Word: prison
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...nation's economic crisis: its unemployment rate stands at 15.3%, and the state is functioning on a temporary budget as legislators rush to close a $2.8 billion deficit. In recent years, the financial situation here has been so dire that Michigan has closed several detention facilities, reducing its prison population by thousands. Now, however, the state appears to be viewing prisoners in a different economic light - as a potential revenue generator...
...Michigan's key selling points is that the capacity at two prison facilities that are scheduled to close by the end of the year could be significantly increased by double-stacking beds. Michigan would charge some $30,000 a year for each domestic inmate brought to its maximum-security prison at Standish, about a 90-minute drive from Detroit. California has thus far balked, partly because of the cost, but Michigan officials say they are still negotiating with Pennsylvania and other states...
...about 46,000. Officials here attribute the decline to several factors, including an overall drop in crime, the placement of more people on parole and a lower recidivism rate. But in June, as the state's budget crisis deepened, Michigan announced that it would close eight prison facilities by the end of the year, including Standish, which could save some $30 million annually. Standish is expected to be shut down by the end of October, and many of the 600 inmates are already being dispersed to other facilities. Officials here say importing prisoners is a way to profitably...
...recent interview with TIME, Michigan's governor, Jennifer Granholm, acknowledged that finances have been a key impetus for reducing the state's prison population. It costs some $30,000 a year to house a single prisoner. "We could be putting that money toward higher education," Granholm told TIME...
...prospect of losing its prison has put the city of Standish, pop. 1,400 (excluding inmates), on edge. Nearly two decades ago, the town's residents were torn about whether the prison should even be built. But it quickly became an alternative to the dwindling auto industry. It's currently the city's largest employer, and the facility accounts for roughly 35% of the city's budget. Now prison guards are dreading the prospect of commuting five hours a day to the nearest job, if they can find one, or leaving Michigan altogether...