Moriah Shock, the state prison in Mineville, New York, one of the biggest employers in Essex County, has been put on a hit list to close next month. It’s one of six prisons that New York State is planning to shut down. The Department of Corrections says closing the prisons will save 142-million-dollars. Moriah Shock offers substance abuse treatment, education, and job experience that many say is an alternative to more traditional prisons.
Given the success of the program, many were surprised when the state put it on the hit list to close, including many of the 125 employees who work at the prison.
Even though the prison is closing on March 10th, Town Supervisors in Essex County are hopeful they can convince Governor Hochul to reconsider.
Watch our interview with filmmaker Mark Burns, who produced a documentary on Moriah Shock and the work inmates have done, for years, on the Winter Carnival Ice Palace in Saranac Lake, New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t4Pfj–5pc&ab_channel=MountainLakePBS