Inmates move to new prison

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - State inmates were making the move Wednesday from Missouri's oldest prison to its newest.

The state Department of Corrections said staff from other state prisons, the state Highway Patrol and local sheriff's and police officers all were helping with the inmate transfer.

The new, high-tech Jefferson City Correctional Center will house some of the state's most violent criminals. It opened its doors to the public in June. About 1,350 inmates were moving there Wednesday.

The $128 million prison replaces the nearly 170-year-old Missouri State Penitentiary and will have 1,996 beds for maximum security male inmates. It will employ about 690 people.

The new prison is located on a 160-acre site about eight miles east of Jefferson City. The old prison is in downtown Jefferson City, a few blocks east of the state Capitol. Both are located along the Missouri River.

The Missouri State Penitentiary has been the oldest continuously operated prison west of the Mississippi River.

Last year, a convicted murderer was killed at the prison and two suspects - also convicted murderers - went missing for days before authorities found them hiding under a staircase in the basement ice house where the killing occurred. One of those inmates was charged last week with first-degree murder.

Corrections officials say the new prison has a modern design and better technology to keep the community and corrections staff safe. For example, the new prison is on relatively flat ground, and no buildings are more than two stories high. The complex is designed so officers can easily view all of the grounds, pipes are above ground, and the buildings for housing inmates are laid out so all rooms can be seen and communicated with from a central control room.

A commission is planning how to use the old prison and surrounding grounds. Some state office buildings already are under construction on the site. Other ideas include hotels and a convention center.