ID & TX: anywhere but there

The good news is that no more Idahoans will be going to the Black Hole of Newton County. From the Idaho Statesman:

Idaho inmates will leave Texas prison and some Idaho jails

Idaho inmates housed at a private Texas prison that has been criticized for prisoner abuse will be moved elsewhere because the prison canceled its contract with Idaho. And more Idaho prisoners will be headed out of state soon.

It's unclear where the 419 Idaho prisoners currently housed at the Newton County Correctional Center will be sent, but the private prison in Newton, Texas, notified the Idaho Department of Correction that it needs to move the prisoners to make room for Texas inmates, department spokeswoman Melinda O'Malley Keckler said Tuesday. Keckler said the decision had nothing to do with recent reports that Newton prison employees abused Idaho prisoners...

Well, okay, if you say so...

(For Josie Daniel, whose brother, inmate Eddie Daniel, has reported abuse at the Newton prison, the news of the move is a relief. Josie Daniel said her brother has been threatened by prison staff for speaking out and was recently placed in solitary confinement. "I'm happy because I know they're going to be out of that horrendous facility," she said.)

... but you might want to check with your own director to get your stories straight. For whatever reason IDOC's not sending Idaho inmates to Newton County any more, you're still shipping them far from home and family to serve their time. From the Houston Chronicle (and other news outlets):

Idaho will move 100 more prisoners out of state

Beset by overcrowded prisons, Idaho will transfer 100 more inmates out of the state, bringing the total prisoners who will have been sent elsewhere to about 550. Idaho also plans to send 419 prisoners now in a private Texas prison to an undisclosed facility after allegations of prisoner maltreatment emerged there and because that state's prison officials said they wanted the space for Texas inmates.

Though Texas prison officials have asked for the space in Newton County for their own prisoners, (Idaho Department of Correction Director Tom) Beauclair said Tuesday an important reason for the move is he's become dissatisfied with the situation there, including the prison's trouble hiring qualified staff. "The problem with Texas was, we have a culture clash going on," Beauclair said. "That's why we're looking at moving."