Will prison closings follow decrease in prisoners?

Yesterday, the New York Times reported on data released by the Pew Center on the States providing evidence that the state inmate population "which [has grown] for nearly four decades, [has] begun to dip." In fact, according to the Sentencing Project, New York has reached a 20% reduction in prison populations over the past ten years. Despite this dip, Paterson's proposal to close four upstate correctional facilitites is a topic of great controversy, pitting prison reformists against the Correctional Officer's union and upstate townships where the prisons are located and generate a substantial amount of income. To read about the controversy in the Gotham Gazette, click here.