UNIONTOWN, Ala. - Large portions of Perry County Correctional Center sit dark and empty, while the state continues to grapple with overcrowding of its prison system.
That's according to The Anniston Star, which reported today that the number of staff is nearly equal to the number of inmates at the private, for-profit prison just outside of Uniontown.
The newspaper says Alabama once leased hundreds of beds but today only 30 inmates remain and they are all from the federal system. Prison owner LCS Correction Services is trying to persuade the state to buy the facility or at least bring back prisoners but lawmakers say the state doesn't have the money.
The newspaper reports more than 25,000 people are in the state's prison system, which has facilities built to house 13,000.