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"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of muturality, tied in a single garment of destiny."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Private Prison News From The Country
OCSEA Turning Back Privatization
Memo to private-prison proponents in the Buckeye State: The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA)/ AFSCME Local 11 will fight you every inch of the way. They’ve exposed the failings of the first state-run prison, and built a strong case for de-privatizing it.
On Feb. 29, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) opened the prison – the North Coast Correctional Treatment Facility – in Grafton. It’s a day the department and CiviGenics, the company that manages the facility, will not soon forget. That’s because OCSEA has mobilized strong community opposition to the venture by means of an extensive media and outreach program.
The 522-bed, minimum-security prison for inmates with felony DUIs and other substance-abuse problems, appears to be more than Lorain County bargained for. On May 4, about 50 North Coast inmates surrounded the warden on the yard and refused an order to put their shirts back on.
DRC and CiviGenics dismissed the so-called “Shirts Rebellion” as frivolous and didn’t tell nearby law enforcement officials about it. But Mike Hill, an OCSEA staff representative and a CO, says it reminded him of activities that occurred before the escape of six inmates from a privately owned and operated prison in Youngstown in 1998.
Tom Smith, the Grafton city council president, was shaken by a videotape of the event. “The inmates were definitely in control for the whole evening,” Smith told a local newspaper. “It raised a lot of questions with me. They were just not going to do what the warden told them to do. The guards were just being passive and letting the inmates do what they wanted to do. It was really eye-opening.”
County Sheriff Martin Mahony concurred when he told a reporter: “I think something like that happening should be of concern to the people that are operating the facility. [The inmates] were showing some defiance for the rules, but with the number of inmates, there was potential for it to escalate. I would be concerned.”
Five of the inmates were transferred to the Lorain Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison situated across the street from North Coast.
The problems with North Coast don’t end there. In fact, OCSEA has a laundry list of misdeeds and mismanagement by the DRC and CiviGenics. The union recently won a grievance after an arbitrator prohibited DRC from using state employees to train workers in the private company in procedures such as unarmed self-defense.
At that arbitration hearing, department officials, testifying under oath, had to come clean on other issues. They admitted to failing to accomplish drug testing and background checks on staff and inmates; to leaving class-A tools like shovels and lawn mowers scattered around the yard; and to having a high turnover rate among North Coast personnel.
In less than six months of operation, CiviGenics is on its third warden after firing the first two. One of those dismissed, Larry Seidner, has since said that the prison was open too early. He has cited glaring weaknesses: malfunctioning locks on doors to inmate housing units; incomplete dental and optometry offices; lack of storage space for hazardous materials; and no cuff ports in the infirmary and segregation cells.
OCSEA has a lawsuit pending against privately operated or state-owned prisons in Ohio. “What we’re basically doing is hitting them anywhere we can,” says Hill. “It’s a full-open barrage against them.”
In May, the union picketed the DRC in Columbus. “We stayed for two hours,” Hill recalls. “We left blowing the horns so loud that hardly anybody could work. We had good press coverage, too.
“Our goal is to de-privatize Grafton. The state paid for it and ought to operate it.”
"Private prison problems"
St. Petersburg Times (A Times Editorial), 10/27/2000
Florida isn't the only state that farms out some of its convicts to privately run prisons, but it is unique in having a special board to issue and manage those contracts. The 1993 Legislature, in mistrusting the Department of Corrections to be fair toward its so-called competition, mistakenly failed to reckon with the risk that the special agency it was about to set up, the Correctional Privatization Commission, might be biased the other way. One of the commission's consultants, University of Florida Professor Charles Thomas, agreed last year to a record $20,000 fine following an investigation by the Florida Commission on Ethics into his lucrative simultaneous relationships with Wackenhut Corrections and Corrections Corp. of America. Now, the ethics commission is conducting a widely publicized -- though still officially unconfirmed -- investigation into allegations against the Privatization Commission's executive director, C. Mark Hodges.
"Bartlett jail faulted in escape study"
Austin American-Statesman, 10/18/2000
No one was watching surveillance monitors when two men escaped from the Bartlett State Jail last summer, and when an alarm sounded, an employee ignored the warning, a report has found. Sixteen problems contributed to the escape, including unlocked doors, a staff shortage and untrained staff, but the biggest problem was human error, the report says. The department pays Corrections Corporation of America to operate the jail, one of five state facilities run by the Nashville, Tenn., company. The state will withhold $84,027.27 from the company for costs incurred to capture the escapees, said department spokesman Larry Todd. They were caught the next day north of Houston. Last September, the department reviewed the jail's procedures after an inmate was killed, and it was found that an officer was not watching surveillance monitors.
"Three Escape from Facility in Mansfield"
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10/06/2000
Two probationers who fled a Mansfield boot camp early Monday have been caught and jailed, while a third remained at large late Thursday, according to area law enforcement agencies. The three teen-agers ran from security officers and scaled a 7-foot fence in the recreation yard of the Tarrant County Community Correctional Facility, a privately run (Correctional Services Corporation) minimum-security center for nonviolent offenders given probation by district judges.
"AG: Wackenhut Given Improper Raises"
Albuquerque Journal, 10/07/2000
SANTA FE: The Corrections Department exceeded its authority in giving a private prison company a retroactive pay raise for jailing New Mexico prisoners, the attorney general said Friday. Attorney General Patricia Madrid also looked at the two-tier nature of the prison contracts, whereby the state does not contract directly with Wackenhut but with Lea and Guadalupe counties, where the prisons are located. Madrid said Perry has the right to contract with the counties to house state inmates. But, she said, the prisons might be operating unlawfully because they do not jail any county inmates. Madrid said it also was not clear if Wackenhut employees have been granted peace officer powers.
"Troubled Pahokee juvenile prison fails standards test again"
News-Journal Wire Services, 10/06/2000
PAHOKEE - A problem-plagued prison for juvenile boys has failed again to meet state standards, prompting the Department of Juvenile Justice to consider a halt on sending new inmates to the privately operated facility. "It's pretty evident from the reports that we need to take strong action to turn this facility around," juvenile justice spokeswoman Diane Hirth said Wednesday about Sago Palm Academy's second below-satisfactory score by state inspectors. A consultant hired by the state to evaluate conditions at the 350-bed prison in August reported finding a lack of control. Securicor New Century was hired to run the prison last October after the company's predecessor, Correctional Services Corp. (CSC), lost its contract with the state in 1999 for similar problems at the facility.
"Quick work captures 3 teens"
St. Petersburg Times, 10/03/2000
LECANTO -- Three teenagers escaped from the maximum-risk Cypress Creek juvenile detention center Sunday after shimmying underneath a perimeter fence and running, authorities said. Two of the teens were captured within an hour of the report of the escape, shortly after 8 p.m., after more than two dozen Citrus County Sheriff's deputies swooped into the area. The third was found perched on a branch of a tree. "I'm very proud of the job our men and women did," said Sheriff Jeff Dawsy. If the Sheriff's Office had reason to celebrate, its because the incident places another black mark next to the corporation that runs it for the state, Correctional Services Corp. The company is under pressure from the Department of Juvenile Justice to improve conditions at Cypress Creek after scoring only marginally satisfactory marks on a 1999 evaluation.
"Grimes prison guard charged in sexual abuse of female inmate"
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 9/21/2000
NEWPORT -- A prison guard has been charged with second-degree sexual abuse in connection with an encounter with a female inmate at the McPherson unit, a police detective said Wednesday. The guard, Marcus King, 25, who works at the Grimes unit, was arrested after a 29-year-old woman told nurses at a local hospital on Aug. 2 that she had been sexually assaulted that morning, said detective Donnie Schulz of the Newport Police Department. Police got the impression that the woman may have engineered a visit to the hospital so that she would be able to talk to nurses and Newport police about her claims instead of to prison guards, Schulz said. The Grimes and McPherson units are managed by a private company, Wackenhut Corrections.
"The Prison Industry Goes Global"
by Stephen Nathan
(A version of this article appears in Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures, #15, Fall 2000.)
In September 2000, in San Antonio, Texas, the World Research Group and the Reason Foundation will host their Fifth Privatizing Correctional Facilities conference. The hook for last year's event was "Grow Profits and Maximize Investment Opportunities In This Explosive Industry." This year, the aim is to rebuild confidence in an industry which, in the US, has fallen afoul of Wall Street. Stock prices in the leading companies have plummeted, affecting the availability of finance capital required for expansion. Anti-prison privatization sentiment is at an all-time high, with courts, legislators, citizen groups, organized labour, academia and the media all scrutinizing the industry as never before. Overall, the claimed benefits of prison privatization have not been proven.
"Closure of Louisiana Juvenile Prison Brings Down Florida Corporations Stock" The Miami Herald, 09/20/2000
Wackenhut Corrections Corp.'s shutdown of a controversial juvenile prison in rural Louisiana will cause its third-quarter profit to fall by $2.3 million, the company said Tuesday. Wackenhut, a majority-owned unit of Wackenhut Corp. of Palm Beach Gardens, closed the 276-bed facility in Jena, La., after state corrections officials transferred inmates to another prison. Wackenhut laid off its Jena employees and expects the facility to remain empty through the end of 2001. In an earnings advisory issued after the stock market close Tuesday, Wackenhut Corrections said the costs associated with the Jena shutdown will cut the company's profits roughly in half for the quarter ending Sept. 30. It said it expects to post net income of $2.4 million to $2.8 million. We are very disappointed with our financial performance for the second half of 2000," said George Zoley, chief executive of Wackenhut Corrections.
"Privately Run Prisons Bank on the Misery Market"
Portland Oregonian, 09/19/2000
Last week, a broad-based coalition of religious and civil rights organizations, student activists and labor groups from across the country took to the streets of Nashville, Tenn., to protest one of the more disturbing and degrading social trends of the last decade: America's growing reliance on private prisons. The headquarters of Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) is located in Nashville. When the bottom line dominates all other concerns, it's the rest of us who pay the price. Would you really like to have to shop around for the cheapest policeman to guard your block? It's time for the misery market to take a dive.
"Union charges prison holding violent inmates"
Associated Press Newswires, 09/18/2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A privately run state prison meant to house drunken driving offenders is holding large numbers of violent inmates, a state employees' union alleged Monday. Sixteen percent of the inmates at the North Coast Correctional Treatment Facility in Grafton have been convicted of sexual battery, assault, arson, manslaughter, robbery, vehicular assault and other crimes, said Ron Alexander, president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association. The union said an additional 23 percent of inmates, or 130 prisoners, should be considered dangerous. The 550-bed minimum-security prison, which opened in February, was designed for felony drunken-driving offenders and nonviolent drug and alcohol abusers. It is owned by the state but run by Marlboro, Mass.-based CiviGenics, a private company.
"Rice fight leaves three prison guards injured"
Associated Press Newswires, 09/15/2000
HONOLULU (AP) - A dispute over rice apparently triggered a disturbance involving Hawaii inmates at a private prison (operated by Correction Corporation of America) in Florence, Ariz., Hawaii Public Safety Director Ted Sakai said. Three guards were injured Tuesday night at the Florence Correctional Facility, where prisoners smashed windows, computers, television sets and food carts during a 90-minute melee. Ten or 12 Hawaii inmates were involved in the disturbance, Sakai said. Warden Pablo Sedillo said about 20 prisoners ultimately took part. About 114 Hawaii inmates are housed at the prison that has some 650 inmates under contract. Other prisoners include those detained by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and by the U.S. Marshal's Office.
"Petitions are circulated to oppose proposed private prison in Rushville
Associated Press Newswires, 09/14/2000
RUSHVILLE, Neb. (AP) - Petitions are being circulated by opponents of a proposal to build a private prison in the Rushville area. Eagle Corrections Corp. of Kentucky has suggested building a private prison in Nebraska's Panhandle. A Chadron economic development group earlier this year rejected a similar plan from Eagle Corrections. Opponents of the idea cited possible adverse effects on the quality of life and on tourism. Officials in Rushville, however, have been studying the proposal. Several community leaders have said the 500-bed private prison could bring new life to the community of about 1,200. Opponents are trying to gather signatures on petitions placed at various businesses in Rushville, Gordon and Hay Springs. The petitions are to be presented to Rushville development officials by people opposed to the prison's construction anywhere in Sheridan County.
"Three injured in Florence prison hostage standoff"
Associated Press Newswires, 09/13/2000
FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) - A guard at a private prison was captured and assaulted by inmates during a standoff, Warden Pablo Sedillo said. Sedillo said the guard, Dean Goodwin, was released within 15 minutes and was flown to Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix for treatment of head injuries and a broken right hand. "He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," the warden said. "It wasn't anything personal about him." Two other guards sustained minor injuries — one was punched in the face, and the other was hit in the head and needed stitches to close the wound, the warden said. Their names weren't released. The prison operated by Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America houses about 650 inmates under contract, including convicts from Hawaii and people detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and by the U.S. Marshal's Office, Sedillo said.
Settling Suit, Louisiana Abandons Private Youth Prisons
The New York Times, 09/08/2000
The State of Louisiana agreed in Federal District Court in Baton Rouge yesterday to sweeping changes in the way it runs its juvenile prisons, including steps to protect inmates from abusive guards and promises to provide medical, dental and mental health care. Under the agreement, Louisiana was prohibited from placing any more young inmates in a prison at Jena, which had been run by the Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, a subsidiary of Wackenhut Corporation, and the world's largest operator of for-profit prisons. Mr. Utter said the state had also agreed to prohibit a company operated by friends of former Gov. Edwin W. Edwards, which owned a juvenile prison at Tallulah, from managing the prison. The state took control of the Tallulah prison in 1999.
For older prison privatization stories see the ACU Private Prisons Watch News Archives