Topeka ? House members have rejected an amendment that would have restricted the types of inmates the Kansas Department of Correction could house in county jails.

The proposal rejected Tuesday was in response to the escape in April of four state prison inmates who were being held in the Ottawa County jail. The men were in the county jail as part of a contract to alleviate state prison overcrowding.

The House rejected the amendment on a 79-41 vote, arguing that the issue would hamper the corrections secretary’s ability to manage prison populations.

The amendment would have prevented convicted rapists and murderers from being housed in county jails. One of the men who escaped was convicted of two murders in Sedgwick County. All four inmates were recaptured within three days.