Board Of Corrections Accepts Proposal To Re-Open Sayre Prison

The Oklahoma Board of Corrections has accepted a proposal to re-open a vacant private prison in Sayre, Oklahoma.

The lease agreement with Corrections Corporation of America for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to operate the North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, Oklahoma, passed unanimously Thursday afternoon. 

Department of Corrections Interim Director Joe Allbaugh presented his proposal on the 2,600-bed North Fork Correctional Facility to the Board of Corrections during its regular meeting Thursday. Allbaugh said the plan is for a long-term lease that would allow state DOC employees to operate the prison, which would house medium and maximum-security prisoners.

The prison is owned by Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America. The prison had been housing more than 2,300 inmates from California, but closed down in 2013 and has been empty since.