IL Senate Seeks to Block CCA Facility

Just a quick update on the story in Crete, IL, where residents are resisting being force-fed a private immigration detention center to be run by CCA.  The Senate just passed a bill that would block local governments and state agencies from contracting with private prisons, which would not only kill the detention center's prospects, but any hope for privatization within the state.  So the bill is, in a nutshell, fantastic.  Its prospects for passage though are murky at the moment, so be sure to keep an eye on the situation.

MS May Soon House Death Row Prisoners in Private Prisons

Another quick link here.  Mississippi's legislature has advanced a bill to the governor that would permit the state to house death row prisoners in a private prison facility.  To my knowledge, no other state in the country does this; private prisons house primarily low to medium-security level offenders, and very rarely house even high security people, let alone death row.  The DOC apparently approves the measure, despite the fact that the state was just ordered to remove all its juveniles from private prisons due to the obscene amounts of abuse the kids suffered.  I guess they just don't care about the guys on death row.  A spokeswoman for the department claimed they could also save money by sending death row prisoners to a private facility, but *SHOCKER* - she couldn't actually back that up with any evidence.  Possibly because there is no evidence that private prisons save any money.  Possibly.

New Report on CCA

Another quick link here, this one to a great new report from Corazon Tuscon, titled "The Corrections Corporation of America: How CCA Abuses Prisoners, Manipulates the Public and Destroys Communities."  Which is a perfectly appropriate description.

Wrongful Death Suit Against ICE

Quick link here to an article about a wrongful death suit that has just been filed by the wife of Roberto Medina-Martinez, who died in a private prison under ICE custody in 2009.  The suit claims that the facility, run by CCA, was negligent in failing to provide adequate medical care for Roberto before he died of an inflammatory heart disease.

New Lawsuit from Gladiator School

Another prisoner from the Idaho Correctional Center has filed a lawsuit against CCA over the abhorrent levels of violence the facility just can't seem to control.  Jacob Clevenger, who was beaten senseless inside the prison in August 2010, claims CCA "has allowed and even fostered systemic conditions of brutality, peril, and injuriousness at the ICC."  This is the same prison that was sued by the ACLU over violence so severe and persistent that the facility was called "gladiator school" by the residents.  That lawsuit settled out of court, but the settlement did not preclude prisoners from filing individual cases against CCA.  Clevenger claims in his suit that CCA officials knowingly put him at risk by housing him with known gang members; shortly thereafter he was assaulted, resulting in a broken tooth, fractured eye socket, and partially torn ear.  I'll go so far as to say that when someone's injuries sound like the aftermath of a fight with Mike Tyson, the violence is pretty severe.

COs in PA Oppose Privatization

The union of correctional officers in Pennsylvania came out to a legislative hearing to show support for a bill that would prohibit the state DOC from contracting out health care services to a private company.  The bill has been sponsored by politicians from both sides of the aisle, but primarily those with prisons in their districts.  They understand the potential risk of privatization in the same way as an RN from a state prison does; "It will compromise the safety of staff, inmates, and the communities where inmates return."  In addition endangering public safety, the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Fleck, said he couldn't find any evidence to support the notion that privatizing such services would even save money, which is basically the entire idea behind the governor's proposal to do so.

Feds Reducing Reliance on Immigration Detention?

Another quick link here to an article about the President's recent budget request.  In it, he seeks funding for about 1,200 less beds for immigration detainees than in FY2012, and a increase of nearly $40 for initiatives that promote alternatives to incarceration.  Hopefully this signals the beginning of our government weaning itself off its addiction to locking up immigrants.

2 Prisoners Escape from Private Pre-Release Center in MT

Two young women have disappeared from a private work-release center in Montana.

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.

Scary Private Prison Presentation for Investors

Private Prisons: The Most Profitable Real Estate in America?

RT News takes a look at the profitability of the US private prison industry

US Private Prisons Want You!