Meriwether County Correctional Facility

"The Prison", located at West Central Prison, Georgia, is a location the majority of the main cast of characters settle themselves in, and most of the character and continuity's story-arc's were formed. It was also the longest lasting location the survivors remained in, for seven months, beginning with their arrival in Issue 13, right up to the climactic and tragic destruction by The Governor and his Woodbury Army in Issue 48.

The Prison will be the central location in Season 3 of The Walking Dead (TV Series).

Discovery and Clearing
Simply referred to by the survivors as, "The Prison", it was found by Dale and Andrea after the group left Hershel's farm. The Prison boasted three fences that surrounded the entire penitentiary, as well as having its back to a hill and only one main dirt road leading to the entrance. Starving and desperate, the group quickly surmised that it being in a relatively isolated area, and without any other potential safe places to go, it was the most viable option to stay safe, at least for the night. The decision was quickly made to search and secure the penitentiary.

After the initial clearings of the zombies inside, Rick Grimes and Tyreese found four inmates who were trapped inside the cafateria that had been living in the locked cafeteria since the outbreak; Axel, Thomas Richards, Andrew and Dexter. Even with this risk, Rick deems it worth it the entire group should settle in, and make it their new home. Tensions soon rise between the inmates and the survivors while Rick is primarily busy dealing with the proper settling of their new haven, the witnessing of the end result of a suicide pact between Chris and Julie, and his subsequent discovery that anyone who dies of any cause (short of damage to the brain) comes back as a zombie.

Serial Killings and Mutiny
It soon becomes apparent the survivors and the convicts cannot co-exist, as Rachel and Susie Greene's bodies are soon found, decapitated. Dexter is wrongly accused, but after an attempt on Andrea's life, Thomas is found to be the culprit. He is brutally beaten by an overwhelmed Rick, before a distraught Maggie Greene later shoots him to death.

Dexter does not take kindly to the false accusations, and concludes that cooperating with Rick's group was wrong. He organizes Andrew to sneak into A Block, the building containing the guard's riot gear and weapons, to help take back The Prison. After confronting Rick with shotguns and a defecting Patricia, a standoff ensues that is only prevented because of the zombies escaping from A Block. While temporarily working together to hold the wave back, Rick makes the hard decision to kill Dexter "in the cross-fire", as he knew the convict would have killed or kicked them out afterwards. Andrew surrenders his weapons but flees in distress, never to be seen again by the group. Michonne and Otis join the group soon after.

Relationships
In between the bloodshed and drama, several sub-plots develop. Carol and Tyreese's relationship is challenged after the mysterious Michonne joins the group. Maggie and Glenn struggle through the loss of more of her family and her father's strictness of their intimacy. Patricia is isolated and attacked by Otis after her temporary defection with Andrew and Dexter. Allen slowly begins to come out of his shell following Donna's death in Wiltshire Estates. Dale and Andrea discuss the possibility of splitting off and finding somewhere safer and quieter. Lori's pregnancy advances rapidly, and she is strained by Rick's constant leave.

Eventually, significant conflict within the group arises when Tyreese finds himself giving in to Michonne's sexual advances. Carol witnesses their actions and is evidently hysterical and upset, causing her to slit her wrists. Rick finds out and confronts Tyreese. The pair's strong friendship is temporarily broken when their argument ends up in a brutal beating, leading to a schism between the group and their opinion on Rick's leadership.

Matter of days before final Woodbury attack, Patricia and Axel were seen together, and establishing a loving relationship.

Woodbury Survivor's Fate
Creator Robert Kirkman wrote:
 * "I'm not going to say (the Woodbury survivors) were all killed (when their bullets ran out), but it's very unlikely that we'll ever see them again. The prison is dead to me. I've moved on and so have the characters."

Deaths
 * Dexter - An African-American victim inprisoned for murder. Partner to Andrew. Killed by Rick.
 * Andrew - An African-American victim inprisoned for dealing drugs. Partner to Dexter.
 * Axel - A European-American victim imprisoned for armed robbery. Shot during the Prison Assault.
 * Thomas Richards - A nerdy victim inprisoned for "tax fraud", but as a matter of fact is a serial killer. Killed by Maggie Greene after he killed her sisters, Rachel and Susie Greene.

Survivers

 * Lori Grimes
 * Judith Grimes
 * Brian Blake
 * Tyreese
 * Julie
 * Chris
 * Carol Peletier
 * Allen
 * Hershel Greene
 * Billy Greene
 * Rachel Greene
 * Susie Greene
 * Otis
 * Patricia
 * Axel
 * Dexter
 * Andrew
 * Thomas Richards
 * Alice
 * Caesar Martinez
 * Gabe
 * Probably Lilly and Jared
 * A lot of Woodbury Soldiers

TV Series
The Prison is first seen in the Season 2 finale episode, Beside the Dying Fire, indicating that the survivors having abandoning Hershel's Farm, will make their way to this location next and will be the major setting for Season 3.

Trivia

 * Rick, Carl, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, Andrea, Dale, Sophia, Ben and Billy are the only people of Rick's group to have made it out of The Prison alive after the second Woodbury attack.