The Nation : Texas Prison Plan Offered

Texas Gov. Bill Clements offered a $408-million plan for adding 19,000 beds to the state’s crowded prisons, which have been closed repeatedly this year. State Corrections Director Jim Lynaugh said that the four-year plan “meets the objectives we feel are absolutely necessary” to comply with a court-ordered thinning of prison populations and to make room for increasing numbers of convicts. This week, the state’s prisons were filled to capacity and closed for the 13th time this year, and inmates due to begin serving time had to be held in county jails.