Assaulting a Malnourished and Restrained Man

CCA is being sued by the family of Michael Minnick, a Tennessee man who was killed by Sheriff's deputies while in restraints.  After being arrested for failing to appear in court for a suspended drivers' license hearing, Minnick was taken into custody and turned over to CCA.  Some time later, he was admitted to the hospital for loss of muscle mass and extreme dehydration.  While in the hospital and handcuffed, he was beaten so severely by the guards that he fell into a coma.  The hospital was able to revive him temporarily, but Mr. Minnick died a few hours later

Some of the Worst Abuse Ever Seen

Following on the announcement of the removal of all juvenile prisoners in Mississippi from private prisons, the Department of Justice has just released a report of its findings in investigating the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility, which is run by the GEO Group.  Walnut Grove was the target of the lawsuit that resulted in the prohibition on sending juveniles to private prisons, and it turns out the state was more than justified in ordering such a removal.  Juveniles incarcerated at the facility were subjected to ongoing sexual misconduct and other forms of abuse; the abuse was "among the worst that [the DOJ has] seen in any facility anywhere in the nation."

This is truly one of the most gut-wrenching tales of the horrors of privatization that I've ever seen.  The report indicates that the profit motive inherent in the private prison industry led the GEO Group to ignore the suffering of children under its care; the company earned more than $100 million from the facility's operation.  Staff were frequently involved in gang activity, and children suffered from excessive use of force regularly.  The children were sexually assaulted, guards smuggled drugs into the facility, numerous extremely violent riots occurred, and the kids were routinely subjected to long periods of isolated confinement, denied medical care and access to educational programming.  It was so bad that the judge who just ruled on the settlement remarked that "The sum of these actions and inactions ... paints a picture of horror as should be unrealized anywhere in the civilized world."  The inaction the judge refers to is not only the fault of the GEO Group; the state of Mississippi was remiss in repeatedly failing to enforce and monitor the contract it has with the company to ensure its own citizens, children of all people, would not suffer through such horrendous experiences.

It looks like long-needed change has finally come to the children housed at Walnut Grove and their families, all of whom were victimized by the prison-industrial complex, and more specifically, by the profit motive inherent to the private prison industry.  Judge Reeves, who approved the settlement, claims he will avidly enforce the agreement to ensure that no other children fall prey to the GEO Group.

How Could Anyone Possibly Think This is OK?

Next up in Why I Hate CCA's international series is a story from the UK that details the recent uncovering of a physical restraint manual that chronicles the techniques guards at a private prison are supposed to employ to restrain juvenile offenders.  Following a mulit-year campaign to make the documents public after the deaths of a 14-year-old and 15-year-old in private detention centers, the manual was just released.  Some of the techniques detailed in the manual involve the risk of skull fractures, blindness due to ruptured retinas, and medical emergencies brought on by near-asphyxiation.  Guards are instructed to utilize force such as "an inverted knuckle into the (child's) sternum and drive inward and upward," "alternate elbow strikes to the young person's ribs until a release is achieved," and "drive straight fingers into the young person's face, and then quickly drive the straightened fingers of the same hand downwards into the young person's groin area."

Which are all completely appropriate ways to restrain children.

Stay Classy, CCA

CCA has admitted that their guards watched as a prisoner at the Idaho Correctional Facility was brutally beaten, and did nothing to intervene. They just waited for some special response team to show up. Nice.

UPDATE: A more extensive analysis of the assault was just released (click here). Though not much new information has been revealed, except for the fact that the assault was taking place for so long Mr. Elabed's attacker stopped to get a drink of water, then resumed beating him, what really struck me from this update was CCA's defense. Among other things, they're trying to claim that Mr. Elabed was partially responsible for his injuries (clearly; I mean when a white supremacist attacks a muslim prisoner minutes after he was removed from protective custody, it's the victim's fault he got so injured. He should have moved his face away from that angry white supremacist's foot), that Mr. Elabed put himself at risk (I suppose by nature of being Pakistani, which is obviously a choice he made), and that they weren't "callously indifferent" to the situation (so I guess watching someone get beaten nearly to death in a prolonged assault while standing idly by and doing nothing doesn't amount to callous indifference).

If I wasn't trying to keep this mostly G-rated, I'd have a couple of four-letter words for you jerks in the CCA legal department. But since I am, suffice it to say that I really, really, hate you CCA. Really.

Spreading the Love

The former warden and assistant warden at the Idaho Correctional Facility, the prison being sued by the ACLU because it’s so violent it is called “gladiator school” by the inmates, have already been moved to assistant warden positions at two other CCA facilities (both of which contract with federal agencies), so they can spread the love and good cheer they fostered in Idaho, elsewhere.  What's even better: according to the contracts CCA has with the US Marshalls' Service and the Office of Federal Detention (the two agencies contracting with the facilities these guys were moved to), the government can't even prevent CCA from doing this, as long as the wardens pass a background check.  This is why contracts private prison companies sign with governments should be made available to the general public, because clauses like that unduly handicap our government, making it incapable of ensuring the safety of prisoners housed in private prisons.

What the Hell is Going on in Idaho?

Boy is the Idaho Correctional Center, run by CCA, ever a mess. In addition to the $155 million lawsuit the company faces from the ACLU over charges that its levels of violence are so high it's informally called "Gladiator School," the prison was just fined thousands of dollars by the Idaho Department of Corrections for its failure to comply with the terms of the contract CCA has with the state. 10 of 13 drug counselors are not properly licensed, and the prison has "extensive problems administering medical care" (and they've already missed a deadline to improve the care). Of course both these issues will cost Idahoans in the long run, as drug addiction and dependence among these inmates won't be properly treated, and most will be released following years of deficient medical care (meaning they will suffer from various sorts of preventable diseases and seek more emergency care, which will wind up costing taxpayers). Unfortuantely, situations like this are all too common among private prisons, and highlight some of the hidden social costs of privatizing corrections.

In other Idaho clusterfugazy news, the IDOC has demanded CCA beef up security at the prison after continued high levels of violence: http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/assaults-at-icc-accelerate/Content?oid=1625454.

And a little note from a great editorial on CCA's inability to operate a humane facility: staffing levels have been so abhorrently low at the facility that there have been times when 2 guards were in control of 350 prisoners. This is exemplary of another major problem with private prisons; understaffing to save money and maximize profits. This places both the prisoners and the guards (who typically aren't trained or paid as much as employees at state-run institutions) at increased risk: http://www.magicvalley.com/news/opinion/article_af794e96-3578-5ae5-91e1-78340daff5ee.html

A Glimpse Inside Idaho Correctional Center

Just a quick link here to a story detailing an assault that took place inside the Idaho Correctional Center, which is run by CCA and known as "Gladiator School" locally because of how violent the facility can be.  An inmate was beaten so badly he suffered severe brain damage, while guards at ICC watched; he was then denied proper medical care to cover up the extent of the assault.  This is an individual lawsuit against the same prison the ACLU is suing because of the levels of violence.

Quit Your Whining!

CCA has asked the US District Court for the District of Idaho to dismiss the ACLU's lawsuit against them, claiming that it is unduly prejudicial and that they shouldn't have piggybacked it on an individual prisoner's lawsuit.  Nevermind the fact that the original plaintiff wanted the ACLU to file a joint class-action suit.  CCA feels that Mr. Rigg's lawsuit will unfairly bias the jury against them.  Well, CCA, maybe you should have run the Idaho Correctional Facility to a higher standard, so that it wouldn't be called "gladiator school" because of the absurd levels of violence that took place in the facility.  Maybe you shouldn't have intentionally denied prisoners medical care after subjecting them to assaults in order to hide the extent of their injuries.  Had you operated this prison in a professional and humane manner, maybe you wouldn't be sued for the sum total of your profits from last year.