Republicans in the Iowa legislature have agreed to a 20 million dollar increase in the budget for the Iowa Department of Corrections.
It’s the most sizable increase in years and comes after two Anamosa prison employees were beaten to death by two inmates who’ve both been charged with their murders. Representative Gary Worthan of Storm Lake and 52 other Republicans in the House voted for the plan shortly before one o’clock this morning.
Democrats in the House unsuccessfully tried to add more requirements to the plan. Representative Liz Bennett of Cedar Rapids called for a federal investigation of the March 23rd assaults and reports to the legislature on all investigations of the incident.