GREAT FALLS — The Montana Department of Corrections (DOC) announced that on Wednesday, it completed the last of three inmate transports, placing all 600 of its out-of-state inmates at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Mississippi.
John Riley reports - watch the video here:
“This decision to concentrate our entire out-of-state male prison population in one location allows the department to provide greater consistency to our out-of-state inmates while being efficient and focused in leveraging our contracts,” said DOC director Eric Strauss in a news release. “With this transfer, inmates will have improved access to services and opportunities including jobs, programming, and education.”
Prior to the recent moves, 360 Montana inmates were held at Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, while the other 240 were already housed at the Tallahatchie facility in Mississippi.
During the 2023 and 2025 Montana Legislative Sessions, lawmakers and the governor dedicated funding for out-of-state adult male prison beds to help alleviate ongoing critical overcrowding in Montana’s prisons.
To address the issue for the long term, legislators allocated and the governor secured $306 million to build five new units at Montana State Prison which will add more than 900 beds. The units are expected to open in January 2029.
Watch the video report here:
“We’re extremely grateful to Governor Gianforte and Montana legislators for their investment in our correctional infrastructure,” Strauss said. “The new units will allow us to bring our out-of-state inmates back to Montana to receive the services they need to succeed when they return to the community. In addition, they can be closer to their loved ones while they prepare for that.”
