by Derek S. Limburg

Privately-operated halfway houses across the nation have become embroiled in scandals and mismanagement. The wrongdoing stretches from the top to the bottom, from former politicians and corrections commissioners to staff and prisoners.

Reports surfaced in June 2008 about operational problems at The Villa, a halfway house in Greeley, Colorado run by Avalon Correctional Services. A Colorado Public Safety Report on The Villa, also known as The Restitution Center, detailed numerous violations – including insufficient security, unqualified staff, falsified drug tests, and sexual relations between staff and prisoners. The sex reportedly took place in an area called the “Boom-Boom Room,” and weapons and drugs were found in a tunnel at the facility.

Following the report, the state canceled its contract with Avalon. The residents of The Villa were moved to a community corrections program at the Weld County Jail, and management of the program was assumed by another company, Intervention, Inc.
Reports concerning two other Colorado halfway houses operated by Avalon, the Phoenix Center and the Loft House, also found problems – including poor training, inadequate record-keeping and high employee turnover.

“It makes you question whether [the company] should still be in business in Colorado,” said state …

Prisoners Can Sue Virginia DOC’s Contract Medical Provider for Breach of Contract

Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) prisoners who receive inadequate medical care may sue the VDOC’s contract medical provider for breach of contract, the Supreme Court of Virginia decided on June 8, 2007.

Prison Health Services (PHS) is a contract medical provider for certain VDOC facilities. PHS’s contract requires that it “provide cost effective, quality inmate health care services for up to approximately 6,000 inmates (initially) housed at four correctional facilities.” The scope of health care services required by the contract includes all “medical, dental, and mental health services.”

In 2005, Oludare Ogunde, a prisoner at the Greensville Correctional Center, filed suit against PHS and several of its employees. Ogunde’s complaint alleged that he suffered from “severe acne cysts and acne keloidalis,” and that this condition was aggravated by shaving.

According to Ogunde, PHS and its employees denied Ogunde treatment for his skin condition and failed to provide him with an exemption from the VDOC’s grooming policy, VDOC grooming regulations prohibit male prisoners from wearing goatees or beards.

Ogunde argued that PHS’s failure to treat him and provide an exemption to the grooming policy amounted to breach of …

District of Columbia Rehabilitation Program Contractor Liable in Juvenile’s Death; $1,000,000 Verdict Upheld

by Bob Williams

Re-Direct, Inc., a company that provides services for juveniles for the District of Columbia, appealed the denial of a post?trial motion for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial after …

Ohio Court Releases Prisoners from Private Jail to Protect Them

One thing about privately-operated jails and prisons is fairly consistent: They rarely function properly. A series of incidents at Ohio’s Columbiana County Jail, which is operated by CiviGenics, Inc. (a subsidiary of Community Education Centers), is the latest example of that common deficiency.

Problems first became apparent when three guards were charged with smuggling drugs. One of those guards, Jason L. Jackson, is scheduled to go to trial on March 31, 2009 on a felony count of bringing marijuana into the facility. The other guards, Nathanial Barnes and Gary J. Ludt, pleaded guilty to contraband smuggling. Ludt received an 18-month sentence while Barnes will be sentenced later this year.

In June 2008, a prisoner escaped after kicking out an unsecured window in the minimum-security wing of the jail. Then on August 17, 2008, four prisoners broke into a locked closet and opened a panel that exposed duct work leading to the roof. They escaped after leaving dummies in their bunks covered with sheets; all four were captured the following day. According to a post-incident report, several CiviGenics employees had failed to follow proper procedures. Three were fired.

The jail …

by David M. Reutter

Deficiencies in medical care and failure to comply with contractual obligations have resulted in the termination of two contracts for Correctional Medical Services (CMS). The contracts were worth a total of $95 million annually.

Regular PLN readers will not be surprised at the reasons behind the contract terminations. What is unusual is that the contracts were canceled, as prison officials normally tolerate CMS’s substandard performance in order to save money; also, using a private contractor allows them to deflect blame for inept medical care.

In March 2008, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine terminated CMS’s contract to provide medical, dental and pharmaceutical services to the state’s prisoners. The contract had an annual value of $85 million. CMS has provided health care to New Jersey prisoners since 1996.

The New Jersey State Inspector issued a report in October 2007 that was highly critical of CMS, finding the company had overcharged the state and failed to comply with its contractual obligations. The state auditor issued a report with similar findings.

CMS officials seemed shocked that the contract was going to be terminated, especially in the midst of a four-year contract term. “The state has been extremely satisfied with our …

The family of Timothy Souders has agreed to accept $3.25 to settle a wrongful death claim relating to Timothy’s death. Timothy, 21, was the subject of a May 2007 PLN cover article, and a February 11, 2007, report on 60 Minutes.

Timothy was one of the millions of mentally ill …

Private Prison Companies Not Forthcoming About Immigration Detainee Deaths

by Matt Clarke

The private prison industry has benefited from a recent influx of contracts from the federal government to incarcerate immigration detainees. Such contracts are more lucrative than those for imprisoning state prisoners. However, questions have been raised about the quality of medical care provided to immigration detainees, and neither the federal government nor private prison contractors have been forthcoming about details related to the deaths of 66 detainees between January 2004 and November 2007.

There wouldn’t even be a public list of immigration prisoner deaths had Congress not demanded one from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Congress became involved after relatives of deceased detainees complained about the lack of information they were given about the deaths, and how they had not been told their relatives were sick or in the hospital.

One example was the death of Boubacar Bah, 52, a native of Guinea who had a successful New York business creating handmade clothes. Bah had overstayed his tourist visa. He returned to Guinea to visit his family; while he was abroad his application for a green card was denied, revoking his permission to reenter the country. He …

Report Criticizes Conditions in U.S. Immigrant Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington

by David M. Reutter

Conditions at the federal immigration center in Tacoma, Washington, are substandard and not in compliance with national standards, “much less international human rights law.” The is the conclusion drawn by a 65-page report issued by the Seattle University School of Law International Human Rights Clinic in collaboration with One America, an immigrant rights group.

The report examines conditions at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma. It is located on the Tacoma Tideflats, a former toxic waste dump site. Originally open with 500 beds in 2004, it now has 1,000 beds with plans to add another 500. The facility is operated by the GEO Group, who is paid $95 per day per detainee.

While officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) say the report is “filled with inaccuracies and vague allegations,” the conditions are similar to other reports on conditions operated by GEO. Moreover, the report was compiled from interviews with 46 people: 41 detainees, a family member, and four attorneys representing detainees. The investigation also made two tours of NWDC, followed by a question and answer session with ICE and GEO …

The Supreme Court of Alaska held that state prisoners incarcerated at a private prison in Arizona can enforce portions of the contract between the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) that incorporate provisions of Smith v. Cleary, 24 P.3d 1245 (Alaska 2001) [PLN, June 2003, p.26], the seminal case that set forth the duty that Alaska owes to its prisoners.

Gus Rathke, an Alaskan prisoner, was incarcerated at a private prison in Florence, Arizona run by CCA pursuant to the CCA/DOC contract when he received a disciplinary infraction after failing a drug test. He was given 30 days in isolation, prevented from having a paying job for 90 days, and removed from CCA’s substance abuse program. He consistently denied using drugs and requested retesting.

After Rathke was released from punitive segregation he filed a grievance over the drug test. His urine sample had tested positive for THC metabolites using a 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) cutoff point, the Arizona standard. The standard for Alaskan prisoners, as set forth in Cleary and the CCA/DOC contract, is 50 ng/ml. Rathke’s urine sample was retested at 50 ng/ml and he passed. The grievance officer recommended that the disciplinary …

By Michael E. Deutsch and Jan Susler [The authors, lawyers with the People’s Law Office in Chicago, have a long history of work on behalf of prisoner rights and political prisoners]


In 1969 there were less than 300,000 people in federal and state prisons and county jails in the U.S.---about 160 people for each 100,000 of population. Thirty-five years later there are over 2,000,000 people incarcerated in American prisons and jails, 100,000 children in juvenile jails and another 4,000,000 under parole or probation supervision, increasing the ratio to about 645 people per 100,000. The draconian laws and policies which brought about this huge increase in the numbers of people under the thumb of the criminal justice system have specifically targeted people of color.
African-Americans, who are 13% of the population as a whole now make up more than 50% of the prison population, up from 30%; Latino prisoners count for an additional 17%. A Black person is seven times more likely to go to prison than a white person. Indeed, as a study by the Sentencing Project revealed, almost one-third of Black men between the ages of 20 and 29 will be under some form of criminal justice supervision---prison, jail, …