Pennsylvania ships prisoners out of state

[The Straight Story]

Pennsylvania ships prisoners out of state


PHILADELPHIA, April 12 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania is transferring thousands of inmates out of state to deal with overcrowding conditions nearing crisis proportions, prison officials say.

The program has sent 1,633 prisoners to Michigan and Virginia, which have contracts with Pennsylvania to accept its prisoners, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Monday. A further 467 will be moved by the end of April, officials said.

Pennsylvania has experienced a rise in its prison population for decades, but the population has increased dramatically in the past five years, and corrections officials say four new prisons under construction will be filled as soon as they open in 2013.

Opponents of the program say shipping prisoners out of the state is not the way to solve the problem.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/04/12/Pennsylvania-ships-prisoners-out-of-state/UPI-40071271114024/