Municipal Prison Bonds Turn to Junk as Inmate Population Falls
- Federal officials rethink private prisons after build up
- Debt cut below investment-grade on risk facilities unneeded
This article is for subscribers only.
The privately run prison in Walnut Grove, Mississippi, was besieged for years by violence and legal fights over deplorable conditions. Then last month, with local sentencing reforms keeping fewer behind bars, officials shut it down, leaving the state on the hook for $121 million of debt left behind.
“The taxpayers are paying for that building and it’s just sitting there,” said Chip Jones, an alderman for the 1,600-person town about 63 miles (101 kilometers) east of Jackson, the state capital.