ATLANTA — The state is closing the 700-bed Bostick State Prison in Milledgeville.
The closure is effective May 1. By closing the prison, Georgia Department of Corrections officials say they could save upwards of $6.7 million annually in operations costs.
“While budget cuts are the result of this closure, the first priority for the Department is to maintain safe and secure prisons,” DOC Commissioner Brian Owens said in a news release. “We will continue to be good stewards of public funds without jeopardizing public safety.”
The prison's staff of 131 will be offered positions at other facilities. Inmates are slated to be transferred to other facilities by April 30. It is unclear how the facility will be used after it is closed as a prison.
The prison is a former 1950s dorm that was converted to a prison in 1987 and currently houses medium security inmates and inmates with special needs, according to the DOC. Because the prison is a so-called “non-enduring” infrastructure and lacks “safety features of other state prisons,” it requires additional staff, according to the DOC.