|
|
| Wisc. Considers Changes at Secure Prison |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 09/26/2005 |
|
The Wisconsin state Department of Corrections is considering converting part of the state's most secure prison into a standard maximum-security prison so it can house more inmates. Corrections officials say it's hard to justify more than 100 vacant prison beds at the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility in Boscobel at a time of budget cuts and prison crowding elsewhere. Unlike other maximum-security prisons, which contain common areas for inmates such as dayrooms, classrooms and recreational areas, the facility was built almost exclusively to do one thing - keep the most dangerous inmates locked in their cells. Warden Sam Schneiter will be asking staff for suggestions, which will help determine how and when the changeover to a standard maximum-security prison occurs. Corrections Secretary Matthew Frank said the move can be accomplished without adding staff or new construction. Critics of the facility, formerly known as Supermax, said the move confirms complaints that the 500-bed prison - built to house the "worst of the worst" in the Corrections system, including those who have assaulted officers or other inmates - was a costly mistake. Inmates can gradually earn back privileges such as television and even get sent back to their originating institution if their behavior improves. Many never graduate from the most secure level, however. Inmate advocates have long decried the isolation and loss of privileges at the facility as cruel and unusual punishment. As part of the settlement over the inmate lawsuit, the department built an outdoor exercise area and converted some spaces in the prison to multipurpose rooms for limited classroom instruction and counseling. The $47 million prison, built in 1999 and championed by former Gov. Tommy Thompson, has never operated at capacity. The cost per inmate is about $54,000 a year, nearly twice the average cost of $28,000 to house and feed the state's 21,600 adult inmates. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think