DETROIT – Former Detroit City Council president Monica Conyers was sent off to Alderson Prison Camp in West Virginia.
Alderson is also known as "camp cupcake." It's the same place domestic diva Martha Stewart served her time. Alderson has gained the namesake because it's posh compared to life in most prisons.
Now, the Defenders have learned Conyers was transferred out of the prison on April 12. She is now at a federal facility near Raleigh, N.C.
It's called CCM Raleigh, located in Butner, N.C. The prison facility is mainly used as a residential re-entry center. Conyers' inmates are monitored 24/7. They undergo drug testing and some of them work up to 40 hours a week off site.
That's the case for many inmates who are about six months away from their release date. Conyers, though, isn't due out for more than a year. Her release date is May 16, 2013.
While she may have gotten into the new program early, an inmate can be transferred to the North Carolina prison and sent to another part of the facility if the inmate is having difficulty adjusting to life in her current lock-up. Those difficulties include behavioral issues such as problems getting along with other inmates or the need for additional counseling.
The reason Conyers was moved remains unclear at this point.
A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons said they can "confirm inmate Monica Conyers has just been transferred from Alderson Prison Camp to a different facility in North Carolina. While we can confirm she has been moved we can not reveal why this move was made."