Associated Press - June 5, 2009 5:54 PM ET
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration will close three state prisons and all 5 of Michigan's minimum-security prison camps this year to save money.
Today's announcement affects facilities across the state.
Prisons in Muskegon west of Grand Rapids, Standish north of Bay City and Kincheloe in the eastern Upper Peninsula will close between August and November.
Prison camps closing are located in Shingleton, Painesdale and Iron River in the U.P.; Grayling in the northern Lower Peninsula; and White Lake in Oakland County.
Granholm wants to bring the prison population to its lowest level in a decade.
Critics worry about the threat to public safety, while prison officials says only low-risk offenders are being released.
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