Colorado Prisoners Returning Home

The Colorado Department of Corrections is returning 120 prisoners who have been at an Oklahoma prison to Colorado prisons today, authorities say.

Many of the inmates had been housed at a private prison in Sayre, Okla., since January 2007 because of a shortage of bed space at Colorado prisons, said Ari Zavaras, executive director of the DOC.

The prisoners will be taken mostly to two private prisons run by Corrections Corporation of America, which also runs the Oklahoma prison.

"There are two ways to solve the issue of the prison-bed shortage: reduce demand and increase capacity," Zavaras said.

Corrections Corp. recently built new facilities to hold a total of 1,440 more prisoners at Kit Carson Correctional Facility in Burlington and Bent County Correctional Facility.

"The state has enacted a plan for reducing recidivism and the demand for bed space, but we are also planning for future increases in bed capacity," Zavaras said.

The 360 Colorado inmates who remain in Oklahoma will be returned to Colorado within four weeks, he said.

Zavaras said the decision to send prisoners out of state was made as a last resort.

"The department and state lawmakers realize the transfer impacted families across the state — families who are a key to reconciliation, which reduces the likelihood the offender will reoffend when returned to the community," he said.

A new 948-bed state prison under construction in Cañon City is scheduled to open in early 2010.

The Denver Post