Montgomery County Prison Expansion Dedicated
EAGLEVILLE, Pa. (CBS) - Montgomery County, Pa. officials have dedicated another major expansion at the county prison.
Saying he was filled with mixed emotions, Warden Julio Algarin presided over the dedication of the new dormitory-style expansion that can accommodate just over five hundred prisoners on work-release or serving sentences for DUI and other nonviolent crimes.
The wing will alleviate significant overcrowding which still exists even though the county has implemented specialized courts designed to get defendants help.
Algarin (below right) praised county officials for being progressive and having a vision.
"They agreed that we cannot continue to build lock 'em up, throw away the key-type prisons, (but must) build and expand on what does work and contributes to positive reinforcement and the participation and need for self-improvement," he said today, specifically citing inmates who suffer from "addictions, mental health problems, medical concerns, lack of education, and abusive past issues that need to be addressed in a specialized, structured manner."
President Judge Richard Hodgson called it a good and bad day -- good that they got the prison built, bad that they needed to get to this point.
This latest prison expansion cost $23 million and took a year to complete.
Reported by Brad Segall, KYW Newsradio 1060
