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Walker signing bill to close troubled Wisconsin youth prison

By: Associated Press//March 30, 2018//

Walker signing bill to close troubled Wisconsin youth prison

By: Associated Press//March 30, 2018//

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Gov. Scott Walker is signing legislation to close a troubled youth prison in Wisconsin and authorize money for new prisons across the state.

The legislation the Republican governor is signing in Milwaukee on Friday afternoon will allow the state to borrow $80 million for building prisons to house juvenile offenders when the Lincoln Hills prison shuts down by 2021. Counties willing to accommodate the less serious offenders will receive some of the funding.

Juvenile justice advocates like Sharlen Moore with Youth Justice Milwaukee and the American Civil Liberties Union in Wisconsin hope the money is also used for services and programs as alternatives to incarceration.

The prison is about a three-hour drive from Milwaukee has been the target of guard-on-prisoner allegations for years.

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