Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) is a male-only state prison in Delano, California. Kern Valley is a Level IV Maximum Security institution, opened in June 2005 with a design capacity of 2,448 inmates. The facility is adjacent to North Kern State Prison and has an annual operating budget of .
As of March 11, 2026, Kern Valley was incarcerating people at 134.5% of its design capacity, with 3,293 occupants.
Notable inmates
Inmate NameRegister NumberStatusDetails Juan Manuel Alvarez G33008 Serving 11 life sentences without the possibility of parole. Transferred to Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility. Perpetrator of the 2005 Glendale train crash in which he intentionally left his car on the railroad track, and a passenger train proceeded to collide with it, causing a derailment which killed 11 people. Antron Singleton V24953 Serving a life sentence. American rapper who went by the name "Big Lurch" who was convicted of murdering and committing cannibalism on his roommate.
See also List of California state prisons
References
External links Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) official website California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Official website Website for families of prisoners at KVSP