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| Prison unsafe, warden says |
| By STEVE CAMPBELL - Times Staff Writer - The HuntsVille Times |
| Published: 03/24/2009 |
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Limestone chief cites crowding, too few guards CAPSHAW - With more than 2,400 inmates, deteriorating facilities and not enough correctional officers, Limestone Correctional Facility is dangerous to its employees, said prison leaders and state legislators Monday. "It worries me more than it has in my entire career," said warden Billy Mitchem. Added state Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Capshaw: "Personally, I think we're in a crisis." Prison leaders toured the prison with legislators and media to help make their case for more money. Mitchem said state budget cuts leave him 35 correctional officers shy of what he needs. He expressed concern for the roughly 200 prison employees who work with or near the inmates each day. "(The cuts) are hurting us because I'm not able to man the security posts the way I should," Mitchem said. "I want to keep my staff safe. I'm concerned about that." Space is tight in many areas of the prison. Rows of bunk beds cover the walking area of one cell block. The L dorm, as it's called, houses 224 inmates. It's supposed to hold 152. Some of the L dorm inmates are rapists and murderers, Mitchem said. In another dorm, home to about 400 more inmates, several more bunk beds cover the living area. Mitchem and others also expressed concern about the prison's 25-year-old plumbing system. Mitchem said, and his maintenance supervisor agreed, that budget cuts in the state prison system mean maintenance workers sometimes don't replace faulty parts. Before the tour, prison leaders warned legislators that Alabama's prisons, including theirs, need help. Capt. Lloyd Wallace, who supervises 850 inmates in one wing of the Limestone prison, said more officers are needed to control the growing prison populations. "(If) you keep jamming inmates in these prisons like we're doing ... somebody's going to be yelling for help," said Wallace. "I just hope nobody gets hurt." Wallace asked the legislators to consider various tax increases and closing tax loopholes to generate more money for the state Department of Corrections. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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