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| Muskegon Correction Facility closing pushed back |
| By mlive.com |
| Published: 09/18/2009 |
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MUSKEGON -- Muskegon Correctional Facility won't be closing Oct. 1 as advertised -- but it's only a reprieve of the prison's death sentence, not a pardon. State officials now say the closing is likelier to come near the end of the year. Statewide prisoner counts haven't yet dropped enough to allow an imminent shutdown of the 35-year-old Muskegon facility, according to Russ Marlan, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections. "Muskegon is still slated to close, but it won't be closed on Oct. 1," Marlan said. "It will continue to be open until ... the (statewide) count decreases enough so we can close it." Marlan said that's expected to be before Dec. 31, but probably not much before. Michigan is in the process of cutting its prison population by 4,000 inmates from an early-2009 level of 48,000 by speeding up paroles after many inmates have served their minimum sentences. As the population drops, selected prisons are emptied by transferring their inmates to empty beds in other facilities. The medium-security MCF is one of the prisons on the latest hit list, announced in June, along with Standish Correctional Facility north of Bay City. Originally, Muskegon's closing date was announced as Oct. 1. One possibility could still delay Muskegon's shutdown for as much as four years: The state of Pennsylvania has expressed an interest in shipping its overflow inmates to Michigan, similar to a deal California considered but rejected last month. Pennsylvania's corrections department has solicited bids from five states, including Michigan, and set an Oct. 3 deadline for replies. Michigan officials don't know Pennsylvania's timetable for a decision, but the possibility of a deal is another reason for keeping both the Muskegon and Standish prisons operating for now. Michigan closed the Hiawatha Correctional Facility in the eastern Upper Peninsula and five prison camps in July but has kept Muskegon and Standish prisons open, as well as Camp Lehman north of Grayling. Marlan said both Standish and Camp Lehman are likely to close before Muskegon, if no deal is struck to bring other inmates into Michigan. Muskegon corrections officer Michael Sweet, president of MCF's unit of the Michigan Corrections Organization, said his union's members know Muskegon's closing date has been pushed back, but that's about all they know. "They're not telling us anything," Sweet said of corrections officials. "We don't get updates. They keep us in the dark big time." Read More. |
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