Wackenhut Searches For New Business

In the 1990s, states couldn't build prisons fast enough. To keep up with the ever-increasing number of prisoners, many states turned to private prison companies like Wackenhut Corrections, Corrections Corporation of America, and Cornell Corrections. But the prison-building boom of the 1990s has now evolved into a pattern where private, for-profit, prisons search for new ways to fill their existing beds.

In 1994, 40 states were under court order to ease overcrowding. In fact, the overcrowding problem got so bad that 30,000 prisoners were released that year without spending a day in jail. The problem turned into profits for Wackenhut, who embarked on a six-year prison-building spree.

In the second half of 2000, state prison populations fell by over 6,200 _ the first drop since 1972. Now, many states are facing a surplus of prison beds after embarking on massive prison-building programs, and Wackenhut has had to rethink its business strategy to cope with this change in circumstances.

In Florida, where Wackenhut has two privately run prisons, authorities report that the state prisons are running at only 81 percent capacity, while Wackenhut's two Florida prisons are 95 percent filled. Wackenhut's situation in Florida appears stable, ...

by John E. Dannenberg

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly construed Bivens actions suing private federal prison contractors to be available only against their individual prison employees, and not the parent corporations.

Reversing the Second Circuit US Court of Appeals in Malesko v. Correctional Services Corp. [CSC], 229 F.3d 374 (2 nd Cir. 2000) [ PLN, July 2001, "Private Prison Corp. Can Be Sued In Bivens Action"], the high court declined to extend Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999 (1971) to include a "private corporation" within its definition of "individual officers".

John E. Malesko was convicted of federal securities fraud in 1992 and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment under supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). While in their custody and care, he was diagnosed with and treated for a heart condition. In 1994, he was transferred to Le Marquis Community Correctional Center, a halfway house operated on behalf of BOP by CSC.

He had use of an elevator to reach his fifth floor room there until CSC changed their elevator policy to only permit use for residents on the sixth and higher floors. Although ...

The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has overturned a district court's order that held as unconstitutional a Sheriff's policy of searching a prisoner's pubic hair prior to release. PLN previously reported the district court's order. (See: Skurstenis v. Jones , 817 Supp.2d 1228 (ND AL 1999) [ PLN , Jan. 2001]. On remand, the district court allowed the plaintiff to re-file her state law claims in state court.

Sandy Skurstenis was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. At the time of the arrest Skurstenis had a .38 Special handgun, for which she had an expired permit, in the floorboard of her car. After being booked in the Shelby County jail, she was strip searched by a female deputy.

The Eleventh Circuit held that Jail policy that each detainee be strip searched without reasonable suspicion does not comport with the requirements of the Fourth Amendment. However, the Court held that possession of a weapon by a detainee provides reasonable suspicion necessary to authorize a strip search. Thus, as Skurstenis' strip search was done in the-least intrusive manner possible, her constitutional rights were not violated.

The Court then turned to the strip search prior to Skurstenis' release the ...

by Silja J.A. Talvi

Over the past decade, Idaho's state prison system has been rocked by a steady stream of scandals ranging from the sexual abuse of prisoners to the violation of prisoners' First Amendment rights.

But nothing has shaken the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) as hard as a recent investigation by the state's Office of the Attorney General, focused on a wide-scale prison labor scandal that involved furniture theft, drug and tobacco smuggling, and the firings or forced resignations of IDOC employees who questioned ongoing practices in the state's for-profit prisoner work program, Correctional Industries.

Idaho's Correctional Industries (CI) puts over 400 prisoners to work in printing, metalwork, furniture and license plate manufacture. Like most prison labor programs across the nation, Idaho's CI claims to be self-sustaining and runs on profits from sales of prisoner-produced goods and services to other state agencies and private businesses.

The extensive 22-month investigation by the state's Attorney General's office, which was made public last March, looked into widespread mismanagement and corruption in the Correctional Industries (CI) program. The investigation prompted the resignations of IDOC Director James Spalding as well as the head administrator of CI, Jung Ho "Mike" Yae.

Both Yae and ...

CCA Settles New Mexico "Failure To Protect" Suit For $41,885

In February 2001, representatives for the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) agreed to settle a prisoner lawsuit for $41,885. Marco Lopez filed the suit in a federal district court in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after he was beaten by rioting prisoners ...

A group of private prison has formed an alliance to promote the growth of the private prison industry and to further develop prisoners as a marketable commodity. Among the founding members of the Association of Private Correctional and Treatment Organizations (APTCO) are industry giants Corrections Corporation of America, Wackenhut Corrections Corp., and Houstonbased Cornell Corrections, Inc., along with fourteen other service providers with a stake in the private prison industry.

The private prison industry as a whole has been battered by various scandals and lawsuits the past few years, which has resulted in a worsening public image for the companies. [PLN has reported on these events as they have unfolded.]

John O. Ferguson, CEO of CCA, attributes part of the industry's image problem to "misinformed statements" that could be addressed by a trade group. In other words, the industry has found it's in need of unified spin control.

According to Steve Logan, CEO of Cornell and president of the newly formed trade group, "APTCO provides a good platform to speak in one voice." Among the goals listed by the organizers are pooling data on issues such as reduction in the return rate of prisoners to private prisons (it's unclear whether ...

Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) announced it would close its Youngstown, Ohio prison on August 18, 2001. The shutdown means the loss of more than 500 jobs. So much for the recession-proof industry.

The 2,016-bed Northeast Ohio Correctional Center last housed 350 prisoners from the District of Columbia. The Nashville-based CCA said the decision to close the prison was made after the District of Columbia decided not to renew its contract. The U. S. Bureau of Prisons is taking over jurisdiction of the D.C. prison system and plans to use other prisons.

Some laid-off employees might be offered jobs at CCA locations elsewhere, according to the company, but no specific numbers were mentioned. CCA runs 65 prisons with about 61,000 beds.

The Youngstown prison, which at one time housed up to 1,500 D.C. prisoners, has faced various problems over past years, which we have highlighted previously in PLN (see PLN March 2000). These problems include the 1997 stabbing deaths of two prisoners by other prisoners, a prisoner class-action lawsuit alleging excessive use of force by guards, and a 1998 prison escape.

Youngstown Mayor George McKelvey said the closing would be devastating economically to the city, which is still trying to ...

CCA Guard is "Public Official" Under Bribery Statute

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a prison guard's bribery conviction, finding that he was a "public official" for purposes of the federal bribery statute.

Shannon Thomas was employed as a guard at a private prison in Texas, owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America, (CCA). He performed the same duties and had the same responsibilities as a federal prison guard.

Charged with bringing cigarettes to detainees in exchange for money, Thomas was indicted for accepting a bribe in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(2). He moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing that he was not a "public official" under § 201(b)(2). The district court denied the motion and Thomas entered a conditional guilty plea, reserving the right to appeal the "public official" issue. He was sentenced to 60 months probation and fined $2,000.

On appeal, Thomas renewed his argument that he was not a § 201(b)(2) "public official". The Court observed that it had never addressed the scope of § 201(b)(2) "public officials" but that several other courts had concluded that persons with duties similar to Thomas' were "public officials." The Court found, for purposes of the federal bribery ...

On July 6, 2001, hundreds of Indiana state prisoners held at the Otter Creek Correctional Complex in Wheelwright, Kentucky, rioted. The prison is owned and operated by the private, for profit, Corrections Corporation of America. The riot lasted nine hours and involved prisoners throwing televisions, sinks and toilets out of windows and burning clothes, bedding and mattresses. No one was seriously injured but the remote mountain prison was extensively damaged.

Indiana prison officials said the riot, which began in a recreation area and then spread, was "under investigation" and three prisoners suspected of "prompting the disturbance" have been moved back to Indiana. No reason or motive for the uprising was given in media accounts.

On July 12, 2001, CCA announced the prison warden, William Wolford, had been fired and on July 14, Wolford's top assistant, David Carrol, was also fired. The reason for the firing were unspecified "various policy violations." The firings came shortly after Indiana prison officials met with CCA officials. During the uprising, 75 Kentucky state police troopers and 15 Floyd county sheriff's deputies surrounded the prison to prevent escapes.

Source: Lexington Herald Leader.

by Bill Trine, esq.

A§ 1983 civil rights lawsuit and medical/healthcare negligence lawsuit was brought by the mother of 54 year old Michael Lewis, who died on May 7, 1998, after being placed on a "restrainer board" while incarcerated as a pre-trial detainee at the El Paso County Criminal Justice ...