KTRV Fox 12 Idaho inmates moving out of Texas prison
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Boise, Idaho -- A number of Idaho inmates are on the move after the facility they were living in Texas was deemed unsuitable by the state of Idaho.
Prison officials say the place is under new management, which may be too little too late. The question now is what to do with those Idaho inmates left in the unsuitable prison -- inmates that have no place to go.
Idaho prisons are simply too full, and to compensate for that problem a number of inmates have been sent to out-of-state facilities. At least 100 inmates were staying at the Dickens County Correctional Center in Spur, Texas, until recently.
"Well, we transferred about half of the offenders out of Dickens over to Littlefield, another Texas prison," explained Pam Sonnen, chief of prisons for the Idaho Department of Correction.
After the recent transfer, the Littlefield prison called the Bill Clayton Detention Center, now holds nearly 375 inmates. The Idaho prisoners who do remain in Dickens won't be there for long.
"There's still 56 offenders at that facility and we've been looking for housing for those 56," said Sonnen.
All of this is happening because of ongoing problems with the Dickens prison.
They include things like a lack of cell windows and a generally drab atmosphere, much more conducive to the county jail environment it was built for.
"They didn't keep up on the maintenance issues. There were some issues, as far as treatment programs, medical. There were several areas that they weren't complying with the contract," said Sonnen.
And now, according to Sonnen, enough is enough. The concern now is where to move the remaining inmates, especially when they don't appear to want to leave.
"In fact, we've gotten letters from the inmates themselves, asking to remain there at the facility," said Sonnen.
Sonnen says the few that are left behind find the facility very comfortable since there's now much more space available there.
But since some state officials have dubbed it the worst prison they'd seen, there doesn't seem to be much chance that any Idaho inmates will stay behind.
A new company is taking over the Dickens prison and has addressed some of the Idaho concerns with a $1.2 million renovation of the facility, but officials here indicate the renovations don't address all of their concerns -- therefore the remaining 56 inmates will still be moved.
One prison that looks appealing at the moment in is Val Verde, Texas -- a small community about 75 miles northeast of Austin.
