Private Prison To Reopen

HINTON, Okla. (AP) -- A private prison in the Caddo County town of Hinton will reopen later this summer after getting a contract to keep 2,000 inmates from Arizona.<br/><br/>Houston-based Cornell Companies

Friday, May 4th 2007, 2:07 pm

By: News On 6

HINTON, Okla. (AP) -- A private prison in the Caddo County town of Hinton will reopen later this summer after getting a contract to keep 2,000 inmates from Arizona.

Houston-based Cornell Companies owns the Great Plains Correctional Facility and has agreed to a one-year deal with the Arizona Department of Corrections with four one-year options to follow.

The prison was shut down and nearly 200 workers laid off earlier this year after the Oklahoma Department of Corrections pulled out the last of its more than 800 inmates.

The prison is currently equipped with 812 beds and the contract calls for it to open with 916 beds. The prison is to expand to hold the 2,000 inmates by the fourth quarter of next year.

The first inmates are expected in August or September.

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3/20/2007 Prison Prepares To Shut Its Doors

4/7/2007 Last Of Private Prison Employees Leave