Inside Oregon
Basic Facts About Prison and Oregon
May 19, 2008 - 2:06pm| Number of Prisons | 14 Prisons – The newest, Deer Ridge in Madras, opened in 2007 with a capacity of 1,867 beds. |
| Number of Prisoners | 13,614 people as of May 1, 2008. |
| Women Prisoners | 1,073 of Oregon’s prisoners were women as of May 1, 2008. |
| Future Prisons | A new prison at Junction City will have 1,794 beds. Construction start date will be summer 2009. |
| State Population | 3,700,758 (based on 2006 estimates from the US Census) |
| DOC Budget | The Department of Corrections budget for the 2007-09 biennium is approximately $1.3 billion. |
| DOC Website | The ODOC website has extensive statistics, policy and budget information, along with visiting information organized by prison. Some statistics are updated monthly. |
| Newspapers | The main newspapers in the state that cover stories related to prisons and Corrections policy are the Oregonian and the Statesman Journal. You can see a fairly complete list of Oregon newspapers here. |
| Racial Disparity | Although Black/African-American people make up less than 2% of Oregon's population, they make up 10% of Oregon's prison population. |
OR: No Charges Filed in Prisoner Death
June 11, 2008 - 10:55am No charges were filed in the death of David Schmidt who died on December 3 after a struggle with guards at Oregon State Penitentiary.
OR: Prisoner Shot at SRCI
June 10, 2008 - 10:39am In early April, a guard at Snake River Correctional Institution (SRCI) shot and wounded a prisoner during a fight in the recreation area.
OR: Homicide at SRCI
June 10, 2008 - 9:12am On May 12, James Ivan Biggs was found dead in his cell at Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, Oregon. The Malheur County District Attorney reported that the death was a homicide.
Oregon Ballot Measures 51, 52 & 53
May 8, 2008 - 4:03pm PSJ is taking no position on these measures or any other ballot measure in the May election. Our focus right now is on defeating Mannix’s Mandatory Minimum Measure in November.
