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Prison overcrowding, escape tunnel worry New Mexico governor
February 21, 1997Web posted at: 10:00 p.m. EST
SANTA FE, New Mexico (CNN)-- New Mexico's Governor is warning of more trouble ahead for the state's prison system if overcrowding is not eased -- quickly.
"We've got a thousand more prisoners than we've got beds for, so we're just really in a dangerous overcrowded situation." Gov. Gary Johnson told CNN Friday.
Johnson declared a prison emergency this week after authorities discovered a 30-foot tunnel, a makeshift kitchen, and plans to stage a riot at the Penitentiary of New Mexico-- the site of the state's deadliest riot in 1980.
Johnson said it was important to act fast and institute a lockdown at the prison, to avoid a repeat of the 1980 incident in which rioting inmates killed 33 prisoners.
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