By C1 Staff
MADRAS, Ore. — A prison in Oregon has sat empty for nearly seven and a half years, and will continue to do so as the state’s prison population continues to drop.
KTVZ reports that projected prison populations have not come to pass, leaving the 774-bed, medium-security facility empty.
“When the facility was built, the projection of the prison population was that there would be a need for it, based on population numbers,” transition coordinator Marissa Wilson said. “In the fall of 2007, it was projected that it was not going to be needed.”
The drop in the number of inmates is mainly attributed to the state’s Justice Reinvestment program, which was designed to reduce sentences for some crimes and allow some low-risk inmates to leave prison a bit sooner than expected.
Money being saved through less incarceration is being put toward community corrections programs at the county level.