A view of the visitors parking lot of the Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center, a state prison within the Colorado Department of Corrections. (Photo by Moe Clark/Colorado Newsline)
A request by Colorado prisons to expand capacity by 900 beds was denied Wednesday by state lawmakers.
The Colorado Department of Corrections’ male inmate population is “much higher” than the current budget anticipated, according to a memo from nonpartisan legislative staff. It is expected to continue growing even as the state is required to make an extra effort to reduce its inmate population under the requirements of a 2018 law activated for the first time last year when the state prison vacancy rate fell below 3% for 30 consecutive days…