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| Trial set for suit aiming to keep prison open |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/08/2002 |
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A trial date has been set for a lawsuit seeking a halt to the closing of a private prison in Leflore County in Mississippi. The Delta Correctional Authority, a five-member board that oversees Delta Correctional Facility, filed the lawsuit in chancery court after Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove announced plans to close the facility. The authority says it never received a certified letter from the state providing notification of the impending closure. The letter is required by state law, according to the lawsuit. The governor's plan also would be a breach of contract, said Edgar Bland, chairman of the Delta Correctional Authority board of directors. Musgrove attempted this year to veto $54.7 million for private prison contracts. The governor declared the private prison contracts void July 1 because lawmakers did not override his veto, and he said the money was left unappropriated. The governor then re-negotiated lower per-prisoner, per-day rates with four private prisons and moved to close the Delta facility. Attorney General Mike Moore says the veto was invalid because it affected a provision of the bill that prevented Corrections Commissioner Robert Johnson from moving money to other parts of the budget. House Speaker Tim Ford said there is enough money in the corrections budget to cover private prisons. Bland said the authority knew as early as July 1 that Musgrove intended to close Delta Correctional Facility, but board members were waiting for the Legislature to make a decision. After the Legislature met in special session last week and rejected Musgrove's suggestions for the state corrections budget, the board acted. Prisoner rights attorney Ron Welch also has filed a lawsuit against Musgrove to keep Delta Correctional open. Welch wants Musgrove's attempted veto declared invalid. |
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