The (Un)American Legislative Exchange Council; Prison Profiteers Extraordinaire

It is common knowledge that today in the United States millions of people are incarcerated in detention centers, county jails and prisons. What is not such common knowledge are the deep and insidious ties between those who write our laws and those who profit from them. Connections run to much deeper levels than the majority of Americans are aware of, far beyond what seems to have become acceptable by way of contributions and corruption within our government.

In a very brief nutshell, this is how the US prison system currently operates:

There are two major Corporations that run privately operated prison facilities and detention centers; GEO and CCA. There are other, smaller players but these are the two largest. Both trade on the NYSE and their value is determined by the number of beds they keep filled.

The GEO Group, Inc. was initially founded as a division of The Wackenhut Corporation in 1984 under the name of Wackenhut Corrections (WCC). They have acquired a few other companies along the way and today they operate facilities across the globe including Australia, Africa and the UK. They are the folks that run the ICE Detention Center in CO as well as GITMO.

From GEO’s webpage, “We design, construct, finance and manage jails, state and federal prisons, special-purpose institutions, and immigration and detention centers.”  Their profit? Well, according to their page, “Our revenue at year-end 2007 was $1.024 billion, and net income was $41.845 million.”

CCA founded the private corrections management industry more than 25 years ago, establishing industry standards for future-focused, forward-thinking correctional solutions...or so they say.

From CCA’s webpage, “We manage, design, build and own more than 66 correctional facilities and detention centers from coast to coast, in small cities, metropolitan areas and destinations in between.”

What few people realize is that GEO and CCA are both members of ALEC.

Ariz. Immigration Bill and Davis County Utah Connections

By Jesse Furhwith 
Salt Lake City Weekly
 
NPR's Laura Sullivan reported this week on corporate-government coziness that birthed Arizona's immigration law, the toughest in the country. One story referred to the biggest Utah-based company you've probably never heard of, and today a Utah legislator was named.


In brief, Sullivan reports on the deep involvement corporate prison companies had in drafting Arizona's law and also the vast network of state legislators from various states who were also involved in seminal meetings to create that law. The corporations even named the bill that eventually became law in Arizona and drafted it with lawmakers, Sullivan reports. One legislator says corporate influence on the law is overblown. Rep. Paul Ray, a Davis County Republican, chaired the committee of a private organization that considered the bill and passed it on as model legislation. 


Today, Sullivan delved deeper into the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, an educational endeavor for state lawmakers that seems to have as much in common with K Street-style lobbying as it does Weber State-style education. If you have not read/listened to Sullivan's bombshell stories on this, I highly recommend both of them: Shaping State Laws With Little Scrutiny and Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law.
But on to the Utah connections... Ray says Sullivan's sources are lying. "If anyone is trying to say that private corrections guys had anything to do with that bill, they're flat-out lying to you."
But it gets more complicated, and Ray eventually conceded in our conversation that private-prison industry representatives were involved in crafting model legislation that became Arizona law. Corporate influence is the very nature of ALEC, Ray said.


"I hope they [private prison industry reps] were [involved in drafting the model legislation] because they have a member on the committee," he said. "I have a committee made up of a couple hundred people. [Private prison industry representatives] are members of ALEC, they have a right to be there." 


Ray denied, however, that private prison industry representatives provided any language or edits to the draft legislation--"There was not one amendment or change that came from corrections"--but pleaded ignorance as to whether private interests actually named the bill as Sullivan's reports claims. Ray says that I'd have to talk to Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, the lead sponsor of the Arizona immigration bill, who Ray says brought the bill to ALEC where it was discussed.


Continue Full Story On Salt Lake Weekly Blogs...

Prison industries pony up cash in governor's race

The New Mexico Governors race seem to have fallen into the hands of the Private Prison corporations. The money that is contributed surely is an honest contribution with no string attached.

These might not be the kinds of sources for campaign cash that candidates like to brag about, but the industries behind them are reliable contributors to politicians in both major parties in New Mexico. And this election year is no different.

In the governor's race, it appears that Republican Susana Martinez has a lock on money from private prison operators.

Gambling interests, including tribes who operate casinos, wagered early on Democrat Diane Denish, the current lieutenant governor. The latest campaign finance reports, however, show some of them are hedging their bets by making late contributions to front-runner Martinez, the district attorney in Las Cruces.

Denish, meanwhile, has smoked her opponent in terms of tobacco industry cash and has chugged more money from the liquor industry.

The corrections industry

The state first began contracting with private prison operators in the 1990s under then Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican. But the prison industry didn't start pumping real money into New Mexico campaigns until after Democrat Bill Richardson became governor eight years ago.

Richardson became a favorite of the GEO Group, a Florida company formerly known as Wackenhut, which operates three private prisons in New Mexico. The most recent one, in Clayton, came about during Richardson's watch.

GEO gave Richardson $43,750 for his 2006 re-election campaign — as well as another $7,000 for his 2008 presidential run. According to the Institute of Money in State Government, Richardson has received more money from GEO than any other politician nationwide running for a state office since 2003.

The company also been generous with other state politicians, contributing more than $200,000 in recent decades. New Mexico, which has no limits on contributions, is second only to Florida among the states where GEO made political contributions. In fact, four of the top 10 recipients of GEO contributions since 2003 are New Mexico Democrats — including Denish, who has received $11,000 from the company during that period.

This year, however, Republican Martinez is getting the lion's share of GEO cash. The company has given her campaign $33,000 — including a $25,000 check contributed on Oct. 14.

Private prisons looking to cash in on illegal immigrants?

Excerpt from KTAR News -

The immigration bill was looked upon to be a "business model" as a continuous source of revenue for the community, the story says.

Pearce says the NPR story is wrong to suggest companies like Corrections Corporation of America had a hand in crafting SB 1070.

Gov. Jan Brewer agrees.

"The state has no business with CCA, it is a federal issue, those are federal-incarcerated prisoners," Brewer said.

State Representative David Lujan (D) thinks differently:

"If Senate Bill 1070 is to be enacted in full, and it increases the number of illegal immigrants that are to be detained, then they will stand to benefit from their facilities here in Arizona."

Read Full Story

Florida State-Funded, For-Profit Juvenile Prison Sued For Assault

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) took aim at a Florida state-funded, for-profit juvenile prison after allegations of horrific conditions surfaced. According to a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of children held at Thompson Academy in Broward County, Florida, the staff at Thompson Academy routinely brutalized, chocked and slammed the children into walls. At least one was sexually assaulted and after the abuse was reported administrations continued to allow the staff member to have contact with the child, resulting in a second sexual assault.

When the allegations of abuse first surfaced members of the SPLC went to interview children but Youth Services International, Inc., the company which operates the facility, prevented the children from having access to the attorneys. The children were also not allowed to have confidential phone calls with their attorneys and were later questioned about any meetings that did take place by the Academy's director and other staff. Many were coerced into signing statements ending or declining representation by the SPLC.

The allegations in the lawsuit go far beyond even these horror stories. Children live in hot and moldy living units that lack air conditioning. Some children were even forced to sleep on dirty floors of other units after becoming ill.

*Electronic Castles* In The Ground

This is the stuff nightmares are made of. This video is actually a pitch to government officials and my guess is that the brainless bought and paid for corporate legislators will eat this nastiness right up.

Built underground? Sounds an awful lot like a dungeon and seems pretty incredible to think that for all of our advances and progress, the best we can do for *pubic safety* is to revert to tactics that were proven worthless over 100 years ago.

Is it possible I wonder that corporations who profit from high recidivism rates really and truly know what is best for keeping us safe? Does anyone else see where they might have a vested interest in creating more of a criminal class than they would in lower crime rates?

Why are people allowing our lawmakers to incarcerate citizens of this country for profit; where is the outrage? Where is the common sense that tells us hiring 3rd party contractors does not lower the cost of doing business but rather, adds another layer of expense on taxpayers? Our tax dollars are not being spent to rehabilitate anyone; they are being spent on warehousing people and lining corporate slave owners to turn a profit.

Wake UP America!!!!!!!!!

Misconception Vs Reality

For well over two years now I have dedicated the majority of my life and my time to fighting for prison reform in the USA. I’ve written numerous articles highlighting the various ways our system is broken and I’ve tried to raise public awareness on privatized prisons, unjust laws and even more unjust convictions and executions. I spend a part of nearly every day helping prisoners directly by answering requests for information and indirectly by advocating for better conditions for our prisoners.

I understand full well that this cause is not a popular one. Who wants to save a prisoner when they can save a puppy or kitten? I get it, I do. Prisoners don’t exactly evoke the warm fuzzies in people’s hearts. What I don’t get is the people who make quick assumptions not only about prisoners but about the work I do.

I get accused quite often of asking people to “cry crocodile tears” for prisoners. I also get accused of thinking we can give the prisoners a teddy bear and a hug and fix everything. I’ve received hateful emails wishing that all of the prisoners I’d like to release from death row pay me and my family a visit and do us harm. It’s been assumed I want all prisons abolished. I’ve been called a bleeding heart liberal, which would be funny if it weren’t so wrong and insulting. In short, I take all kinds of flak for doing what I do and to some degree, I expect it. I do get tired of it though. I am treated with more respect from these “horrible monster” prisoners than I do from many people in the free world who find out that I work with and help prisoners.

I’d like to set the record straight about why it is that I do the work I do, once and for all. I’d like to clear up all of the wrongful assumptions people might have.

AFSC Announces Public Hearings on Prison Privatization!

 From Cell-Out AZ

The American Friends Service Committee and the Private Corrections Working Group have just announced that they will be holding the first of three public hearings regarding prison privatization around Arizona this fall.  The first hearing will be held in Tucson on Wednesday, October 27th from 6-8pm at the Pima Community College Downtown Campus.  Follow this link for a copy of the press release and more info.
These hearings are a response to 5,000 new private prison beds that have been proposed and will be located throughout Arizona, and an attempt to get serious questioned answered. These hearings are a great opportunity to hear arguments from all sides and to get YOUR VOICE HEARD! If you are interested in speaking, it is requested that you bring written testimony, comments, and questions.  It is important for everyone in Arizona communities to attend these public hearings to make a statement to Arizona and the prison corporations that we care about this issue.

The United States of McAmerica

My last article covered a few of the “acts” that ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council; a special interest conservative right leaning organization) has helped our legislators to write and implement across the country. What I outlined previously were merely a few examples of their good works put out by their Criminal Justice/Homeland Security task forces. While I focus on ALEC in much of my writing, please keep in mind that ALEC is but one of a hundred or so groups who work behind the scenes in D.C. to buy off our politicians and force policies that meet their own political and profit driven agendas. I tend to single out ALEC only because they are one of the most prominent groups and there are numerous connections between ALEC, private prison corporations, declining education and our ever tightening and restrictive ‘tough on crime’ laws…but I cannot emphasize enough that they are just one of the players and takers of the big profit pie that our lawmakers gorge themselves on.

For this article, I am going to highlight some of the ways ALEC (and other outside influences) has helped our educational system along. Since there seems to be a direct connection between education and incarceration, this is an important piece of how politicians and CEOs are legislating profits for prison industry. Let’s face it, very few ‘hardened criminals’ have college degrees and if our government wanted high achievements from our schools, we’d damn well have high achieving schools, don’t you think?  

From ALEC’s webpage on their education task force:

Each year, the Task Force releases an annual Report Card on American Education. One of ALEC's flagship publications, the Report Card takes a comprehensive look at the state of public education all across our country. Based on a variety of indicators, the Report Card consistently shows no direct correlation between conventional measures of education inputs, such as expenditures per pupil and teacher salaries, and educational outputs, such as average scores on standardized tests.

As always, the Task Force will continue to focus on those policies that hold teachers accountable for the education they are providing as well as developing new ideas on how businesses can become partners in educating the next generations of our children.

We’ve already seen the wonders of bringing businesses into our prisons, now they want to do the same to our schools? Pardon me if I don’t jump up and down in excitement over this idea.

Here is more from ALEC’s page:

“Our Model Legislation

Resolution Supporting the Principles of No Child Left Behind”

Apparently NCLB has been a smashing success for those who profit from filling up cellblocks. Pink said it best with, “No child gets left behind, we’re not dumb and we’re not blind; they’re all sitting in your cells, while you pave the road to hell…”

When you read more closely into parts of NCLB here is what is written into the fine print, and again, this is straight off of ALEC’s page:

“Focus on Achievement: NCLB not only promotes—and fully funds—innovative reforms in public education, but the law also holds schools accountable for their own success. For the first time in history, states must prove that they are yielding academic results before the federal government hands over the money. When achievement is not up to standard, the federal and state governments expect them to focus on how they can improve public education standards.”

Back the hell up. Schools that are doing poorly get cut off from federal aid.