Employees will keep their jobs until May 8 while prison officials continue to seek new inmates to fill the 1,400-bed Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility. They have thus far failed to sign a deal despite having aggressively courted the Hawaii Department of Corrections, which will end its contract with Arizona to house 524 prisoners in June.
Prison officials notified employees of their new extension Friday.
Hawaiian officials, who have twice visited the Tutwiler lockup since March and expressed interest in the facility, have still not rendered a decision on the matter, said Steve Owen, spokesman for the Nashville-based Corrections Corp. of America, the company that manages the prison.
Their delay in signing an agreement doesn't signal a breakdown in the negotiating process, however, Owen said, adding that a contract could come at any time. But CCA executives continue to aggressively market the private facility to other entities as well.
While awaiting a new contract, prison employees have continued to keep a positive outlook on the situation, said prison spokeswoman Carolyn McAdams.