Arkansas Headlines
(2008-09-19)
could get another go-around as lawmakers vent frustration with inmate overcrowding. That's despite the state's failed experiment with handing two facilities over to a private company.
Legislators agreed today to study whether the state should again consider putting some prisons under private control. A legislator says he hopes to hold hearings on the issue soon. The idea faces resistance from prison officials wary of the problems that arose from the previous attempt at privatization.
The state prison's population is 14,816 inmates, which includes a backup of 1,247 inmates who are being housed at county jails around the state.
The state had experimented with prison privatization in 1998, when the Grimes Unit for men and the McPherson Unit for women opened under the control of Wackenhut Correction Corp. The company in 2001 opted not to renew its contract after it was criticized for issues that included inmate idleness and the facilities' cleanliness.
Employees had also accused Wackenhut of inmate abuse and security breaches.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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