OFFICIALS SAY WV 'NEEDS' A NEW $200 MIL PRISON

(01/13/2009)

West Virginia correction officials are saying the state needs to build a new $200 million dollar prison to handle overcrowding and a projected 2,500 increase in inmates in the next three year. Currently, about 1,000 state prisoner's are being held in regional jails. Prison population numbers in West Virginia show that for the first time there are more non-violent offenders in state prisons than violent offenders. "What it says to me is that we need definitely to look at our structure of sentencing reform," Fayette County Delegate Dave Perry said at the state capitol Monday. The report also shows fewer inmates are getting out of jail early for things like robbery and burglary. West Virginia's prison population is skyrocketing, despite the state's flat population and low crime rate. Delegate Perry believes sentencing reform is the way to go, not build a $200 million prison. The costs of keeping prisoners in regional jails has become one the biggest expenses to taxpayers. West Virginia is not an exception in needing more prison beds. The United States is leading the world with incarceration.

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