Fort Bend County prison slated for closure

The Jester I Unit — a facility with a 323-prisoner capacity outside Richmond — is expected to shutter its doors by the end of 2020, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials. The Jester I Unit — a facility with a 323-prisoner capacity outside Richmond — is expected to shutter its doors by the end of 2020, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials. Photo: James Nielsen, Staff / Houston Chronicle Photo: James Nielsen, Staff / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Fort Bend County prison slated for closure 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

A Houston-area prison is slated to close this year, state lawmakers on Thursday said.

The Jester I Unit in Richmond — which can hold about 320 prisoners, mostly with substance abuse offenses — is expected to shutter “in the coming months,” state Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) said in a news release, without elaborating on when the facility may shut down.

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About 120 employees were working at the prison in 2016, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website.

A second prison in Bee County, the Garza Unit in Beeville where about 2,280 prisoners can be housed, will also shut down. Closing both units is expected to save the state $20 million a year, Whitmire said.

Garza and Jester I Unit employees will be offered jobs at other prisons, he continued in a news release, and prisoner programs will also be transferred.

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Since 2007, the state has ordered the closure of 10 prisons, including the most recent facilities in Fort Bend and Bee County.

nicole.hensley@chron.com