By Associated Press - Wednesday, May 3, 2017

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Corrections officials say the state will soon sign off a new contract with a private prison company to house inmates if the structurally unsound Wyoming State Penitentiary becomes uninhabitable.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports (https://bit.ly/2qs0LHq) the state’s deal with the Corrections Corporation of America was signed in August and expires June 30. Wyoming Department of Corrections spokesman Mark Horan says a new contract containing the company’s new name, CoreCivic, will be signed in coming weeks.

The $5 million contract says up to 750 male inmates can be sent to prisons owned by the Nashville-based company, depending on the state’s need and available space.

The Rawlins penitentiary has separating walls, buckling floors and doors that are out of alignment.

A CoreCivic spokesman says the company has also discussed plans with Wyoming lawmakers to build a new state petitionary.

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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, https://www.trib.com

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