State to close 4th minimum security prison in three years

The state’s prison agency plans to close a minimum security facility outside of Aiken by the summer. The Lower Savannah Pre-Release Center will close in early June… the fourth such facility to shutter in the past three years. The facility houses inmates who have served the majority of their sentence and are being reintegrated into the community through work release programs. State corrections director Bryan Stirling said a drop in the number of inmates led to the move. Stirling said the staff will move to another medium-security facility about 12 miles away. Lower Savannah has operating capacity of 250 inmates, but currently only houses about 150.