Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 25, 1993 TAG: 9312250056
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: BONNIE V. WINSTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Now, state officials say the maximum-security prison, located in the rural, Southside Virginia county, is obsolete.
Acting on a Department of Corrections recommendation, Gov. Douglas Wilder has asked for Mecklenburg's closing - at least temporarily. He said corrections officials want to study whether to tear down the prison and rebuild, remodel it into a special treatment center for less-violent substance abusers or sex offenders, or lease it to localities for a regional jail.
The closing would force the transfer of 340 inmates, including 45 on death row, to other prisons and affect the jobs of 310 employees.
State budget officials said the scheduled opening of new prisons in Southampton County and Culpeper will create job openings for Mecklenburg's guards and other workers.
The closing also would save the state $15.7 million over two years.
"This is not a `soft on crime' issue," said Karen Washabau, head of the Department of Planning and Budget. "This is simply costing us more than it needs to."
Mecklenburg, built at a cost of about $30 million, was thrust into the national spotlight in the mid-1980s when six inmates broke out in the largest escape from death row in U.S. history. All eventually were recaptured and most have been executed.
Washabau said Mecklenburg's configuration of cells and guard stations necessitates the stationing of one guard per inmate. With such a high staffing ratio, the prison costs $36,000 annually per inmate to operate, compared to the systemwide annual per-inmate cost of $16,500, she said.
According to figures provided Monday by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mecklenburg's annual operating costs are out of line with other maximum-security prisons. The bureau's 1990 survey of state and federal facilities shows a national average per-inmate cost of $16,507.
O. Randolph Rollins, secretary of public safety, said transfers will begin next year. Despite claims of overcrowding in state prisons, Rollins said there is room to house the inmates, even if some cannot share cells for management or possible victimization reasons.
Rollins said inmates on death row will be transferred to Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, where the state's electric chair is located.
On Monday, Wilder defended the proposal to reporters, who asked whether it was a parting shot at Gov.-elect George Allen's promises to move toward abolishing parole.
"We are showing we need more prisons," Wilder said. But "it's been the recommendation, and I agree with it, that Mecklenburg doesn't serve its purpose at this point."
Allen said later that he had not "heard any justification why we ought to be closing Mecklenburg. I've heard the reasons. They don't make any sense to me at this moment."
Several Democratic and Republican lawmakers said that Mecklenburg is unlikely to close.
"At $30,000 per bed, certainly the taxpayers would expect us to look at it and consider some alternatives," said Sen. Walter Stosch, R-Richmond.
"Certainly, it's realistic to look at converting the whole mission of that institution. Obviously, you have prisoners there. You can't just close the doors and turn them out on the streets," he said.
by CNB