Gov. Andy Beshear says Kentucky plans to reopen and operate a privately owned prison to shift inmates from overcrowded county jails.
The facility is in Floyd County in eastern Kentucky. Beshear said Thursday that the state will lease the facility from Tennessee-based CoreCivic but will operate it as a state prison housing male inmates.
The 656-bed facility will be called Southeast State Correctional Complex. Officials said it last held inmates in 2012. Beshear says its opening will reduce the number of state inmates held in county jails.
Overcrowding at some county jails has created potentially dangerous conditions.
