(Pierre, SD) — South Dakota’s Project Prison Reset task force is narrowing down plans for a new men’s prison after more than eight hours of discussion in Pierre last week. The group now supports building one or more facilities at current Department of Corrections sites or near Worthing or Mitchell, officially rejecting the 825-million-dollar plan for rural Lincoln County. The new target: space for 15- to 17-hundred inmates with a price tag no higher than 600 million. Construction firm JE Dunn will bring design options to the next meeting in July. State Senators Chris Karr and Jamie Smith say lawmakers are focused on both cost and making sure new facilities support rehabilitation and successful reentry. A separate legislative committee starts work later this month on analyzing incarceration trends, prison alternatives, and barriers people face after release.
