Untitled Page

As female prison population rises, local housing options dwindle

By Anne Thrower athrower@paducahsun.com--270.575.8653

photo by: BARKLEY THIELEMAN/The Sun
caption: Crowding problem:Gwendolyn Ryan describes conditions in the McCracken County Jail.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Western Kentucky jailers had hoped that adding a second prison for women in Kentucky would relieve overcrowding at local jails. But more than four months after the Kentucky Department of Corrections sent 400 females to the Otter Creek Correctional Center, little relief has been seen locally. McCracken County Jailer Bill Adams said recently he never has fewer than 80 women in a jail designed to hold no more than 40 women. There were 105 women in the jail on Friday. “We are strapped,” he said.

Adams has between 10 and 15 women waiting to be taken to the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women in Pewee Valley, the only female prison in Kentucky until July when the state contracted with the Otter Creek Correctional Center, a private facility, at Wheelwright, just east of Hazard. All women inmates are still processed at Pewee Valley.

Graves County Jailer Randy Haley says his biggest concern is finding another county to take women when he’s reached the saturation point. He averages 20 women in two cells designed for 16 women.

But it’s not just the overcrowding at other jails that makes it hard to find beds, Haley said. Jailers generally would rather have male inmates than females. They are simply easier to manage, several jailers said.

Women’s needs are much greater, and they don’t get along with each other as well as men do, Adams said.

The overcrowding has created more disturbances, but there have been no serious physical injuries, Adams said.

Haley would like to see a women’s prison in the western part of the state. “That would make it a lot easier,” he said.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lamb said female inmate numbers grow continually. For the fiscal year ending June 30, the female prison population grew by 15 percent compared to 9 percent for men.

Contracting with Corrections Corporation of America, Otter Creek’s parent company, has eased the Pewee Valley overcrowding but hasn’t eliminated the problem, Lamb said. There are still 325 women in county jails waiting to go to prison.

The population at Pewee Valley hasn’t changed much. Before Otter Creek opened, Pewee Valley had 727 women; now there are 698.

The second facility has also given corrections officials more flexibility. With only one facility, there was no way to move a woman who needed to be separated. All that could be done was to move the woman to a different dorm, Lamb said.

Corrections Commissioner John Rees has requested more beds for women at Otter Creek, and is considering expanding the state’s electronic monitoring program as an alternative to prison, Lamb said.

More residential drug treatment facilities are scheduled to come on line in 2006 through Recovery Kentucky, a program Rees hopes will help the overcrowding.

Inmate’s view

Gwendolyn Ryan, 27, has seen the steady increase in female inmates in the nine years she has been in and out of the McCracken County Jail.

She was sentenced last month by McCracken Circuit Judge Jeff Hines to 612 years on several drug-related charges. While she could go to a state prison at any time, she remains in Paducah, possibly because other charges against her are still pending.

But even women who do not have pending charges can wait months for transfer before a state bed becomes available.

“I’ve come in here so much I know some of the people as much as my own family,” Ryan said. Released in July, she was arrested again in October.

Drugs — specifically crack cocaine — has been her downfall, Ryan said. “Drugs has taken everything from me, it’s taken my freedom and it’s taken my health,” she said.

In many respects Ryan is a typical female inmate at the jail. Most of the women in jail here have drug-related problems. Of the 87 women in jail Tuesday, 54 had drug charges.

That parallels the county’s jail population as a whole. Of the 431 men and women inmates, only 149 were behind bars on charges not connected to drugs.

But Ryan is not typical in one respect — she has no children. Most of the women inmates are mothers, and it isn’t unusual to have one or more women pregnant while in jail, Adams said.

Most of the jailed women here are in their 20s or early 30s, but all age groups are represented.

The jail has life skills classes, formerly called parenting classes, started by a local Baptist church. At this time of year some of the women are busy making Christmas cards for their children.

“It seems to kind of take care of some of the emotional side of not being around children,” Adams said.

Some local jails have found ways for women to have contact visits with their children, especially the younger ones.

Marshall County Jailer Roger Ford allows women to have one contact visit a month with their children 18 and under if they complete a six-week life skills program. “I hope they are getting more out of it than the contact visits,” he said.

Ford said he has seen a difference in their conduct since starting the incentive part of the program several months ago. The jail also offers GED, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous programs.

Because of the overcrowding, Ryan said it’s hard to even walk around in the 15-bed cell that usually holds almost twice as many women. But that’s not what the women usually argue about, she said. Rather, the arguments center around what to watch on television or who is staying too long on the phone, she said.


	Growing Concern
		As female prison population rises, local housing options dwindle By Anne Thrower athrower@paducahsun.com--270.575.8653 photo by: BARKLEY THIELEMAN/The Sun caption: Crowding problem:Gwendolyn Ryan describes conditions in the McCracken County Jail. Sunday, December 11, 2005 Western Kentucky jailers had hoped that adding a second prison for women in Kentucky would relieve overcrowding at local jails. But more than four months after the Kentucky Department of Corrections sent 400 females to the Otter Creek Correctional Center, little relief has been seen locally. McCracken County Jailer Bill Adams said recently he never has fewer than 80 women in a jail designed to hold no more than 40 women. There were 105 women in the jail on Friday. “We are strapped,” he said. Adams has between 10 and 15 women waiting to be taken to the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women in Pewee Valley, the only female prison in Kentucky until July when the state contracted with the Otter Creek Correctional Center, a private facility, at Wheelwright, just east of Hazard. All women inmates are still processed at Pewee Valley. Graves County Jailer Randy Haley says his biggest concern is finding another county to take women when he’s reached the saturation point. He averages 20 women in two cells designed for 16 women. But it’s not just the overcrowding at other jails that makes it hard to find beds, Haley said. Jailers generally would rather have male inmates than females. They are simply easier to manage, several jailers said. Women’s needs are much greater, and they don’t get along with each other as well as men do, Adams said. The overcrowding has created more disturbances, but there have been no serious physical injuries, Adams said. Haley would like to see a women’s prison in the western part of the state. “That would make it a lot easier,” he said. Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lamb said female inmate numbers grow continually. For the fiscal year ending June 30, the female prison population grew by 15 percent compared to 9 percent for men. Contracting with Corrections Corporation of America, Otter Creek’s parent company, has eased the Pewee Valley overcrowding but hasn’t eliminated the problem, Lamb said. There are still 325 women in county jails waiting to go to prison. The population at Pewee Valley hasn’t changed much. Before Otter Creek opened, Pewee Valley had 727 women; now there are 698. The second facility has also given corrections officials more flexibility. With only one facility, there was no way to move a woman who needed to be separated. All that could be done was to move the woman to a different dorm, Lamb said. Corrections Commissioner John Rees has requested more beds for women at Otter Creek, and is considering expanding the state’s electronic monitoring program as an alternative to prison, Lamb said. More residential drug treatment facilities are scheduled to come on line in 2006 through Recovery Kentucky, a program Rees hopes will help the overcrowding. Inmate’s view Gwendolyn Ryan, 27, has seen the steady increase in female inmates in the nine years she has been in and out of the McCracken County Jail. She was sentenced last month by McCracken Circuit Judge Jeff Hines to 612 years on several drug-related charges. While she could go to a state prison at any time, she remains in Paducah, possibly because other charges against her are still pending. But even women who do not have pending charges can wait months for transfer before a state bed becomes available. “I’ve come in here so much I know some of the people as much as my own family,” Ryan said. Released in July, she was arrested again in October. Drugs — specifically crack cocaine — has been her downfall, Ryan said. “Drugs has taken everything from me, it’s taken my freedom and it’s taken my health,” she said. In many respects Ryan is a typical female inmate at the jail. Most of the women in jail here have drug-related problems. Of the 87 women in jail Tuesday, 54 had drug charges. That parallels the county’s jail population as a whole. Of the 431 men and women inmates, only 149 were behind bars on charges not connected to drugs. But Ryan is not typical in one respect — she has no children. Most of the women inmates are mothers, and it isn’t unusual to have one or more women pregnant while in jail, Adams said. Most of the jailed women here are in their 20s or early 30s, but all age groups are represented. The jail has life skills classes, formerly called parenting classes, started by a local Baptist church. At this time of year some of the women are busy making Christmas cards for their children. “It seems to kind of take care of some of the emotional side of not being around children,” Adams said. Some local jails have found ways for women to have contact visits with their children, especially the younger ones. Marshall County Jailer Roger Ford allows women to have one contact visit a month with their children 18 and under if they complete a six-week life skills program. “I hope they are getting more out of it than the contact visits,” he said. Ford said he has seen a difference in their conduct since starting the incentive part of the program several months ago. The jail also offers GED, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous programs. Because of the overcrowding, Ryan said it’s hard to even walk around in the 15-bed cell that usually holds almost twice as many women. But that’s not what the women usually argue about, she said. Rather, the arguments center around what to watch on television or who is staying too long on the phone, she said.

Growing Concern