ASHLAND, La. (AP) - The Terrebonne Parish sheriff says the new women’s jail is open, freeing 80 beds in what’s now the men’s jail.
Sheriff Jerry Larpenter tells The Comet (https://bit.ly/2lB28l9 ) that inmates moved into the new jail late last week, even getting new uniforms.
Parish President Gordy Dove says the parish saved more than $200,000 by using inmate labor to renovate the former juvenile detention center in Ashland as a jail with space for 130 women. He says the work cost the parish about $150,000.
The conversion includes an onsite sewing room where inmates can repair uniforms and mattresses. Jail officials say that work has been costing the jail $10,000 a year.
The jail’s four dorms include a maximum-security area, another lockdown dorm and two pods for women awaiting trial.
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