| What? Am I crazy? Am I hearing voices, or something? Haven't I been writing for months now that part of the problem with Hardin's plans for building a jail that Montana's prison population is on the decline?
And I think most reasonable people agree that our prisons need reform, that there a lot of people who shouldn't be locked away -- nonviolent drug offenders, say. That is, we want a declining prison population, right?
So...what the h*ll is this?
A consultant to the Montana Department of Corrections is recommending construction of a $371 million prison in the Billings area to handle a projected increase in the state's inmate population.
Preliminary plans call for an 1,800-bed facility - slightly larger than the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.
It would hold all classes of prisoners, from burglars to murderers. Both male and female inmates would be held there, although in separate parts of a complex that would cover at least 245 acres.
A precise location has not been proposed.
Smells to me like the Dept of Corrections is trying to cook up a little business for itself, doesn't it? How those bureaucrats love their expanding budgets! And how those conservative politicos love to talk tough about crime, glad to comply with the Corrections' staff call for more prison inmates!
And isn't it funny that the consultants didn't even consider using the Hardin jail? I mean...it's empty, eh? So...you know...why not use it? That is, if the prison population is expanding and all.
My guess is that Corrections officials aren't keen on packing the moving vans for Hardin... |
