LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The new, 621-bed Southeast State Correctional Complex opened Friday in Wheelwright, Kentucky.
The prison will house medium-custody male inmates, according to a news release from the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. The facility was built in 1993 and last held inmates in 2012.
As with all state prisons, precautions have been implemented there to prevent COVID-19 from spreading inside the facility, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a news release.
"I give you my pledge when I say that we are committed to safely and effectively running this state prison, and following all CDC recommendations for correctional facilities in order to keep our inmates and staff as safe as possible," the governor said in the release.
The reopening of the correction complex created more than 270 new jobs in Floyd County.
"These new jobs are vital right now to a community that has faced many hardships during the national pandemic," the governor said.
Beshear in May announced plans to reopen the prison as a way to shift inmates from overcrowded county jails. The state will lease the facility from Tennessee-based CoreCivic but will operate it as a state prison.
“Southeast State Correctional Complex will be a state prison in every sense other than ownership and upkeep of the facility,” said Corrections Commissioner Cookie Crews in May.
Lawmakers passed a one-year state budget in April with funds for the state to open and operate the facility, Beshear's office said.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
