Work is continuing at Hays State Prison in Penville to make the prison safer for inmates and staff, according to Hays Warden Rick Jacobs.

Jacobs says work in B building is almost complete and work on replacing locks in A Building has already begun. He say is all goes as expected, A building should be complete by May 30th. He said that date could shift because of the availability of materials but right now, all is looking good.

That means the return of visitation for prisoners is not too far off, Jacobs explained.

He said after all work is complete, a strategic plan will be laid out, inmates will be reassigned beds and cells and they will come off of lockdown entirely.

A maximum lockdown was instituted on January 18, after Jacobs took the helm at the prison after the murders of three inmates at the end of last year and beginning of this year, and the stabbing of two correctional officers.

The initial lockdown mandated that prisoners not be allowed to move out of their cells with the exception of fundamental needs, such as showers, medical reasons, etc. No visitation was allowed. The prison transitioned to a modified lockdown on February 18, at which point prisoners were allowed restrictive movement.

The third transition, according to Jacobs will be a "slow roll off of lockdown."

Jacobs said, "We won't be opening the doors and letting them out (of their cells) but they'll get a little more freedom each day, one day at a time.

Jacobs said that freedom will be dictated by the inmates and depend on how things transpire.  It will be sometime after this transition that inmates will be allowed visitation with family members and loved ones.