Inmates Catch Red-Eye To Louisiana

Under heavy security, 150 prison inmates from Orofino and Boise arrived by convoy and boarded a 727 jet bound for Louisiana.

The medium- and minimum-security inmates were sent late Thursday to a private prison in Basile, La., to help ease crowding in Idaho’s state prisons.

Because some family members of the Orofino prisoners were upset at news of the move, and for other security reasons, the date of the transfer was kept secret.

The prisoners - 32 from Boise and 118 from Orofino - were shackled with leg irons and handcuffs and put on four school buses in Orofino. The convoy of about 20 vehicles was expected to start at 6:30 p.m., but loading the prisoners took longer than expected.

At about 8:15 p.m. the convoy headed down U.S. Highway 12. An hour later, it pulled into the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport where a plane with a Florida Panthers hockey team logo waited.

Dean Allen, deputy warden at the Orofino prison, said no disruptions occurred during the move.

Just in case something did happen, however, about 50 law enforcement officials at the airport were ready. Members of the Lewiston Police Department, Nez Perce County and Clearwater County sheriff’s offices and the Idaho State Police formed a wide circle around the plane.

A total of 300 Idaho inmates are expected to be moved to Louisiana by the end of the year.