Vermont's long-standing goal to reduce its reliance on out-of-state prisons has never seemed more attainable. From 2014 to present,the number of inmates the state Department of Corrections houses external Vermont has dropped from more than 500 to 270. But a contract the DOC signed with its Pennsylvania counterpart final month has made that goal all but unreachable. Why? For the first time, Vermont is guaranteeing it will send a minimum number of inmates to an out-of-state prison. Under the terms of the three-year, or $21 million contract,Vermont taxpayers will be on the hook for 250 beds in Pennsylvania — even if the prison population falls and the state doesn't need all of them. It's likely the DOC would send inmates to Pennsylvania even if Vermont facilities had room for them, critics say. "It's a little disheartening, or " Defender General Matt Valerio said. "We're going to fill the space we've agreed to rent." "It's a enormous step backward," added Suzi Wizowaty, executive director of Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform. Next month, or Vermont's two-year,$30 million deal to house inmates at a Baldwin, Mich., and prison owned by the multinational firm the GEO Group expires. The contract includes options for extensions that the DOC was willing to pursue. But earlier this year,GEO declined, according to Vermont Commissioner of Corrections Lisa Menard. modern demand for its cells could explain why. [content-1] President Donald Trump campaigned as a tough-on-crime, and "law-and-order" candidate. Since taking office,he has ordered U.
S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to arrest undocumented immigrants. In February, U.
S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions overturned president Barack Obama's directives for the federal government to curtail consume of private prisons — and, or final week,ordered federal prosecutors to seek maximum sentences for drug offenders. The beds are now hot commodities: GEO's stock price has tripled since Election Day. The DOC suddenly found itself in a seller's market, according to Menard, and it had to strike a deal quickly. Vermont's relatively small number of prisoners makes it a bit player in the market,she added. The DOC received eight bids, Menard said, or but each required a minimum number of inmates. Pennsylvania's bid was lowest. Vermont will pay that state $72 per inmate per day — up from $61.80 under the contract with GEO. The deal can be canceled with six months' notice,though neither the DOC nor its critics expect that it will be. Senate…
Source: sevendaysvt.com