GEO Group

Welcome to The Humpday Hall of Shame – every Wednesday we’ll highlight the private prison industry’s influence on public policy through campaign contributions, lobbying, and the revolving door of public and private corrections.

The commission issued a unanimous recommendation opposed to a City Council request to rezone the Evergreens Senior Health Care property, a request by the Council that would have prevented industrial use and block the facility.

Welcome to The Hump Day Hall of Shame – every Wednesday we’ll be highlighting the private prison industry’s influence on public policy through campaign contributions, lobbying, and the revolving door of public and private corrections.

According to the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy, the Sunshine State has seen a significant drop in crime over the past decade; violent crime by 

41% and property crime by 46%. And during this period of plummeting crime rates, the number of incarcerated rose from 47,012 in 1992 to 98,192 in 2008 and in June of 2010 there were 102,232 in custody in Florida’s 144 prison facilities. Approximately 8% of the prison population was housed in the state’s for-profit facilities at a cost to the taxpayer of approximately $133 million a year.

Florida Governor Rick Scott received generous contributions from the private prison industry.  The GEO Group contributed $400,000 to GOP candidates in the 2010 election cycle and the maximum $25,000 to the Governor’s Inaugural Fund.  In fact, politicians in Florida received nearly $1 million in campaign contributions from private prison corporations in that time frame. The Governor appointed top lobbyist, Brian Ballard, who works for both The GEO Group and the Corrections Corporation of America, to his Inaugural Fund and Ballard reciprocated by raising $3million for the event.  Ballard has hosted fundraisers at his home where Governor Scott was the guest of honor.

Welcome to The Humpday Hall of Shame - every Wednesday we'll be high-lighting  the private prison industry's influence on public policy through campaign contributions, lobbying, and the revolving door of public and private corrections.

Our inaugural Hall of Shame inductee is Arizona State Representative John Kavanagh.  Kavanagh is the Chair of the powerful Arizona House Appropriations Committee and outgoing Chair of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, which earlier this year approved an RFP for 5,000 new private prison beds in Arizona.  Kavanagh also appeared on Arizona Public Television recently debating in favor of privatization.

UPDATE, July 28, 11:50am: the facility was sold apparently for $6 million to an unknown, online bidder.  More info as we get it.  [node:read-more:link]