Sometimes things in government just don’t make sense. When you look at the facts – the state pays nearly $43 million annually to guard and provide life-sustaining medical care for 32 critically debilitated state prison inmates – something seems out of whack. That’s an average of $1.3 million in costs per person.
Counties, local law enforcement, and communities are bracing for unknown impacts that could result from an influx of prison inmates.Depending on outcomes of state budget discussions and a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, counties could see upwards of 40,000 state prison inmates gradually released into their communities over the next several years.