Cutting Off the Nose to Spite the Face

Governor Rick Scott of Florida has promised to find $1 billion worth of savings in his state's corrections budget over the next seven years. Florida has the third-highest prison population in the country, attributable to many of the same maladies that plague other systems; too-strict sentencing laws, lack of judicial discretion, and, maybe most importantly, failure to prepare prisoners to return to society as healthy, productive citizens. So what does the governor hope to do? Privatize more prisons and healthcare services to save the money.

I guess the fact that prisoners coming from private prisons have higher rates of recidivism and recieve less programming wasn't really important to him. But I can't blame him; it's typical conservative ideology to want to privatize everything, even if privatizing is neither the efficient nor effective solution. In reality, it's all about steering contracts to companies that have established strong relationships with conservative politicians, not helping prisoners or saving money. Due to the overriding profit motive inherent in privatization, prisoners and the services they receive will suffer, and Floridians will in the long run, too.

Behind-the-Scenes Work

Tom Ingram is a very well-connected and influential lobbyist and PR person in Tenessee politics, with connections all the way to Washington, DC. He was the campaign manager for the governor and both Senators in their most recent elections, helping to usher in a republican-dominated government in Tennessee. That should bode very well for CCA, which already enjoys a close relationship with the government in its home state, as they also happen to be a client of Mr. Ingram's lobbying firm.

The Definition of Insanity?

Arizona has had a lot of troubles with the private prisons it contracts with over the past few decades; the Kingman escapes last July were only the most recent in a long history of troubles (including those at Saguaro). Additionally, recent reports have found that privatization may not even save any money for the state, which is really the only selling point the privateers have going for them. Thankfully, the state rescinded a request for proposals for 5,000 new private prison beds following the Kingman escapes. Unfortunately however, the state has re-issued that request for private prison companies to pitch them on new beds.

I simply don't understand why the state continues to fail to learn from its past mistakes. Governor Brewer is a strong supporter of private prisons, possibly because some of her most trusted staffers currently are employed by, or used to work for, CCA. The new RFP has new protocols for companies pitching the new bed, but it's still a call to increase capacity among companies who haven't earned the trust they have. I guess the influence CCA bought in Arizona has truly paid off; the state seems incapable of breaking its addiction to private prisons, despite all the evidence demonstrating how terrible privatization is.

In fact, the Kingman prison still hasn't even responded properly to government pressure to improve its operations. A few state officials are unhappy with progress at the prison, with the House minority leader remarking that "they're still pretty far away from meeting their obligation... obviously their response has been inadequate." Basically, MTC has failed to properly secure and maintain the facility, even with the heightened scrutiny from the escapes. But I'm sure the company that wins the contract from this new proposal won't suffer from any of the same sorts of deficiencies that led to the escapes...

Why I Hate Wackenhut/GEO Group Today

The GEO Group is a spin-off company from the former Wackenhut group. Wackenhut split about a decade ago into a security services division and a corrections division (The GEO Group). George Wackenhut used to be an FBI agent and became famous as one of the early purveyors of secret dossiers on American citizens during the Red Scare. Wackenhut's security division provides sub-standard security services for government buildings, metro systems, and the like. The GEO Group is, as I maybe mentioned once or twice on here, an abusive, negligent, despicable organization that profits from the incarceration and suffering of human beings.

Which makes me all the more angry to read the story in this link. The Wackenhut estate is up for sale in Florida. Its price has been cut in half, to nearly 20 million dollars. 20 EFFING MILLION. That means the estate used to be valued at $40 million. A $40 million home, one of multiple homes the family owned, for a guy who is arguably one of the biggest aholes to ever grace this planet. Lord I really completely hate the GEO Group and the conservative, anti-American (yeah, I said it. Collecting secret dossiers on citizens, then running your own private security and incarceration business is anti-American.) jerk who founded it.

Making Good on a Promise

Governor Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii has begun the process of bringing Hawaiian prisoners back to the island from the private prisons they were housed in on the mainland. The governor made this pledge after two young men died in CCA-run prisons last year, and a class action lawsuit by other prisoners at Saguaro CF which alleged serious abuse by the guards. The governor had previously recalled all female prisoners after multiple sexual assaults at the Otter Creek CF, another CCA prison.

While the majority of Hawaiian prisoners remain in private prisons in Arizona, this is an important step in the right direction. I hope he continues to make good on his promise and return Hawaiian prisoners to their home state, where they will be safer and closer to their families.

Epic Fail

Paul LePage, the newly-elected governor of Maine, just declared that he is "looking to take the politics out of [Maine's} prisons." Which is curious considering he not only accepted $25,000 in campaign contributions from CCA, which doesn't even currently have a prison in the state - he also just appointed a CCA warden who has worked with the company for over 5 years to run the Department of Corrections.

Mr. LePage, that's an epic fail. As State Rep. Haskell said, "The only political part of this has been the part where CCA is a very politically active organization, and so I think the governor is bringing it in--instead of removing it." Exactly. Hiring an industry insider (he actually also used to work for Cornell) to a political position is the exact opposite of removing politics from your prisons. Though Joe Ponte is about as inoffensive as a CCA warden gets, he's still a company man and his hiring raises serious questions as to the future of the Maine prison system.

Letting the Fox Guard the Henhouse

I won't even try to summarize the absurdity in Kentucky highlighted in the linked article, because the author does an excellent job in her opening sentence:

"The state has appointed an acting medical director for Kentucky prisons who will continue to work for and be paid by the private company that provides the state prison system's health care"

I just don't get it.

A Touch of Sanity in Texas

The Budget Board of the Texas Legislature just released its preliminary budget for the next fiscal year. Texas is seeking to make up for its budget shortfall without raising taxes or dipping into its rainy day fund. As a result, tons of state services are being slashed. Among the cuts are, wait for it, PRIVATE PRISON BEDS! Yipee!

Specifically, the proposal calls for cutting 2,000 private prison beds from the budget. WhyIHateCCA strongly supports this specific budget proposal

"Privatization Does Not Make Sense"

A task force charged with researching and reporting on the prospects of bringing a private prison to Monmouth County, NJ just released its report, which basically shows that privatizating the county jail would be a huge risk. Perfectly summing up the argument against privatization, the chair of the task force remarked "Privatization does not make sense from a legal or financial standpoint...It poses increased safety and security risks, and Monmouth County would still be exposed to risks of potential liability."

My thoughts exactly

Nonsense

The GEO Group has managed a few hospitals in Florida for the past couple of years. One of the hospitals managed by the private, greedy, corrupt organization had nearly double the amount of "Harmful patient events" as state-run hospitals. And this was in a study that has been criticized as biased in favor of the GEO Group! Yet the new governor, Rick Scott, has recommended privatizing the remaining state hospitals.

Let me go on record as saying this is a completely stupid and ridiculous idea. For some reason, GEO's track record of horrific negligence and unabashed greed in the private prison industry hasn't deterred this governor's desire to steer even more taxpayer dollars their way. Rick Scott is a corporate shill who is about to screwover Florida taxpayers and any poor folks who happen to need medical attention in his state.

But that's not all! The GEO Group, along with two private healthcare providers, has submitted a proposal to run a mental health facility in North Carolina. They hired a lobbyist who used to work in both the NC Department of Corrections and on the NC Supreme Court to lobby for them. This is a frightening possibility; if GEO gets control of the facility, their doctors will be responsible for making determinations as to whether or not individuals with mental illnesses accused of crimes will be deemed fit to stand trial. Basically, a private company with a financial incentive to incarcerate as many people as possible will have direct control over the interactions mentally ill offenders have with the criminal justice system. Doctors could summarily declare folks unfit to stand trial, thereby ensuring they stay in the GEO-operated mental health facility, bringing them more revenue. It makes me sick to my stomach to even think of this, especially considering the deplorable lack of medical and mental health care prisoners receive in private prisons.

Another Lawsuit from Saguaro

A Hawaiian prisoner who was housed at the Saguaro Correctional Facility (A CCA prison in Arizona) is suing CCA and a guard who sexually assaulted him while he was incarcerated on a drug possession offense. This is the same prison where two young men died of suspicious circumstances, the same one that has been run so poorly by CCA that the governor of Hawaii has vowed to bring all his prisoners home

They Deceive Prisoners and Film Them Without Consent

36 former prisoners of Cornell (which is in the process of being acquired by the GEO Group) have sued the company over a promotional DVD that was made without their consent. While in a halfway house, the prisoners were subjected to filming which they weren't too fond of, even at the time. However, they were repeatedly assured the footage would only be used for purposes of their cases, such as allowing a judge to see their progress.

Of course however the greed of the industry compelled Cornell to turn the footage into a promotional film / fundraising vehicle. The film was shown to companies and local officials where Cornell was attempting to get contracts.