The Nation - News from Jan. 18, 1987

Prison officials in Huntsville, Tex., worked overtime to speed the release of 250 inmates to make room for processing more inmates Monday. Prison Director O. L. McCotter shut the doors to the nation’s second-largest prison system after a count showed that the inmate population was 38,414--35 prisoners above the 95% of capacity limit set last week by the Texas Corrections Board. John Byrd, executive director of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, said that all of the inmates being freed had already been approved for release or parole.