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Smoking ban imposed after Ky. prison riot  

A top state public safety official said he found some buildings nearly gutted, with windows shattered, computer equipment and light fixtures slammed against walls and toilets destroyed, when he inspected a central Kentucky prison Monday in the aftermath of a riot.

Justice and Public Safety Secretary J. Michael Brown said the damage at the Northpoint Training Center is so severe, he expects several buildings will have to be torn down and rebuilt.

"While it may look like the walls are standing, I'm not an engineer, but I understand just the heat from that can cause structural cracks," Brown said. "I believe most of (the buildings) will have to be razed, and we'll have to start from scratch."

Officials banned smoking — at least temporarily — after the Friday riot and were forced to relocate more than half of the facility's 1,200 prisoners. . . .

He said the prison had allowed smoking — including matches — in designated outdoor areas, but that policy was lifted after several fires were set Friday during the riot. Many Kentucky prisons were going to a smoking ban anyway, Brown said.

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