By Bill Hormann
13 ABC
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — From toilet paper and license plates to processed meat and furniture, products made by Ohio inmates are becoming increasingly profitable as the state’s prisons act more like private businesses.
In fiscal 2013, Ohio Penal Industries made $7.8 million, the fourth straight year of increased profits, according to a Correctional Institution Inspection Committee report released this week.
The rising profits represent a turnaround from a $4.6 million deficit in fiscal 2009, when prison industry programs were criticized for poor quality at higher prices that private industries, according to The Chillicothe Gazette in southern Ohio.
Full story: Prison products creating profits