Sunday, January 24, 2010

Support Keeping Inmates in Their Local Communities

It was announced in December that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine had negotiated a contract with Pennsylvania's Department of Corrections to bring 1000 inmates from Pennsylvania and keep them in Virginia's prisons.

According to an article from the Richmond Times Dispatch [Dec. 22, 2009]:

"Larry Traylor, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections, said the general terms of contract reached but not yet signed with Pennsylvania call for a payment of $62 per day per inmate to stay at the 1,000-inmate prison near Chatham.

Gordon Hickey, spokesman for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, said the contract could bring in $20.4 million annually, of which the Department of Corrections would keep $10.5 million for operating expenses and the remaining $9.9 million would go to the general fund."

Another interesting bit from the article:

"Virginia now hosts 269 inmates from Wyoming, 38 from the Virgin Islands and two from Hawaii, Traylor said.

After parole was abolished in 1995, the state picked up the pace of prison construction. But the prison population did not rise as fast as expected. As a result, the state was renting out 3,300 prison beds and grossing $78 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2001."

The Pittsylvania County Branch of the NAACP is circulating a petition to oppose the transfer of local inmates because it would place additional burdens on the families of inmates. On Tuesday, January 19, the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to the same effect.

Please Sign this Petition to show your support for keeping inmates close to their families at Green Rock Correctional Facility.

2 comments:

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    Christine

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