State May Build New Prison
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
With prison space overcrowded for female
inmates, the state Board of Correction voted today to seek
permission to build a 200-bed women`s unit. The unit had been
delayed for years because of budget cuts.
Prison spokeswoman Dina Tyler says the state Department of
Correction will ask the Legislature for authority to transfer three
(m) million dollars allocated for positions that have gone unfilled
to pay for a metal building to be built with inmate labor at the
Wrightsville Unit.
The board`s vote followed one to invoke the Emergency Powers Act
to let up to 630 parole-eligible inmates out of prison up to 90
days early to ease overcrowding.
In two weeks, the board will consider freeing up to another 100
parole-eligible inmates under an expanded Emergency Powers Act that
allows parole up to a year early.
As of today, the state`s male prison population stood at
11-thousand-700, which capacity for men is 10-thousand-978. There
were 760 women in prison, 98 over capacity.
Also, 163 of the 763 state prisoners backed up in county jails
are women.
