Ohio’s prison farm closure more costly than first thought

New cattle barns and an unfinished milking facility, which were part of the Ohio prison farm system and brought to a close when Ohio Gov. John Kasich decided to sell the farms in 2016, were more costly than first realized.  The state-owned farms were operated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, along with the Ohio Penal Industries, and used inmate labor to produce food for the prisoners. A report by the Ohio Inspector Generalshows that the new facilities cost the state a little more than $13 million, compared to roughly $8.6 million spent on the buildings. The larger amount comes from interest, because the bonds were not paid off from the sale of prison farms.“None of the bond payments for the London and Marion barns were paid from these income sources — or from the Ohio Penal Industries budget,” according to the investigation. “Therefore, state of Ohio taxpayers will ultimately pay the estimated $13 million in principal and interest on the bonds issued for ODRC’s dairy improvement projects.”