A Bear Market for Prison Building in Texas
A decade ago, Texas completed what was then billed as the biggest prison program in the nation. Now, faced with a $360 million plan for two new prisons, many of the state’s lawmakers are reportedly looking for alternatives.
"It's always been safer politically to build the next prison, rather than stop and see whether that's really the smartest thing to do," says State Sen. John Whitmire. "But we're at a point where I don't think we can afford to do that anymore. . . . We have to look for a best solution to the problem, and that isn't more new prisons." MIKE WARD for the