Delco GOP Candidates Call Out Dem Leadership Over Issues at Prison
“Two Delaware County Republican candidates held a press conference Thursday pointing out the problematic conditions at the George W. Will Correctional Facility and laying the blame at the feet of the county’s Democratic leadership.
Delaware County District Attorney candidate Beth Stefanide-Miscichowski and Jeff Jones, who is running for county council, said conditions at the facility are especially concerning given the recent escape by a convicted murderer at the Chester County Prison.
‘It seems to be a recipe for disaster,”’Stefanide-Miscichichowski said. ‘Are we going to wait until an inmate shimmies up a wall to see the train coming?’
‘In the 18 months since the Delaware County government took over managing the day-to-day operations (at the jail), there have been six inmate deaths, including three suicides, a prisoner murdered by his cellmate, and two other deaths categorized as ‘extraordinary occurrences,’ added Stefanide-Miscichowski. ‘The budget to operate the prison has increased more than 16 percent in 4 years, while the prison’s population has decreased by 28 percent, yet conditions are getting worse.’
Jones said, ‘The Delaware County Council has created a $65 million hole in the county budget that they have already admitted will require them to seek ‘new sources of revenue.’ In government speak, that means higher taxes—a 35 percent increase in county property taxes, to be exact.’
‘Since Delco Dems have assumed management, six inmates have died, representing a ten-fold increase in deaths under GEO (the private company that used to run the prison). As the number of inmates has decreased, the cost of running the prison has increased by $10 million. Worse care and less safety for more money,’ Jones said.”
