CCA

Grassroots Leadership and our allies are celebrating today as the Texas Department of Crim

Three trends – the mass incarceration paradigm, private for-profit prisons, and the rise of a massive immigration detention machinery – emerged within the past forty years.  And there is a common thread linking them all: The private prison companies that profit from mass incarceration and immigrant detention.

Quick on the heels of our protest outside the Corrections Corporation of America stockholder meeting, a study emerged last week from Temple University that outlines the fiscal benefits of privatizing prisons.  The researchers concluded that privatization could save the state of Arizona between 14% and 22% without sacrificing quality -- the exact opposite findings of a study by the Tucson Citizen, which found that the price to incarerate someone had increased 13.9% since the contracts began.  Even data from the Arizona Department of Corrections revealed that for-profit prisons cost the state an extra $10 million a year.  We certainly weren’t surprised to find out that the study was funded by "members of the private prison industry." Prison Legal News issued a press release on May 22 which cites numerous other studies CCA has funded to promote its "benefits."

On May 1^st, we announced a series of protests and informational events that are taking place around the country in opposition of for-profit incarceration and Corrections Corporation of America’s celebrations of their 30^th anniversary this year.  Collectively, organizers across the nation are sending a message to CCA  that thirty years of profiting from pain is nothing to celebrate! 

After two puzzling celebrations -- Black History Month and Women's History Month -- CCA is back at it, this time with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.  We have our own ideas about CCA's treatment of people of color and, after the jump, a special message from Kat Brady, our ally in Hawai'i and longtime activist for criminal justice in her state.

Not surprisingly, Hawai'i incarcerates the largest proportion of Asian American and Asian Pacific Islander (API) individuals, and more than 1,700 people from Hawai'i are incarcerated in CCA facilities on the mainland.  As a result, Asian/API men are disproportionately represented in CCA facilities relative to state-operated facilities.  In state-operated facilities, Asian/API men represent 63% of the total population, whereas in out-of-state CCA facilities Asian/API men represent 69% of the total population.  These facts make CCA's latest public relations exploit of people of color particularly nauseating.  It's Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and you-know-who is "honoring" it!  In his commemorative blog post, CCA CEO Damon Hininger writes,

"Last year, I visited Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Calif. I was inspired by the preservation of history and values in the midst of other cultural influences in L.A. The fact that it remains a close-knit community is evidence that we all carry the strength to keep traditions alive and uphold standards set before us at CCA."

We had no idea that CCA holds up the preservation of history, traditions and culture and standards for their company!  We decided to reach out to our new friend in Hawai'i, Kat Brady, to see what she knows about Hawai'i's incarcerated population in CCA facilities.  

As a woman and a mother I value celebrations of women’s work, our social and political achievements, and contributions to society.  Too often the inclusion of women’s voices, their roles in shaping history and building the world that we live in has been erased. [node:read-more:link]

Colorado has a great opportunity to close some of their prisons.  The state’s incarcerated population is decreasing even faster than anticipated, which, at just over 20,000 total incarcerated persons, is down to what officials expected to see in two and a half years.  Serious crime is down by a third since 2002; restructured sentencing is sending fewer and fewer people back to prison for parole violations.  All in all, the state has 7,500 fewer people behind bars [node:read-more:link]

Last month we were nauseated by Corrections Corporation of America’s “celebration” of Black History Month.  In a message from CCA President and CEO Damon Hininger, citing Dr. King’s legacy and the second inauguration of President Obama, the company touted themselves as one that values progress, equality, and diversity.  Dr. Niaz Kasravi, Director of the NAACP Criminal Justice Program, in response to Hininger’s message stated, “we believe that there is nothing to celebrate about an industry that has built a fortune on the incarceration of people of color”.

This month CCA is at it again with their commemoration of Women’s History Month – “celebrating women’s contributions to history and society”.  A few days ago, the country’s oldest and largest private prison corporation posted an article on their website that oozed with pride for their female CCA employees who “continue to make history and challenge old ideas by advancing in corrections”.

The article cites two female CCA employees who have ascended to leadership roles within the company, in addition to two women who serve on the CCA board of directors.  The women are lauded for “challenging stereotypes” and the “unique contributions” they bring to the workplace.  Twice women are quoted expressing their gratitude to men who have mentored them and helped them to succeed… a view that seems to support old ideas rather than challenge them.