Ohio shelves switch for Cleveland women's prison

CLEVELAND (AP) — The state is shelving a plan to convert a women’s prison in Cleveland to hold men.

The state was considering moving more than 400 women from the Northeast Pre-Release Center to an underused prison in Dayton to save money.

But Cleveland-area officials objected and said the women, many from northeast Ohio, should be held close to home where they have family ties and can transition back into the community.

Last week letters to guards and inmates said the switch would happen by the end of the year. But prison spokesman Carlo LoParo told The Plain Dealer newspaper the letters were premature and should be considered void.

LoParo told The Associated Press today that the proposal was only a remote possibility.