Does anyone really find it surprising that the Governator is making good on debts owed on his way out the door? Private prisons played a huge part in putting him in office, of course he is agreeing to shipping prisoners willy-nilly around the country for no practical or fiscally responsible reason.
In 2009, Corrections Corp. of America contributed $100,000 to Budget Reform Now, the committee organized to campaign for six state budget-related measures supported by Schwarzenegger on a special election ballot in May. Six months later their contract extension worth $54 million a year to house prisoners out of state was approved by CDCR. I'd call that a rather nice return on their investment, wouldn't you?
Corrections Corp. donated $234,500 in 2007-08, and $38,900 that same year, to several members of the California Legislature and the state Democratic and Republican parties, according to its filings with the Secretary of State.The firm also reported spending about $45,000 for each of the three prior quarters on lobbyists in California.
How safe do you imagine it is to transport busloads of prisoners across several states? Am I the only one who thinks that shipping dangerous felons around might just increase the risk for escape or mayhem? Oh, but wait, GEOGroup/Wackenthut also operates a prison transport system - so for the price of a bloated, no bid contract paid for courtesy of hard working tax payers, they'll be more than happy to ensure safe shipping of prisoners nationwide!
We just aren't supposed to take notice of the fact that
in a 2006 it was reported that of California’s seven private facilities, (labeled community correctional facilities), the GEO Group operates four of those, housing over 1,800 inmates. GEO Group has donated thousands of dollars in political contributions. GEO/Wackenhut Corrections gave $34,900 to California committees during the 2002-2004 election cycle.
How astonishing then when, "In 2005, GEO Group, Inc. was tentatively awarded a $20 million contract to operate a San Joaquin Valley correctional facility," stated the Institute's report.
"Wackenhut gave two Schwarzenegger committees a total of $58,000 in the latter part of 2003, including $36,800 to his committee supporting the recall of then-Governor Gray Davis. According to the (San Jose) Mercury News, GEO gave another $10,000 to a third Schwarzenegger committee."
Excerpts from today's
SFGate -
"When California first signed contracts to ship prisoners over state lines four years ago, it began with 2,260 inmates at a cost of $51 million annually. Now, it is set to pay the companies $330 million a year to house 15,424 prisoners, and spend a total of $365 million once administrative costs are factored in.
The latest deal will ship 5,800 inmates to private prisons across state lines, bringing the total to more than 15,000. The transfers will begin in May under a contract that runs through June 2013 - nearly halfway through the term of Gov.-elect Jerry Brown.
Critics of moving prisoners to out-of-state facilities say it does little to relieve the underlying problems that have caused crowded conditions and questioned the timing of the new, no-bid contracts with two private companies. One of the companies houses nearly 10,000 California prisoners.
"This is the governor doing what he wants to in the last minutes of his administration," said state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. "It is a way he can, on his watch, knock another 5,000 from the official numbers."
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