Corrections Corporation of America - The 'Gladiator' Of Rotten Industry in Idaho

How nice to see CCA back in the headlines…yet again. Not surprisingly, they seem to be making headlines for doing what they do best – abusing prisoners, participating in dirty cover-ups and of course, costing us taxpayers a damnable fortune for their sorry ass screw ups and inability to safely house so much as a dog, let alone any human beings.

While the political contributions may be a surprise to some residents of Idaho, they certainly are not anything new to anyone remotely familiar with the companies like CCA that operate these prison-for-profit scams to fleece the states and taxpayers out of their money. They buy the lawmakers of every state they do business in; Idaho is not unique at all. In fact, all they’ve done in Idaho has been to implement the same formula for ‘success’ that they have already used in TN, NM, AZ and every other state they do business in.

This page has numerous resources and links to help the general public educate themselves as to how private prison industry operates in this country and to simplify, they are all linked at the bottom of this article. Before you vote for your next state legislator or leader, isn’t it worth your time to make sure they are not on the payroll of one of these appalling companies who don’t care a damn thing about the safety of the public so long as the CEO’s and shareholders can keep lining their pockets…with our tax dollars!

Excerpts from an outstanding two-part investigative series by KBOI 2News which can be found Here and Here.

"Back in July, 2000, the Idaho Correctional Center opened as the state's first privately run prison. Recently, I.C.C, run by Corrections Corporation of America, has come under fire after a lawsuit filed by the America Civil Liberties Union, alleging misconduct, mismanagement and more.

Last year, officials with the Idaho Department of Correction discovered 10 of 13 drug and alcohol counselors at the prison weren't qualified to provide treatment. A separate medical audit revealed I.C.C. had extensive problems administering medical care, including delays in providing medication. In total C.C.A. was fined more than $141,000 by the state.

But the problems for C.C.A. are not limited to Idaho. We found complaints against C.C.A. in all 19 states they operate, all within the past decade, involving much more than just medical care.

Last year the governor of Kentucky ordered 400 female inmates to be removed from a C.C.A. run prison after allegations of sexual misconduct by male guards. In 2009, C.C.A. settled with 21 former female workers in Colorado who claimed male managers forced them to have sex to keep their jobs. In Florida, a corrections officer pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs into a C.C.A. run jail. And in December, C.C.A. settled another lawsuit with the A.C.L.U. in California requiring, in part, the San Diego Correctional Facility hire more nurses.

“It’s not just unique to this facility,” says B.S.U. Criminal Science Professor Dr. Michael Blankenship. Blankenship says part of the problem is that private prison companies like C.C.A. exist to make a profit. “If you’re not delivering profits,” say Blankenship, “who’s going to buy your stock?”

We checked into the financial health of C.C.A. A decade ago on February 1st, 2001, their stock was trading at $2.50 a share. Four weeks ago, on February 1st, 2011, it was ten times that amount at $25.09 a share.

But not only does C.C.A. make money. They give money. KBOI 2News obtained a list of candidates receiving money from C.C.A. between 2003 and 2010. At the head of the pack receiving $19,000 is Idaho Governor Butch Otter.

We called C.C.A. to find out why but the company declined our request for an on camera interview. Instead, Spokesman Steve Owen sent a statement that reads in part: “Because C.C.A.’s political contributions reflect the specific laws and limits of individual states, it is difficult to compare our corporate giving to elected officials from different regions of the country.”

The disparity in campaign contribution is even more noteworthy when you consider of the 75,000 inmates C.C.A. supervises nationwide only 2,000 of them are here in Idaho. That’s less than 3%.

But here's why every Idaho taxpayer should care about what happens to Idaho inmates.

If the state of Idaho is dragged into court it takes taxpayer money for a defense, not to mention a judgment.

Originally the A.C.L.U. named Idaho on the lawsuit, right along with C.C.A. in the case. But last June the A.C.L.U. agreed to drop Idaho as a defendant, saving taxpayers the possible expense in this case.

Currently the A.C.L.U. is suing C.C.A. for $155 million dollars, which is equal to the amount of profit the company earned in 2009."

Check out the full story on  KBOI 2News

For More Information on CCA's wrongdoings and legal woes - Click Here

For More Information on Private Prison Industry - Click Here

For Information on CCA stockholders, CEOs and other connections - Click Here

To Find Out Which Lawmakers Are On CCA's payroll - Click Here

For a complete overview of how private prison industry impacts our laws, our freedoms and our way of life - Click Here.

California OIG finds multiple Violations at out of state CCA Prisons

California Office of the Inspector General recently inspected 5 out-of-state prisons that house California Prisoners.  These prisons are being run by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) which is a for-profit corporation based out of Tennessee.

Denial Of Inmates Rights or Privileges
    These include retaining inmates on administrative segregation, overriding inmate classification scores, delaying inmate property and the list goes on....

Safety and Security Weaknesses
    Allowing inmates to wear clothing similar to custody personnel, poor screening for new CCA employees, unsupervised inmates in restricted areas, significant incidents not investigated and improper evidence handling and opening under an inner fence-line security gate just to name a few.

Unenforced Rules, Policies, Practices or Contract Provisions
    CDCR did not exercise adequate oversight of the inmate welfare fund, competitively bid state-to-state transportation services, approve CCA's use-of-force policy and timely review use-of-force incidents.

Other note-able issues
    Prescriptions being wasted and operating weaknesses on central control.

Sounds to me that CDCR is just handing out California prisoners and trying to forget about them.  According to California Code of Regulations out-of-state prisons may only house level 1 through level 3.  All the prisons that were inspected housed some level 4 inmates.  CDCR sent out a memorandum on March 17th, 2010 stating that "a level 4 inmates with low points (52-59) to be classified as a level 3 override and retain out of state".  The majority of these CCA prisons are one designed for level 1 through level 3 prisoners.

With CDCR's blatant disregard for the safety of prisoners, staff and citizens I do hope these issues brought out by the OIG are corrected quickly.

Link to letter from California Office of Inspector General to Matthew Cate Secretary of California Department of Corrections and Rehablitiation

Private Prison Lobbying Pays Off For CCA (And Others) In AZ

*Gasp* Oh my! How totally shocking! Brewer has numerous ties and connections to, uhm..who was that again, exactly? Oh! That's right, silly me! The private prison corporations like CCA. Having a prison industry lobbyist on your staff would certainly have no bearing whatsoever on decision like handing contracts to private prisons now would it? To be precise, her prison connections according to State lobbying records show two of her top advisers — her spokesman Paul Senseman and her campaign manager Chuck Coughlin — are former lobbyists for private prison companies.

A state commission studying privatization will likely recommend privatizing Arizona's parks and prisons as a way to help ease the state's budget deficit when it releases its full report in December.

KPHOChannel5

"This is one way to economize in a way that will cause the least amount of pain to the public," said Glenn Hamer, a member of Arizona's Commission on Privatization and Efficiency.
Gov. Jan Brewer created the commission to help Arizona save money.The state is currently facing a more than $1 billion budget deficit."This is 101 for good government to look for ways that you can save taxpayer dollars," said Hamer, who is also the president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Hamer said most of the commission's recommendations will be kept secret until the report is released, but he expects the report to recommend privatizing Arizona's state parks and privatizing more state prisons."Privatizing prisons is a still good deal for this state," said Hamer.The issue of privatizing prisons is controversial in Arizona.

Opponents -

"I think that's a horrible idea," said state representative Chad Campbell, D-District 14. "We should not be looking at privatizing more prisons. People escaped; people were killed and it was due to privatizing a very important government function without any accountability."
Campbell also said the commission's recommendations could result in thousands of state employees losing their jobs."I think we need to very cautious about how we about privatizing anything," he said. 

Full Story on KPHO