THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 14, 1994 TAG: 9407140643
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
Attorney General Mike Easley has asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling he made last month so that the state can keep more inmates in its prisons.
U.S. District Court Judge Earl Britt modified a settlement of a prison crowding lawsuit on June 29, allowing the state to operate its new prison dormitories at 125 percent of capacity, but requiring older dormitories to give each inmate 50 square feet of living space.
The state had asked that all the dormitories be allowed to exceed their capacity, which is defined as 50 square feet per inmate.
In a motion filed Wednesday, Easley asked Britt to let new dormitories operate at 130 percent of capacity, which is roughly the level at which they now operate. He also asked that Britt consider modifications to the floor plan for older dormitories that would allow more prisoners to be held.
``I am obligated to propose a plan that allows us to keep criminals behind bars in a safe, secure and constitutional manner,'' Easley said in a statement released after the motion was filed.
``The judge has acknowledged that our prisons are safe and secure, and now I am asking him to set the modification at a level that is well within constitutional limits and provides space to keep more criminals incarcerated.''
``We welcome any action that will give us more space to keep prisoners behind bars,'' Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. said in a statement.
KEYWORDS: PRISON
by CNB