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Virginia taxpayers bear burden of empty prison

By Real Cost of Prisons Project (The Sentencing Project)

Virginia taxpayers bear burden of empty prison By: Ben Giles 01/03/11 8:05 PM Washington Examiner Staff Writer A $105 million prison in Virginia has stood empty for four months since its completion last summer because the state doesn't have enough inmates to fill it. The 1,024-bed prison in Grayson County could remain empty for two years or longer, officials said. Meanwhile, Virginia taxpayers are left to pay $715,000 a year to keep the prison in working condition. A "mothball" crew of six employees walks the halls every day, unlocking and locking doors, flushing toilets, and making sure the facility's heat and air condition are in good order. The Grayson prison is one of three built in the past five years, after a 2004 report concluded Virginia's prison population would surge by 11,000 inmates by 2010...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog on January 04, 2011 (boomark / email).