By JIM SUHR (AP) – 9 hours ago
ST. LOUIS — Tony Ferranto worries as he walks his patrol at maximum-security Menard Correctional Center in Illinois.
Only 150 officers stand watch these days over more than 3,500 inmates — about 700 more than capacity. Each guard covers eight inmates when they are corralled into the cafeteria, twice as many as a few years ago. And the governor says more cuts may loom.
“I’m not trying to glorify our job. It has inherent dangers,” said Ferranto, a 32-year-old married father of two. “But when you’re dealing with these people under these circumstances, it’s a bomb ready to go off.”