Wyoming Prepares for Inmate Move With Prison Building Problems

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 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.