In a strongly worded letter to the governors of each state, the ACLU decried an offer by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) to buy and run state prisons. CCA already touts itself as “…the nation's largest owner and operator of partnership correction and detention facilities and one of the largest prison operators in the United States, behind only the federal government and three states.” CCA goes on to state, “We currently operate 66 facilities, including 46 company-owned facilities, with a total design capacity of approximately 91,000 beds in 20 states and the District of Columbia.”
Apparently 91,000 beds are not enough for CCA, as it now seeks to dominate the prison systems of 48 states. The ACLU response to the CCA’s attempt to privatize even more prisons was clear in its letter to governors, which stated, “Selling off prisons to CCA would be a tragic mistake for your state,” and “is an invitation to fiscal irresponsibility, prisoner abuse and decreased public safety. It should be promptly declined.”
The Huffington Post acquired a letter sent to governors across the U.S. in which CCA proclaimed that $250 million has been “earmarked for purchasing and managing government-owned corrections facilities.” If a state decided to take CCA up on its offer, according to the letter, the following requirements would have to be fulfilled:
The state would have to enter into a 20-year contract with CCA
The prison must have an occupancy rate of at least 1,000 beds
The building must not be over 25 years old
The building must be suitable for occupancy or already occupied
The agency partnership must assure that the agency has a sufficient inmate population to maintain a 90 percent occupancy rate over the term of the contract
The last requirement may have been the tipping point that caused a diverse group of organizations to slam CCA’s offer. The demand to keep prisons filled at, or near, capacity does not bode well with those fighting for criminal justice reform. America leads the world in incarceration with over 2 million individuals behind bars. Some states have set up prison diversion programs for non-violent offenders. Drug and Mental Health Courts have been created to provide treatment, not incarceration, for participants. The movement to be “smart on crime” is being undermined by private prison companies led by CCA that seek to get rich by keeping their prisons full. (see the ACLU report Banking on Bondage: Private Prisons and Mass Incarceration located in the Library section of www.reentrycentral.org.)
The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church recently withdrew almost $1 million in stocks from two private prison companies, CCA and GEO Group, because profiting from the incarceration of others is against the moral teachings of the church, according to a recent post in AllGov. Other religious organizations are taking the same stance. The ACLU letter was also signed by lay organizations, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, The Sentencing Project, the NAACP and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
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