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| N.C. Senators Discuss Prison Options |
| By Raleigh News Observer |
| Published: 03/31/2003 |
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The N.C. Senate Finance Committee approved legislation March18 that would tackle a rising inmate population by building as many as three prisons through a lease-purchase contract with a private company. Recent projections indicate that even with three prisons opening this year, North Carolina's inmate population will continue to exceed the number of beds available. If no prisons are built by 2010, the system would have 34,729 beds for 41,068 inmates -- a situation that could trigger a federal lawsuit. Sen. John Kerr, a Goldsboro Democrat, wants legislators to approve construction of the 1,000-cell prisons before June 30 at a cost of about $390 million. After that date, a new building code takes effect that prison officials estimate could add as much as $22 million to the cost. Part of the savings also comes from working with Carolina Corrections, the company currently building three prisons that will open in Alexander, Anson and Scotland counties through a similar lease-purchase contract. 'These are real savings,' Kerr said. 'You can pay me now or you can pay me later.' One prison would go in Bertie County and another in Greene County, which Kerr represents. The location of the third prison hasn't been decided. Opponents said the lease-purchase method carries hidden costs and circumvents public scrutiny. The state, for example, must pay financing costs to buy the prisons and Carolina Corrections' financing costs to build them. 'Is private financing of these six prisons going to cost taxpayers more in the long term?' asked May Va Lor of Grassroots Leadership, a Charlotte-based group that works on racial and economic justice issues in the South. 'And who are the corporations that benefit from private financing?' Va Lor and Gale Marshall, who represented a group of Haywood County residents, also questioned the expense of building more prisons when the economy is lagging and state services such as mental health and education need more money. Some senators questioned whether the Department of Correction had adequately assessed the need for the new prisons and whether it had made sure the prisons are being built as cheaply as possible. Others said there should be more focus on preventing the need for more cells. |
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