Private Prisons

In 2013, Corrections Corporation of America is "celebrating" its thirtieth anniversary.  We believe there is nothing to celebrate about 30 years of profiting off of incarceration.  In response Grassroots Leadership and Public Safety and Justice Campaign published "The Dirty Thirty: Nothing to Celebrate About Thirty Years of Corrections Corporation of America," a list of thirty stories that exhibit the most troubling aspects of the company's history.  Each week we'll highlight one of these stories.  Click here to view the full report.  Printed copies are available in limited quanitity.  For more information please contact Kymberlie Quong Charles.

Corrections Corporation of America’s record of malpractice is not just confined to the treatment of prisoners within its facilities but has often come at the expense of the company’s own employees. In an effort to maximize its profit margins and bill itself as a cheaper alternative to government-run prisons, CCA’s cost-cutting measures have frequently been through practices like reducing employee benefits and salaries, operating on routinely low and dangerous staff-to-prisoner ratios, and not offering sufficient staff training. 

Research for a lawsuit brought by people incarcerated at the Idaho Correctional Center revealed the facility’s 2012 monthly staffing reports, which showed guards working 24, 36 and 48 hours straight without time off, sometimes without appropriate compensation and in direct violation of state laws.[1] In May 2012, a group of shift supervisors at Kentucky’s Marion Adjustment Center sued CCA for forcing them to work extra hours, denying them overtime or meal and rest breaks, and requiring them to attend training sessions without pay.[2] Similarly, a class-action Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit was settled in Kansas in February 2009 for up to $7 million, alleging that some employees were required to perform work duties without financial compensation. Meanwhile, several lawsuits have also drawn attention to CCA’s failure to pay even the prevailing wage rate to employees, with cases settled in 2000 at Louisiana’s Winn Correctional Center[3] and the San Diego Correctional Facility.[4] The low wages of most CCA employees certainly do not extend to its top executives. In 2011, CEO Damon Hininger was paid $3,696,798, while Chairman of the Board John Ferguson received a salary of $1,734,793.[5]

Read more about The Dirty 30 | #3 - Keeping Costs Low and Profits High Through Employee Mistreatment

UPDATE:  There will be a public forum at McAllen City Hall on WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 11th at 5:30 PM for the residents of McAllen, TX to voice their views on the construction of a new private prison!  Click here to see details, sign the petition, and find out what you can do to make your voice heard.

This week, we learned that McAllen, TX has been keeping a dirty secret.  Located at the southern tip of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley, the city plans to publish a formal request for qualifications this week from private prison operators willing to build a new 1,000-bed lock-up.  The new prison would house federal prisoners for the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) under an existing agreement with the city. 

McAllen police Chief Victor Rodriguez said, “There’s a great need to have their prisoners held in a facility that’s local.” Currently, the federal government pays McAllen $52 a day per prisoner housed at the Public Safety Building, located blocks from the courthouse, but only capable of housing 30 prisoners. USMS transports prisoners from private prisons in Laredo and La Villa to McAllen for court hearings, described as the cause of “logistical headaches” for the Marshals Service.  Under the new deal, the private prison operator would pay the city of McAllen to house prisoners, but that amount is still being negotiated.  The location of the new prison is also yet to be determined.