As Hays State Prison slowly rolls off lockdown there is hope in sight that prisoners will get to visit with family members and loved ones soon, according to Warden Rick Jacobs.

As work modifying cells and repairing locks continues at the prison, the next phase of lockdown will be a “slow roll off” according to the Warden, which is when little by little, prisoners will be given more freedoms, one day at a time.

Depending on how that works will depend on how soon prisoners are allowed visitation. Visitation and no lockdown is expected by around the beginning of June at the latest.

Jacobs said the prisoners are being cooperative and are making progress.

He says Hays is one of the toughest prisons in the state. It’s a Level 5 prison and prisons will have issues, but it won’t be like it has been.

At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, three inmates were murdered at the prison and two correctional officers were stabbed. The correctional officers recovered from their injuries.

(1180AM)