On the Chopping Block 2012:
State Prison Closings
Nicole D. Porter
December 2012

For further information:
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This report was written by Nicole D. Porter, Director of Advocacy at
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Copyright @ 2012 by The Sentencing Project. Reproduction of this
document in full or in part, and in print or electronic format, only by
permission of The Sentencing Project

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ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK 2012 | STATE PRISON CLOSINGS

T

he Bureau of Justice Statistics recently reported that the overall state prison
population declined for the third consecutive year in 2011. State sentencing
reforms and changes in parole revocation policies have been contributing
factors in these reductions. As a result, state officials are now beginning to close
correctional facilities after several decades of record prison expansion. Continued
declines in state prison populations advance the narrative that the nation’s reliance
on incarceration is largely a function of policy choices.
In 2012, at least six states have closed 20 prison institutions or are contemplating
doing so, potentially reducing prison capacity by over 14,100 beds and resulting in an
estimated $337 million in savings. During 2012, Florida led the nation in prison
closings with its closure of 10 correctional facilities; the state’s estimated cost savings
for prison closings totals over $65 million. This year’s prison closures build on
closures observed in 2011 when at least 13 states reported prison closures and
reduced prison capacity by an estimated 15,500 beds.

BASIS FOR CLOSURES
The ability of state lawmakers to close prisons is due to a decline in state prison
populations. During 2011, the total U.S. prison population numbered 1.5 million at
yearend, a decline of 1.1% during the year, the second year that a reduction in the
total state and federal prison population had been observed. 1 The Bureau of Justice
Statistics found that the decrease in the total prison population was due to the
decline in the number of prisoners held in custody in state prisons. 2
Changes in policy and practice have contributed to declines in the state prison
population. From 2004 through 2009, at least 36 states enacted 97 policy and
administrative reforms that ranged from codifying graduated sanctions for parole
violators to relaxing mandatory minimums. 3 These included reforming New York’s
notorious Rockefeller Drug Laws by revising the sentencing structure and
eliminating mandatory minimums for certain drug offenses. Additionally,
Connecticut lawmakers repealed the state’s sentencing disparity for crack and
powder cocaine, laying the foundation for reform at the federal level and in other
states, including Ohio and South Carolina. Changes in administrative practice also

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ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK 2012| STATE PRISON CLOSINGS

contribute to reducing state prison populations. In recent years, state officials
looking to manage correctional populations have increased parole release rates and
scaled back returns to prison for parole violations.
States Closing or Considering Closing Correctional Facilities in 2012
State

Correctional Facility

Operational Capacity

Est. First Year Savings

California
Colorado
Florida

3,900 beds
316 beds
611 beds

$160,000,000
$4,500,000
$2,523,371

Florida

California Rehabilitation Center 4
Colorado State Penitentiary II 5
Broward Correctional
Institution 6
Caryville Work Camp 7

133 beds

$1,728,792

Florida

Demily Correctional Institution 8

342 beds

$6,068,260

Florida

Gainesville Correctional
Institution 9
Hendry Work Camp 10

507 beds

$9,038,845

280 beds

$4,028,832

Hillsborough Correctional
Institution 11
Indian River Correctional
Institution 12
Levy Forestry Camp 13

431 beds

$8,314,653

381 beds

$8,027,931

292 beds

$3,886,263

New River Correctional
Institution 14
River Junction Work Camp 15

1,363 beds

$17,644,740

736 beds

$4,268,454

1,212 beds
344 beds

$36,900,000
$11,700,000 19

156 beds
700 beds

$6,000,000 21
$25,600,000

656 beds

$9,450,000 25

942 beds

$12,000,000

498 beds

$2,700,000

300 beds

$3,000,000

14,100 beds

$337,380,141

Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Illinois
Illinois

Center 16, 17

Dwight Correctional
Joliet Renaissance Center –
Youth Center 18
Illinois
Murphysboro Youth Prison 20
Illinois
Tamms Super Maximum
Security Correctional Center 22,23
Kentucky Otter Creek Correctional
Center 24
Louisiana C. Paul Phelps Correctional
Center
Louisiana Forcht-Wade Correctional
Center 26
Louisiana J. Levy Dabadie Correctional
Center 27
Total Beds and Project Cost Savings

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ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK 2012| STATE PRISON CLOSINGS

Reduction in State Prison Populations Offers Opportunity to Reduce Spending

The reduction in state prison populations has created an opportunity for state
lawmakers to save scarce resources by closing prisons with excessive capacity. At
midyear for fiscal year 2012 states reported cutting correctional expenditures by
$67.5 million. 28 An examination of projected budgets for fiscal year 2013 indicates
that at least 12 states are planning to decrease correctional expenditures, with prison
closures being one mechanism to do so.
2012 State Sentencing Reforms

Reducing corrections spending continues to be a salient motivation for enacting state
level sentencing reforms, as does recognizing that the reliance on incarceration is
subject to diminishing returns. The focus on deterring drug market participation
through prison that reached a peak in the 1990s has resulted in a record number of
persons incarcerated for drug offenses. This expansion has had little effect on public
safety due to the easy replacement of low-level drug sellers in the community.
In some states, policymakers continue to implement changes in policy that may
result in reducing the numbers of incarcerated individuals while expanding capacity
for treatment and other alternatives. During 2012, two states modified certain
criminal penalties. In Missouri, for example, policymakers reduced the nation’s most
severe sentencing disparity for crack and powder cocaine when they changed the
drug quantities that triggered a mandatory minimum prison sentence. 29 Louisiana
lawmakers authorized judges to depart from statutory penalties for certain persons
who cooperate with law enforcement officials. 30

OPPORTUNITIES CREATED BY EXCESS CAPACITY
In recent years the closure of correctional facilities has created an emerging social
policy concern that challenges communities and officials. A range of options has
been instituted for closed prison facilities that include selling them to other agencies
for continued correctional purposes, managing empty prisons in anticipation of
future population increases, and repurposing facilities for new uses.

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ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK 2012| STATE PRISON CLOSINGS

Selling Extra Capacity

Selling state prisons to other agencies for continued correctional purposes is a
strategy that some state lawmakers have employed. Closing prisons has been a
salient part of state budget negotiations in Illinois during 2012. Governor Pat
Quinn’s request to close two prisons has garnered opposition from state lawmakers
who represent districts where the facilities are located and resistance from city and
county officials who believe their local economies depend on the prisons. 31 Since
2009, the governor has attempted to sell the prisons to the federal government to
address the concerns of various stakeholders. 32 Gov. Quinn announced in the fall of
2012, that Illinois will sell the Thomson Correctional Center to the federal Bureau of
Prisons (BOP) for $165 million to house persons convicted of federal offenses. 33
Repurposing Prisons

Other state lawmakers have worked to repurpose closed prisons for other uses. New
York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated in his 2011 address to the state Legislature
that “an incarceration program is not an employment program.” 34 Last year, New
York closed seven of 67 correctional facilities, taking 3,800 beds off line.
Discussions were under way this year to use some of the closed facilities for new
retail development, wildlife sanctuary, and manufacturing facilities. 35
Other states offer examples, too. In Pennsylvania, the shuttered Eastern State
Penitentiary was reopened in 1992 as a museum that offers programs related to the
prison’s history. Texas also repurposed a prison that had been vacant for 40 years in
2009. The old Central State Farm in Sugar Land closed in 1969 and was recently
transformed into a satellite facility for the Houston Museum of Natural Science that
hosts exhibits focused on the local eco-systems of the surrounding county.36
Challenges in Closing Prisons
However, there are states, like Michigan, that continue to manage previously closed
prisons. In 2012, Michigan officials reopened the Muskegon Correctional Facility

which had closed in 2010. The facility housed Pennsylvania prisoners during 2011. 37
The decision of lawmakers to close prisons has garnered opposition from various
interests in states like Illinois where the prison employees' union, the American

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ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK 2012| STATE PRISON CLOSINGS

Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, organized opposition to
announced prison closures that garnered support of several Democratic lawmakers
and candidates for office. 38 As of the publication of this report, the final decision to
close two Illinois state prisons was still being litigated. 39

CONTINUED EFFORTS TO EXPAND CAPACITY
Despite recent declines in state prison populations, 25 states and the federal
government had stable or increasing prison populations in 2010. At the federal
level, the BOP inmate population increased by 0.8%, or 1,653 prisoners, in 2010 for
a total of 209,771 prisoners; currently, BOP facilities are operating at 38% above
capacity. 40 To address capacity issues at the federal level some federal officials are
looking to closed state prisons. A federal prison spokesperson recently stated that
“the [BOP] agency often tries to buy state facilities when they are adequate and there
is available money.” 41
States which have not realized efforts to control their state prison populations are
adding capacity too. Pennsylvania officials are moving forward with plans to
construct two new prisons that will incarcerate up to 4,100 inmates despite recent
legislation that may divert certain prison bound individuals into alternative
programs. 42 Also, officials in Massachusetts moved forward this year with plans to
expand medium security cells for incarcerated women. 43

CREATING OPPORTUNITY BY REDUCING INCARCERATION
State lawmakers make hard decisions when choosing to close prisons. However, this
emerging framework in criminal justice policy offers an opening to adopt strategies
that emphasize opportunity instead of punishment as a guiding theme in public
safety. Prior to the recent fiscal crisis, lawmakers and correctional officials had
become increasingly interested in evidence-based policies targeted at effective public
safety outcomes. In some states, this new political environment has focused on
diverting from prison persons charged with lower-level drug offenses, developing
graduated sanction for people on probation and parole who violate conditions of
supervision, and enhancing reentry strategies.

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ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK 2012| STATE PRISON CLOSINGS

Colorado offers an example as state lawmakers discussed reprioritizing scarce
resources towards other social services during private prison contract discussions.
One suggested proposal, offered during 2012 budget talks, would have reappropriated $5.4 million from private prisons to support childhood literacy, while
another would have transferred $1.5 million from private prisons to support
programs that help needy and disabled individuals. 44 Despite the new territory being
chartered in Colorado it remains to be seen whether a similar framework can be
leveraged in other states that face comparable opportunities.
Encouraging as is the opportunity offered by reducing state prison populations, the
scale of incarceration should not be forgotten. Most states continue to employ a
range of mandatory sentencing policies, make drug arrests in record numbers, and
frequently enact practices that extend the length of time that persons spend in
prison.
The reality that states have been able to close prisons without compromising public
safety offers an opening to assess the prospects for reducing the scale of
incarceration. The public will benefit from a new strategy that moves beyond “tough
on crime” rhetoric and towards a vision that strengthens resources and communities.

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ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK 2012| STATE PRISON CLOSINGS

Appendix: States Closing or Considering Closing Correctional Facilities 2011-2012
State
California
Colorado
Colorado

Correctional Facility
California Rehabilitation Center
Colorado State Penitentiary II
Fort Lyon Correctional Facility

Operational Capacity
3,900 beds
316 beds
500 beds

Year 1
2012
2012
2011

Connecticut

Bergin Correctional Institution

603 beds

2011

Connecticut

Enfield Correctional Institution

724 beds

2011

Connecticut

J.B. Gates Correctional Institution

878 beds

2011

Florida

Brevard Correctional Facility

929 beds

2011

Florida
Florida

Broward Correctional Institution
Caryville Work Camp

611 beds
133 beds

Florida

Demily Correctional Institution

342 beds

2012
2012
2012

Florida

Gainesville Correctional Institution

507 beds

2012

Florida

Hendry Work Camp

280 beds

2012

Florida

Hillsborough Correctional Institution

431 beds

2011

Florida

Indian River Correctional Institution

381 beds

2012

Florida

Levy Forestry Camp

292 beds

2012

Florida

New River Correctional Institution

1,363 beds

2012

Florida

River Junction Work Camp

736 beds

2012

Florida

Tallahassee Road prison

82 beds

2011

Georgia

Blakely Regional Youth Detention Center

30 beds

2011

Georgia

Griffin Regional Youth Detention Center

30 beds

2011

Georgia

Metro State Prison

779 beds

2011

Illinois

Dwight Correctional Center

1,212 beds

2012

Illinois

Joliet Renaissance Center – Youth Center

344 beds

2012

Illinois

Murphysboro Youth Prison

156 beds

2012

Illinois

Tamms Super Maximum Security Correctional Center

700 beds

2012

Kentucky

Otter Creek Correctional Center

656 beds

2012

Louisiana

C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center

942 beds

2012

Louisiana

Forcht-Wade Correctional Center

498 beds

2012

Louisiana

J. Levy Dabadie Correctional Center

300 beds

2012

Michigan

Florence Crane Correctional Facility

1,056 beds

2011

Nevada

Nevada State Prison

841 beds

2011

New York

Arthur Kill Medium Security Prison

900 beds

2011

New York

Buffalo Work Release

132 beds

2011

New York

Camp Georgetown

262 beds

2011

New York

Fulton Work Release

258 beds

2011

New York

Summit Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility

121 beds

2011

New York

Oneida Medium Correctional Facility

998 beds

2011

1

This was the year the closure first announced. The actual closure date may be in subsequent
years.

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ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK 2012| STATE PRISON CLOSINGS

New York

Mid-Orange Correctional Facility

736 beds

2011

North Carolina

Cabarrus Correctional Facility

198 beds

2011

Oregon

Hillcrest Units (Chi and Kappa)

50 beds

2011

Oregon

MacLaren Units (Dunbard, Kincaid and McBride)

75 beds

2011

Oregon

Oak Creek Unit (Young Women’s Transition Program)

25 beds

2011

Oregon

Oregon State Penitentiary – Minimum Security

176 beds

2011

Rhode Island

Donald Price Medium Security Facility

324 beds

2011

Texas

Al Price State Juvenile Correctional Facility

248 beds

2011

Texas

Central Unit

1,000 beds

2011

Texas

Crockett State School

232 beds

2011

500 beds

2011

45

Texas

Mineral Wells Facility

Texas

Ron Jackson Juvenile Correctional Complex Unit II

113 beds

2011

Texas

TDCJ – Burnett County Jail

240 beds

2011

Washington

McNeil Island Corrections Center

1,200 beds

2011

Wisconsin

Ethan Allen School

167 beds

2011

Wisconsin

Southern Oaks Girls School

18 beds

2011

Total Beds

28,525 beds

1 Glaze, Lauren E., Parks, Lauren (2012). Correctional Populations in the United States, 2011. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Available online here: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus11.pdf
2 Ibid.
3 King, R.S. (2007). Changing Direction? State Sentencing Reforms 2004-2006. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project. Available online here:
http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/sentencingreformforweb.pdf . King, R.S. (2008). The State of Sentencing 2007: Developments in
Policy and Practice. Washington, DC. The Sentencing Project. Available online here:
http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/sl_statesentencingreport2007.pdf. King, R.S. (2009). The State of Sentencing 2008: Developments
in Policy and Practice. Washington, DC. The Sentencing Project. Available online here:
http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/sl_statesentencingreport2008.pdf. Porter, N.D. (2010). The State of Sentencing 2009: Developments in Policy
and Practice. Washington, DC. The Sentencing Project. Available online here:
http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/s_ssr2009Update.pdf.
4 Staff (2012). The Future of California Corrections. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Available online here:
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/2012plan/docs/plan/complete.pdf
5 Howard, A. Communications Director, Florida Department of Corrections. (personal communication, July 16, 2012).
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.

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ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK 2012| STATE PRISON CLOSINGS

15 Ibid.
16 Ataiyero, K. Spokesperson, Spokesperson, Illinois Department of Corrections. (personal communication, July 17, 2012).
17 Kenneth Lowe, “Dwight’s mayor calls prison closure a ‘sad situation’,” Pantagraph.com. August 26, 2012. Downloaded from:
http://m.pantagraph.com/news/local/dwight-s-mayor-calls-prison-closure-a-sad-situation/article_d952823c-ebfa-11e1-96e70019bb2963f4.html?comment_form=true
18 Supra 13.
19 Estimated. Reported costs for closing the Joliet Renaissance Center – Youth Center and the Murphysboro Youth Prison total $17.7 million. This
estimate was determined by aggregating the capacity of the two youth prisons together. Governor Pat Quinn, “Fiscal Year 2013 Agency Budget Fact
Sheets,” State of Illinois. 2012. Downloaded from: http://www.state.il.us/budget/FY2013/FY13AgencyFactSheets.pdf
20 Supra 13.
21 Estimated. Reported costs for closing the Joliet Renaissance Center – Youth Center and the Murphysboro Youth Prison total $17.7 million. This
estimate was determined by aggregating the capacity of the two youth prisons together and determining a cost estimate. Governor Pat Quinn, “Fiscal
Year 2013 Agency Budget Fact Sheets,” State of Illinois. 2012. Downloaded from: http://www.state.il.us/budget/FY2013/FY13AgencyFactSheets.pdf
22 Supra 13.
23 Joe Gramm, “Residents Fighting to Keep TAMMS Prison Operational,” Southeast Missourian. July 16, 2012. Downloaded from:
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1870910.html
24 Staff. “Rural KY town readies for private prison closure,” Associated Press. April 24, 2012. Downloaded from:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/24/rural-ky-town-readies-for-private-prison-closure/
25 Estimated. Reported costs to run Otter Creek Correctional Facility and other private facilities totaled $21 million in 2010. This cost estimate was
determined by aggregating the capacity of Otter Creek and the reported capacity of the Lee Adjustment Center. Staff. “Rural KY town readies for
private prison closure,” Associated Press. April 24, 2012. Downloaded from: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/24/rural-ky-town-readies-forprivate-prison-closure
26 Bueche, J. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Louisiana Department of Corrections. (personal communication, July 18, 2012).
27 Ibid.
28 Staff. (2012) The Fiscal Survey of States Spring 2012. Washington, DC. The National Governors Association and the National Association of State
Budget Officers. Available online: http://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/FSS1206.PDF
29 Missouri Senate Bill 628 (2012).
30 Louisiana House Bill 1068 (2012).
31 Staff, “Legislators, Unions Have Plan to Block Prison Closures,” The Associated Press. July 10, 2012. Downloaded from:
http://will.illinois.edu/news/spotstory/legislators-union-have-plan-to-block-prison-closures/,
32 Staff, “Quinn: Let’s Sell TAMMS to the Feds,” The Associated Press. June 30, 2012. Downloaded from:
http://m.thesouthern.com/news/local/quinn-let-s-sell-tamms-to-feds/article_c767deb4-c260-11e1-97f4-0019bb2963f4.html on July 18, 2012.
33 John Presta, “Governor Quinn Announces the Sale of Thomson Correctional Center to the Feds” Examiner.com, October 2, 2012. Downloaded
from: http://www.examiner.com/article/governor-quinn-announces-the-sale-of-thomson-correctional-center-to-the-feds
34 Danny Hakim, “As Republicans Resist Closing Prisons, Cuomo Is Said to Scale Back Plan” The New York Times, January 28, 2011. Downloaded
from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/29/nyregion/29prisons.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print on July 16, 2012.
35 Thomas Kaplan, “New York Has Some Prisons to Sell You,” The New York Times, May 27, 2012. Downloaded from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/28/nyregion/closed-new-york-prisons-prove-hard-to-sell.html on July 16, 2012.
36 Jim Bill, “Old Prison Will Become a Museum” KUHF Houston Public Radio, March 10, 2008. Downloaded from: http://app1.kuhf.org/printarticles/23282-Old-Prison-Will-Become-a-Museum.html on July 16, 2012.
37 Staff, “West Michigan prison closed in 2011 reopens, new inmates scheduled to arrive next week,” The Associated Press. October 5, 2012.
Downloaded from: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/c7f2c02848a64b258ab58b3421dfa179/MI--Michigan-Prisons
38 John O’Connor, “Democrats join call to drop Illinois Prison Closure,” The Associated Press. October 15, 2012. Downloaded from:
http://www.pjstar.com/free/x346781991/Democrats-join-call-to-drop-Illinois-prison-closures

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ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK 2012| STATE PRISON CLOSINGS

39 Kurt Erickson, “Quinn wins latest round in prison closure fight,” The Southern Illinoisan. October 29, 2012. Downloaded from:
http://thesouthern.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/quinn-wins-latest-round-in-prison-closure-fight/article_bf69ea1e-21eb-11e2-aa7d001a4bcf887a.html
40 Bill Mefford (Director, Civil and Human Rights, General Board of Church and Society, The United Methodist Church). "Testimony before The
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies.” (Date: March 22, 2012). Downloaded from:
http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/sen_PublicWitnessTestimony%203-16-12%20final.pdf
41 Supra 32.
42 Sean Carlin, “Protesters Question Need for Two New State Prisons,” Philadelphia Daily News. July 18, 2012. Downloaded from:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/20120718_Protesters_question_need_for_two_new_state_prisons.html on July 18, 2012.
43 Maureen Turner, “A Women’s Prison Expands in Chicopee” Valley Advocate. March 29, 2012. Downloaded from:
http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=14860.
44 Ivan Moreno, “Colo. House debates $7.4 billion spending plan,” The Associated Press. April 12, 2012. Downloaded from:
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20120412/NEWS/120419943 on July 18, 2012.
45 Mineral Wells is a privately run facility owned and managed by the Corrections Corporation of America. During 2011, the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice reduced the contract by 500 beds.

FURTHER READING AVAILABLE AT www.sentencingproject.org:
On the Chopping Block: State Prison Closings (2011)
State of Sentencing 2011
Sentencing Reform Amid Mass Incarcerations—Guarded Optimism

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