Montana

Montana Department of Corrections working to move inmates from local jails, but struggles with capacity

Published

2 years ago

August 30, 2024

Montana Department of Corrections working to move inmates from local jails, but struggles with capacity

MISSOULA — The Montana Department of Corrections this week said it’s working on plans to move inmates out of county jails to the state prison and is looking for long-term solutions to overcrowding and capacity issues.

Missoula County this month launched a disputewith the state agency, saying that it’s using local jails to house its own inmates and not funding the full cost of doing so. It also claims that state inmates aren’t getting treated for addiction or mental health issues while held in county jails.

Carolynn Stocker, the communications director for the Department of Corrections, said the agency is doing what it can to address those concerns, which are held by a number of counties.

“We’re trying to move people out of those jails as quickly as we possibly can,” Stocker said. “Every single facility we have is overcrowded right now.”

As of Thursday, the Department of Corrections listed 473 jail holds, including 41 in the Missoula County Detention Facility. Of those, 178 are currently pending transport to prison.

However, the Montana State Prison’s current population stands at 1,588 while its operational capacity is 1,526. The Montana Women’s Prison listed its population at 247 while its operational capacity is 240.

“We have nowhere to put the people,” Stocker said.

Missoula County sent notice to the statethat it plans to revoke its consent to hold state offenders at the local jail without prior permission unless the Department of Corrections pays the full cost of housing that inmate.

According to the county, the running cost of housing a single inmate for one day at the local jail stands at $125. But the Department of Corrections reimburses the county just $82 for holding one of its inmates.

County officials said that leaves local taxpayers to cover the remainder of the cost.

“They’re not paying the actual cost currently set by the county at $125, therefore shifting that difference to Missoula County taxpayers for individuals we’re not responsible for,” said jail commander Sheryl Ziegler. “We’re trying to avoid that continued financial burden we’re placing on county taxpayers.”

The payment issue has lingered for years, but Stocker said it’s one the Department of Corrections can’t control.

“Those rates are set by the Legislature,” she said. “We are where we are for now.”

The county also accused the state of failing to address capacity issues and mental health. Among other things, it said state inmates held at the county jail “stay with us until they reach eligibility for parole and they’re released and never get treatment.”

Stocker said the Department of Corrections would need specific examples before commenting on the issue.

“I would need specific examples of people put in jail. There is generally treatment programming requirements from the judge,” she said. “But we know that local detention centers aren’t set up for that type of programming.”

This week, the state’s Select Committee on Corrections Facility Capacity and System Development moved closer to finalizing a reporton how to expand Montana’s prison capacity.

Among other things, it considers adding more beds to the Montana State Prison and building a new women’s prison, nearly doubling the capacity there to 500 beds.

It may also consider moving Montana inmates to contracted prisons in other states like it did recently when it shipped 120 inmates to Arizona. The proposal also looks to “fund additional contracted capacity in lieu of facility construction.”

In all, according to the committee’s draft report, Montana’s offender population has grown by nearly 65% over the last 24 years – more than twice the rate of the state’s resident population.

“At some point, we have to recommend something,” said Rep. John Fitzpatrick. “We’ve studied this thing about five times in the last 20 years and haven’t done anything. The first step in doing something is to have someone recommend you do it.”

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Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for March 2, 2026

Published

8 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 2 drawing

06-12-19-29, Bonus: 11

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

20 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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