Source: Amanda J. Crawford, The Arizona Republic, Feb. 1, 2008
Brandishing a fake gun and using ladders stolen from a maintenance building, two convicted killers climbed onto the roof and over the walls of a private prison in Florence in September. They navigated through several lines of razor wire and outmaneuvered security patrols, escaping to freedom, an investigative report on the incident says.
One was caught within hours. It was nearly a month before the other was caught, hundreds of miles away in his home state of Washington.
Now, in response, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano wants to tighten up rules for the state's growing private-prison industry, which is virtually unregulated by the state. A legislative proposal drafted by the Governor's Office and introduced by Republican Sen. Robert Blendu of Litchfield Park would bar private prisons from importing murderers, rapists and some other dangerous or seriously ill felons to Arizona. It would also require the companies to share security and inmate information with state officials.
...... The private-prison industry has grown rapidly in Arizona since the first such prison opened here in 1994, bringing jobs and thousands of out-of-state inmates to Pinal County.
Now, more than 9,000 felons from Alaska, Hawaii, Washington and other states and the federal government are housed in six of 11 privately run prisons in Arizona.
...... But unlike other states, Arizona has no restrictions on the kind of out-of-state inmates that can be brought here. And private-prison companies in Arizona are not required to share detailed information on inmates, staffing and security measures or have their facility designs approved by state officials.