Recently in Corrections Category

Source: BY KEVIN DUGGAN, Coloradoan, March 15, 2008

Improperly handled chili was behind a food-poisoning outbreak at the Alternative Sentencing Unit of the Larimer County jail last month that left 31 inmates ill, according to the county health department.

...... The on-site manager of Aramark, the contractor for food service at the jail, has been replaced, Maj. James Wacker said. A deputy also has been assigned to spot-check the kitchen to make sure proper procedures are being followed.

Source: Associated Press (ID), 02.25.08, 4:56 PM ET

Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has abandoned legislation to completely privatize Idaho's new prisons, relenting to lawmakers who weren't ready to let somebody else take control the state's correctional facilities.

Source: By TRAVIS LOLLER, Associated Press (TN), February 21, 2008

A private prison company executive nominated to become a federal judge has run into a determined opponent -- a former inmate. President Bush in June nominated Gustavus A. Puryear IV, chief lawyer with Corrections Corporation of America, to become a U.S. district judge in Nashville.

...... He formed the group Tennesseans Against Puryear and enlisted the help of the liberal Washington-based Alliance for Justice and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, both of which sent letters opposing the appointment.

Source: BY DOMINICK TAO, Miami Herald (FL), Sat, Feb. 16, 2008

Sweat dripping from his brow, union representative Bruce Raynor promised a crowd nearing 100, including two state lawmakers, that he wouldn't rest until food service provider Aramark is stripped of its contract with the Florida Department of Corrections.

At the sidewalk rally outside downtown Miami government buildings Friday, Raynor, the president of the Unite Here union that represents more than 20,000 Aramark employees nationwide, accused the company of collecting millions of dollars of taxpayer money by charging for meals that were never served and using substandard ingredients in food preparation.

Source: AFSCME Council 5

A website with information and resources for fighting privatization. Special sections for transportation, corrections and care givers including anti-privatization advertisements.

Minnesota's public services should not be for sale to the lowest bidder. Essential services are government's responsibility.

It's risky business to let cut-rate workers plow our roads, keep our dangerous criminals behind bars, and care for our sick and vulnerable.

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.

Source: Associated Press (PA), 2/1/2008 3:33 AM

Court rulings prohibit routine strip searches of minor offenders, but a privately run prison conducts them on all new inmates, a lawsuit charged.

The potential class-action suit, filed in federal court this week against The Geo Group, involves a drunken-driving suspect who was strip-searched at a county prison the firm manages near Philadelphia.

...... The Geo Group, previously known as Wackenhut Corrections Corp., does not comment on pending litigation, spokesman Pablo Paez said Thursday.

Source: By Jonathan Martin, Seattle Times (WA), January 30, 2008

The state Department of Corrections plans to stop sending inmates to private, out-of-state prisons and to begin shipping home the 1,200 inmates at those facilities this summer, according to Secretary Eldon Vail.

...... The out-of-state transfers also put more pressure on prisons because CCA -- the largest private jailer in the country -- will take only healthy, well-behaved inmates.

Source: By MATT HANLEY, Courier News (IL), January 5, 2008

Three Kane County jail inmates, including a Carpentersville man, have filed suit claiming they are not getting proper nutritional value from their meals.

Michael Nance, Devalius McDonald and Deandre Clemons filed the civil suit in Kane County court this week against County Sheriff Pat Perez and the jail's food service provider. The suit claims the food provided by Aramark Food Service is "not sufficient."

Source: The Associated Press / The Ann Arbor News (MI), October 31, 2007 07:02AM

....... A compromise was reached on the last sticking point: Turning over more of the state's adoption, foster care and juvenile justice services to private hands. Under the compromise, a medium-security section of the Maxey facility on M-36 would close and 60 youthful offenders would be moved to private facilities.

The more than 130 affected workers would be allowed to transfer elsewhere in the Department of Human Services instead of losing their jobs.

"We are protecting those people who have been public employees for a long time," said House Appropriations Chairman George Cushingberry Jr., D-Detroit. He said private agencies can help lighten the backlog of cases handled by an overburdened and understaffed DHS.