Montague County to start housing federal inmates

MONTAGUE COUNTY, Texas (TNN) - Montague County will begin housing federal prisoners as part of a contract signed with U.S. Corrections, LLC.

“They need places to put these people," said Montague County Chief Deputy Jack Lawson. "They have to be secured the whole time.”

As part of the agreement, U.S. Corrections will pay about $20 per day per inmate housed.

The county can currently hold around 70 inmates properly, so if there is room, U.S. Corrections is allowed to bring in some of their own.

" [It’s a] way for the county to make a little bit of money and to make it easier and better on them too," said Lawson.

The inmates that will be coming into the jail are only meant to be there for two or three days max. Local and federal inmates will be separated at the facility.

Wichita County has had a similar contract in place for years already, but county commissioner Mark Beauchamp says a new contract is awaiting approval from the federal marshal. He says the county sees anywhere from thirty to forty federal detainees every day.

This new contract will include reimbursement for any medical or psychiatric assistance the inmates may need,

and an increase in price per person from $36-58.

With the new law enforcement center expected to increase the number of beds the county can hold, Beauchamp says it will be a major benefit to the county.

“Being able to bring in 100-130 inmates and receiving payment for those, it will help the county’s budget situation for sure,” said Beauchamp.

Beauchamp says the new center, which is expected to finish next year, has plans to hold between 650-700 people.

“It’s been a long time overdue to bring that to our county,” said Beauchamp.

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