CCA Slammed with huge attorneys' fees order

After exposing horrendous abuse and deceptive tactics regarding compliance with a settlement agreement at a CCA-run prison in Idaho, CCA has just been ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees. The judge ordered CCA to pay the attorneys representing the prisoners substantially more than the minimum permitted by law, because of their "extraordinary performance yielding extraordinary results." 

Excellent Blog on Walker's Underhanded Tactics

Just a quick link to a really excellent blog post breaking down the tactics being utilized by Scott Walker, asshole Governor of Wisconsin, to surreptitiously bring private prisons to his state.  In a nutshell; he's cutting positions and pay across the board in the prison system and facilities are becoming short-staffed and costing significantly more to operate as an increasing percentage of the labor is overtime.  He's then going to use the poor performance and high costs of the system that he screwed up to justify bringing in private prisons, likely the GEO Group, which has already had representatives meet with Walker's staff.  He, along with the rest of the GOP establishment, is continuing to erode the rights of employees and dismantle unions so he can hand out lucrative government contracts to his financial backers.

Is Michigan Going Back on Its Word?

The state of Michigan for some reason thinks it should contract out high-security beds to a private company, expecting to save about $1.3 million per year in operations.  Aside from the reality that those savings will probably never materialize, the state should be wary of proceeding with such a plan considering the industry's consistent failures to maintain adequate levels of well-trained staff, which could prove extremely risky with high-security prisoners.  A few years back, corrections officials had promised residents that security of the facility would be the top priority, as residents were worried about the potential risks to public safety inherent in bringing in a private, for-profit company to operate it.

Over the next few years, the state gradually reduced security at the facility, moving away from constant patrols to more mechanical security instruments.  Now, it wants to not only privatize security staff at the facility, but medical and mental health treatment as well.  Local leaders are upset at these recent developments, particularly because they have seen how privatization has failed to save money in many other states.  Many of the COs currently employed at the facility would likely either lose their jobs or face significant reductions in pay and benefits, the area in which private prison companies are able to reduce expenses most easily (by just cutting them).

So add me to the list of people who hope the state decides to keep to its word and ensure the facility remains secure (i.e. not privatized).

GEO Group's Favorable Treatment in NM

Just a quick link here to an article discussing ways New Mexico can reform its criminal justice system to reduce recidivism and costs.  Among the proposals is a request that the state re-work its contract with the GEO Group to reduce payments to the company after staffing levels were reduced at the Hobbs prison.  The state still pays the GEO Group the same amount they did when the staffing levels were higher, a differential of nearly $2 million that the state is now just paying to the GEO Group as profit.  You may also recall that the GEO Group was hit with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines by the state last year for repeated failure to maintain staffing levels; so the actual levels of staff are probably even lower than the already-reduced number New Mexico is overpaying for.

MTC Takes Over Where the GEO Group Left Off

After the state of Mississippi announced it was not renewing its contract with the GEO Group (or that the GEO Group bailed on the state, depending on how you see it) following a litany of abuse and mismanagement issues at the prisons it ran for the state, the Department of Corrections needed to bring in another company to operate the private facilities formerly run by them.  Apparently, the state did not consider just hiring additional corrections staff and taking control of the prisons itself.

Into the picture now comes MTC, or Management and Training Corporation, the third-largest private prison operator in the U.S. MTC most recently made headlines as the company in charge of the Kingman prison in Arizona, from which 3 felons (2 convicted murderers) escaped, fled across the country, killed an elderly couple, and stirred up a multi-state manhunt.  Shortly thereafter, an audit found the facility had numerous security flaws that the prisoners exploited in their escape.  This was part of what prompted many advocates to call for a statewide audit of private prisons that found the facilities to cost more than government-operated prisons.  Then Republicans in the state legislature passed a bill to prohibit future audits. Of course.

So this is the company that Mississippi has apparently seen fit to give responsibility for prisoners in the former GEO Group facilities.  MTC will operate 3 prisons for the state; Walnut Grove, East Mississippi CF, and Marshall County CF, while CCA will continue to operate an additional 2 facilities (one of which just suffered a riot).  But many people, including this author, are skeptical that there will be any signifncant improvement at the prisons.  Hopefully, Mississippi will have learned from at least some of its mistakes with the GEO Group, such as not having an enforcement mechanism in the contract to ensure adequate staffing levels.

Meanwhile, it looks like the GEO Group is seeking to expand northward into Canada since its reputation has taken such a hit here, and MTC is focusing their sights on our continental brethren as well.  I just hope the Canadians learn from our mistakes.

Aramark Employee Caught Trying to Smuggle Drugs

Yet another employee of a private company has been caught trying to smuggle drugs into a prison.  In Las Cruces, NM, an Aramark employee was caught trying to smuggle a bunch of cocaine and heroin into a prison.

GEO Group Fined Over $100,000

OSHA has fined the GEO Group more than $100,000 for occupational hazards present in the East Mississippi Correctional Facility, one of the prisons it had operated for years before losing its contract with the state in the wake of some terrible abuses that took place in the juvenile detention center they also ran.  Some of the violations at EMCF included malfunctioning locks and staffing levels so low that guards had to conduct head counts of prisoners alone.

2 New Reports on the Private Prison Industry

I just want to quickly draw some attention to two great reports that have come out recently detailing some of the workings of the private prison industry.

The National Council on Crime and Delinquency released a study of how private interests are reshaping US criminal justice policy, titled "Prison Bed Profiteers."

The ACLU of Georgia just released a report documenting problems immigrants face in detention in that state.  The report is based on interviews with detainees at the 4 immigration detention centers in the state, 3 of which are privately-operated (2 by CCA).  Among the issues detailed were problems with due process violations, delivery of medical care, and low staffing levels

2 Riots in CCA Facilities

Two weeks ago, prisoners rioted at a CCA prison in Georgia, resulting in the prison being put on lockdown.  There's not much more information available on that

But a second riot occurred at another CCA prison, this one in Mississippi, and what has come out so far isn't pretty; 200-300 prisoners were said to be involved in the disturbance, and at least one guard has died.  A handful of staff and inmates were injured at the immigration detention facility.  The situation lasted for hours, with prisoners taking moire than a dozen staff hostage.  Which makes sense, because a former employee said the staff-to-inmate ratio was dangerously low, so much so that he left his job there.  Sixteen staff members had to be transported to a hospital due to injuries.  Prison riots are a relatively rare occurrence; this one even more so because of the facility's population.  It houses immigrants charged with illegal re-entry, not many of whom have criminal convictions beyond that.  So this isn't a population that necessarily lends itself to violence and rioting; I imagine they are upset with the living conditions in the facility, though no word has yet come out about what incited it.

Thankfully, the company is already coming under fire for its poor management by a Mississippi Congressman, and the riot is being investigated by the FBI.

The guard who died was 24-year-old Catlin Carithers.

Update on Labor Struggles in Australia

Just a quick update on the labor struggle taking place between the GEO Group and its employees down under.  Employees have threatened to stop working, demanding better pay and better staffing ratios, because the guards feel incapable of properly operating the facility with the staffing levels the management wants.  Cutting staff is the quickest and most effective way to save money when operating a prison.  Unfortunately, it's also the quickest and most effective way to make a dangerous working and living environment.  Now, the situation is coming to a head; guards threatened to walk off the job tonight if their demands aren't met.

So here's to you in solidarity, GEO Group guards in Australia, from the other side of the globe.

Privatization Issues in New Zealand

Unfortunately for prisoners of the world, the private industry is not relegated to the United States.  New Zealand is one of a handful of other countries that allows private companies to operate prisons, but their results aren't much better than what we see here in the states.  Officials have noticed a couple of "worrying trends," including poor management of facilities and escapes, at a prison operated by Serco.  This has some calling for a reconsideration of the government's plan to house up to a quarter of its prisoners in private prisons.  The facility has also suffered from a high rate of drug test failures among employees, which might explain the prisoners they mistakenly released.

MTC Also Hires Crappy Guards

A guard working for MTC has been charged with grand theft and destroying evidence after he, while on duty, stole a wallet from a patient in a hospital containing more than $7,000.  He then burned the wallet and initially lied to investigators about how much was in there.  Who says private prison companies can't attract professional and quality staff with their abysmally paltry salary and benefit structure?

I do.

Labor Struggles Continue in Australia

Just a quick update here on the potential strike by GEO Group employees in Australia; the workers are now threatening "industrial action," meaning they're going to stop working.  The guards are asking for better pay and higher staffing levels (the prison experienced a riot in January that was exacerbated by a lack of staff), requests the GEO Group considers "totally unrealistic."

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.

GEO Group Workers Threaten Strike in Australia

GEO Group employees working at a private prison in Australia are threatening to strike for better pay and working conditions.  So, private prisons treat their employees like crap all across the globe, not just here in the states.

Nurse for Private Company Arrested for Drug Trafficking

A nurse working for Corizon, which provides health care to prisoners in the Indiana State Prison, has been arrested and charged with trafficking marijuana into the facility.

Poor Pay for Private Guards in Louisiana

Just a quick link here to an article from Louisiana discussing how the state will seek to save money: privatizing its prisons.  Specifically, they're going to privatize the Ayovelles detention center, and apparently plan on paying guards less than half what is paid to government COs.  Is it any wonder the industry seems to have so much trouble attracting qualified guards?

The End of Leniency in New Mexico

I have previously reported on the problems New Mexico has experienced with private prisons.  In particular they've found the prisons to be wildly more expensive than government-run facilities, and have found major staffing deficiencies and other issues at prisons run by the GEO Group and CCA.  In the past, these companies had escaped responsibility for short-staffing their facilities, when the head of the state's DOC, Joe Williams, former employee of the GEO Group, failed to fine the companies for repeated contract violations.  Well all that has changed with new Corrections Secretary Lupe Martinez, who is determined to ensure the state collect on the fines her predecessor failed to bring in (to the tune of $18 million the state missed out on).

Now that Joe Williams has returned to working for the private prison industry, reclaiming a position with the GEO Group after leaving his post in New Mexico, the state has begun to hold the two companies to account.  After assessing more than a million dollars' worth of fines last year against the industry, CCA and the GEO Group failed to learn their lesson.  GEO just got fined almost $300,000 for failing to maintain adequate staffing levels at its facilities, and CCA got hit with nearly $12,000 in fines for holding female prisoners well beyond their expected release dates, in some cases more than a month longer.  Now, why would a prison do that?, you may be asking yourself.  Because by continuing to house those prisoners, they continued to collect on the per diem the state paid them to house the prisoners. 

This abuse of authority is sickening; CCA literally imprisoned people unlawfully in order to make more money.  Welcome to the world of for-profit prisons!

Banking on Bondage

Video from a Congressional Briefing last Thursday on private prisons and mass incarceration.  It's long, but incredibly informative.

Death of Hawaiian Prisoner Sparks Lawsuit

Hawaii contracts with CCA to house some of its prisoners on the mainland, because they don't have room for them in prisons on the islands.  But their relationship has been marked by problem after problem, from the sexual assaults of women in a prison in Kentucky (after they had been moved there following sexual assaults at ANOTHER CCA prison)  and coverups to mistreatment of male prisoners in Arizona.  In light of these issues, and a report of the state's solicitor general that was highly critical of the private prisons housing Hawaiian prisoners the governor has pledged to bring all Hawaiian prisoners home, but has found the process for doing so more difficult than anticipated.

One of the most serious issues that has arisen is the deaths of two young men at the Saguaro prison in Arizona.  After a class of prisoners sued the state and CCA over their mistreatment at the facility, the ACLU of HI has just filed a lawsuit against the state and CCA over the death of Bronson Nunuha, who was murdered at the prison.  The 26-year-old's death is being challenged as preventable; the ACLU of Hawaii claims the state and CCA were both negligent, leading to his wrongful death.  Nunuha was even being held in segregated confinement, where he was separated from the general population, but even that wasn't enough to prevent him from being murdered only months before he was set to be released; only 1 guard was responsible for overseeing about 50 prisoners.  The lawsuit contends that CCA's "unchecked hunger for profits" led the company to cut staffing to such unacceptably low levels as to allow for Nunuha's murder; he was stabbed over 100 times.

Unfortunately for the state, which gives the company $10 million annually to allow its citizens to be murdered, their own officials have faced significant difficulties in trying to extract information from the facility.  The aforementioned report of the Solicitor General noted major obstacles the agency encountered in trying to conduct an investigation of conditions Hawaiian prisoners were housed in.  Maybe it's because CCA doesn't give a shit about the people it houses, and does everything possible to prevent governments from seeing just how poorly their tax dollars are being spent.