to send letters, legal mail, and publications.
• Phone & Video in Oklahoma — setting up calls, tablets, and video visits through Securus.
• Sending Money in Oklahoma — depositing to a trust account through JPay.
• Medical Care in Oklahoma — how health care works in Oklahoma DOC facilities.
• Transfers & Reception in Oklahoma — intake at LARC (men) and Mabel Bassett (women) and how people move between facilities.