Idaho just sent another 150 male prison inmates to Texas

The Idaho Department of Correction has sent another 150 male inmates to be housed at a prison in Texas because the state’s prisons and jails are too crowded.

The inmates arrived around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Eagle Pass Correctional Facility in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Idaho now has 549 inmates at the facility. IDOC has another 151 inmates at the Karnes County Correctional Center in Karnes City, Texas.

The state said earlier this year that it anticipated having to send inmates out of state due to the lack of available space in Idaho.

All inmates sent out of state are male, in medium- or minimum-custody, and have no escape history. They must also have no active warrants or detainers, and be eligible for parole or full-term release after 2020. Officials also review each inmate’s institutional behavior and medical and mental health history before transfer.

Idaho’s prison population and the demand for beds has grown over the last year.

As of Tuesday, Idaho had 8,659 offenders that it was responsible for housing, whether that’s in or out of state. On the same day last year, Oct. 9, 2017, the state had 8,330 offenders in its prison system.

It does cost the state more to house an inmate out of state. It costs about $68.32 per day to keep an inmate at an IDOC facility, and about $69.95 per day to house them at the Texas facility — not including additional costs for transport, medical and administrative fees.

IDOC has begun discussion about addressing the state’s bed shortage through a $500 million proposal that would expand existing facilities and fund a new 1,510-bed prison.

This story was originally published October 10, 2018 at 7:34 AM.