[T]he Vermont Department of Corrections has completed the roughly 1,000-mile move of 215 out-of-state prisoners from a facility in Pennsylvania to one in Mississippi.
The move, which involved plane and bus travel for the prisoners, started Wednesday and was done by Thursday.
According to Michael Touchette, Vermont’s deputy corrections commissioner, about half of the 215 inmates were transported Wednesday and the other half on Thursday, with one flight each day.
The flights left Pennsylvania and flew into an airport in Memphis, Tennessee, about 90 minutes from the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi.
Vermont corrections officials were on each of the flights and will be at the Mississippi facility for the next several weeks to assist with the transition, according to Touchette.
The deputy commissioner said Thursday afternoon he was not aware of any problems that arose during the move.
Tom Dalton, executive director of Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform, said late Thursday afternoon that it was too early for him to assess how the move went.
“I haven’t heard anything about the experience of the move yet,” Dalton said. “I don’t think that people have been able to call their loved ones yet or get letters out, it will probably take a little bit, but I’m sure I’m going to be hearing some things.”
Vermont finalized a two-year deal, with options to extend the agreement, last month to send its out-of-state prisoners to the privately run correctional facility in Mississippi.
The state had been sending inmates it could not house in Vermont to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections’ State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill.
That contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections ended early after concerns were raised by Vermont officials over the treatment of inmates at the facility.
Vermont prisoners have also complained about their ability to communicate with people outside the prison, their amount of time outside their cell, and health care. At least three inmates have died there since last fall.
The Mississippi facility is operated by CoreCivic, the largest private prison contractor in the United States.
Civil rights organizations, including the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, have opposed sending prisoners to an out-of-state prison run by a for-profit entity, especially one so far away from Vermont.
Concerns centered on inmates’ needs taking a backseat to the company’s profit margin.
CoreCivic paid for the cost of this week’s move of the inmates from the Pennsylvania facility to the prison in Mississippi, according to Touchette, Vermont’s deputy corrections commissioner.
The terms of the contract with CoreCivic establish that 350 beds will be made available to Vermont. The Mississippi facility has capacity for more than 2,600 inmates.
Touchette said once prisoner funds have been transferred to new accounts the inmates will be allowed to make calls to family members.
“We’ve had a number of inquiries from family members about when they would hear from their loved ones that are in Mississippi,” he said. “We’re doing a transfer of funds from remaining balances from Pennsylvania to Vermont and it will get down to Mississippi.”
Touchette then added, “We are hoping to have it expedited so that people can give a phone call to their families within the next couple of days.”
Visits for the Vermont inmates at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility will start “once the transition has leveled out,” according to the Vermont Department of Corrections.
The state’s contract with Pennsylvania officially ends Oct. 14, Touchette said.