Fort Madison, IA – The future of Iowa's prison system will be a hot topic in Des Moines come January.
A veteran legislator says one thing is certain, a state prison will remain in Fort Madison.
State Senator Gene Fraise (D-Fort Madison) is the co-chair of a panel charged with making recommendations to the legislature after reviewing the state's prison system, specificically infrastructure, treatment, and classification.
He is certain one of the recommendations will be to keep the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison, despite some lawmakers wanting to move the facility and the lack of anything in writing guaranteeing its location.
Fraise says Governor Chet Culver's pledge to keep the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison is also an important factor in any discussion.
The State Board of Corrections has already weighed in with its thoughts on the future of the Iowa State Penitentiary.
That panel says a new 800-bed facility should be built in Fort Madison.
It says the ISP's Critical Care Unit and a medium security complex should also remain open.
The rest of the buildings within the facility's walls would be closed.
Fraise and the head of the union representing Iowa's prison workers, Dan Homan, both say the entire current facility should be used to deal with overcrowding when the new prison is built.
There are more than 1,100 inmates currently housed at the Iowa State Penitentiary.
Additional Information
* Members of Fraise's committee were given an all access tour of the facility.
* The panel could make its recommendations in November.
* The media was also allowed to go on the tour.