By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – A former prison commissioner says plans to convert a Montgomery area Work Release Center to a minimum-security prison will hurt some local businesses. Larry Bennett says Montgomery-area businesses that employ the inmates were told the workers will be relocated. After January 30th, the work-release prisoners will be housed in Alexander City or Bullock County. That would require longer commutes to work for inmates. The center at Kilby Correctional Facility houses almost 300 inmates who work for wages to pay restitution and child support. Prison spokesperson Brian Corbett says converting the center is part of a broader realignment of the state prison system.