Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi private prison with a history of inmate abuse is preparing to shut down, three months after state officials announced their intention to close it because of a tight state budget.
Thursday is the final day of operations at the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, according to Mississippi Department of Corrections spokeswoman Grace Simmons Fisher.
She says 900 inmates have been moved to state-run prisons the past several weeks.
The prison originally housed juveniles and has been under federal court oversight since 2012, after a judge found abusive conditions. Juveniles were removed, but high assault rates and problems with supervision of inmates persisted until the state removed maximum-security prisoners.
Utah-based Management and Training Corp. took over management of the prison in 2012 from Florida-based GEO Group.