News Articles

This site contains over 2,000 news articles, legal briefs and publications related to for-profit companies that provide correctional services. Most of the content under the "Articles" tab below is from our Prison Legal News site. PLN, a monthly print publication, has been reporting on criminal justice-related issues, including prison privatization, since 1990. If you are seeking pleadings or court rulings in lawsuits and other legal proceedings involving private prison companies, search under the "Legal Briefs" tab. For reports, audits and other publications related to the private prison industry, search using the "Publications" tab.

For any type of search, click on the magnifying glass icon to enter one or more keywords, and you can refine your search criteria using "More search options." Note that searches for "CCA" and "Corrections Corporation of America" will return different results.

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19 results

News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2025 • from PLN August, 2025

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Male Reproductive, Malpractice, Escapes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Bribery/Extortion/Theft

prisoner phone use at the lockup, which is operated for the state DOC under contract by private prison giant CoreCivic. Lawson urged the state to assume control of the troubled prison. Texas: On June 6 ...

$3 Million From Forsyth County, No Stay in Civil Case Against Wellpath Nurse Indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter of N.C. Jail Detainee

Article • January 1, 2023 • from PLN January, 2023

Filed under: Private Contractors, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

$3 Million From Forsyth County, No Stay in Civil Case Against Wellpath Nurse Indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter of N.C. Jail Detainee by Eike Blohm, MD by Eike Blohm, MD After a federal court in North Carolina declined to stay a civil case against Wellpath and a nurse it employed accused …

$2 Million Paid by North Carolina Jail for Prisoner’s Wrongful Death; Undisclosed Amount Paid by Southeastern Medical Services

Article • January 1, 2022 • from PLN January, 2022

Filed under: Private Contractors, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

$2 Million Paid by North Carolina Jail for Prisoner’s Wrongful Death; Undisclosed Amount Paid by Southeastern Medical Services by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett On January 8, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina approved a $2 million settlement to be paid by Buncombe County, …

North Carolina Case Involving Death of Black Prisoner: “I Can’t Breathe,” Revisited

Article • December 1, 2020 • from PLN December, 2020

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Private Contractors, Wrongful Death

by sheriff’s deputies and a jail nurse, Michelle Heughins, an employee of the jail’s for-profit health-care provider, Wellpath, formerly known as Correct Care Solutions. Over the next 45 minutes ...

CCS Seeks to Hide Internal Review in Jail Detainee’s Death; $180,000 Settlement

Article • November 6, 2018 • from PLN November, 2018

Filed under: Correct Care Solutions, Medication, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Private Contractors, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

CCS Seeks to Hide Internal Review in Jail Detainee’s Death; $180,000 Settlement by David Reutter, R. Bailey by David Reutter and R. Bailey Correct Care Solutions, a for-profit company ...

Nixon v. Forsyth County, et al., N.C., jail neglect, wrongful death settlement, 2017

Brief • December 14, 2017

Filed under: Correct Care Solutions, Medication, Eighth Amendment, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Nixon v. Forsyth County, et al., N.C., jail neglect, wrongful death settlement, 2017 FORSYTH COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING DATE: SUBJECT: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: DECEMBER 14, 2017 15 RESOLUTION APPROVING SETTLEMENT OF THE CASE OF DIANE EMMERT NIXON, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF DINO VANN NIXON VS. …

Fourth Circuit Holds Private Prison Guards to be Under Supervision of DOJ

Article • August 4, 2016

Filed under: GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct

Fourth Circuit Holds Private Prison Guards to be Under Supervision of DOJ by Derek Gilna Some enterprising prison guards at the River Correctional Institution set up a profitable smuggling ...

State Prison Systems Privatizing Prisoner Accounts for Commissions

Article • November 13, 2015

Filed under: JPay, Inc., Trust Accounts

State Prison Systems Privatizing Prisoner Accounts for Commissions by State Prison Systems Privatizing Prisoner Accounts for Commissions by David M. Reutter Three state prison systems have ...

Patel v. Bureau of Prisons, DC, Memorandum Opinion Re Summary Judgment, Noncitizen Treatment, RFRA, FOIA, 2015

Brief • August 21, 2015

Filed under: GEO Group/Wackenhut, DOC/BOP misconduct, Religious Discrimination, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Freedom of Information Act, Immigration, Religious Diet, Denial of Religious Services

, 2009, which added allegations that BOP had wrongfully assigned noncitizen inmates to private prisons where they were subjected to “significantly more onerous Case 1:09-cv-00200-RDM Document 130 Filed 08 ...

The Spread of Electronic Monitoring: No Quick Fix for Mass Incarceration

Article • April 10, 2015 • from PLN April, 2015

Filed under: GEO Group/Wackenhut, Sentinel, Mechanical Searches/Scanners

corporate players in the electronic monitoring industry prompt further concern. BI, which controls about a third of the national market, is a totally-owned subsidiary of notorious private prison operator ...

North Carolina DOC Medical Overpayments Exceed 10% of Total Bills

Article • January 12, 2015

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Private Contractors, Medical Expenses, Cost of Prison Systems

North Carolina DOC Medical Overpayments Exceed 10% of Total Bills by North Carolina DOC Medical Overpayments Exceed 10% of Total Bills The North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Corrections (DOC), is in need of the services of a professional recovery audit firm, an audit by the state’s Auditor …

BOP Criticized for Failing to Oversee Healthcare Administrator at FCC Butner

Article • September 18, 2014 • from PLN September, 2014

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Private Contractors, Freedom of Information Act

represented the company. He estimated losses in MDI’s finances and reputation at greater than $10 million, though he noted the exact amount was difficult to calculate. MDI and Wells Fargo had been ...

Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic

Article • May 15, 2009 • from PLN May, 2009

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Cornell Corrections, GRW Corp., Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution

and Jacqueline Overturf, were being held at the Brush Correctional Facility, a private prison operated by GRW Corp., when they were sexually assaulted by prison guard Russell E. Rollison. They filed a lawsuit ...

Prisoner's Action Affirmed Against North Carolina DOC For Negligence Leading To Amputation

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Medical, Private Contractors, Amputations, State Law Claims

Prisoner's Action Affirmed Against North Carolina DOC For Negligence Leading To Amputation by The North Carolina Department of Correction (DOC) appealed the reversal of a 1989 summary judgment grant dismissing state prisoner Joe Medley's action for a DOC contracted private physician's negligence. The court affirmed the dismissal holding that the …

Bivens Action Inapplicable to Private Prison Employees

Article • January 15, 2008 • from PLN January, 2008

Filed under: Private Prisons, GEO Group/Wackenhut, Retaliation for Use of Medical Services, Diabetes, Parties, Contractor Liability

Bivens Action Inapplicable to Private Prison Employees by The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that individual employees of a privately-operated prison are not subject to Eighth ...

Contract Doctor Negligently Liable As Agent Of State DOC

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Private Contractors, Municipal Liability, Contractor Liability, Sovereign Immunity

Contract Doctor Negligently Liable As Agent Of State DOC by State prisoner Joe Medley filed a medical negligence claim with the North Carolina Industrial Commission alleging that a doctor hired by the Department of Correction s(DOC), caused the amputation of his leg due to infection. The Commission granted summary judgment …

Contract Physician Not Acting Under Color Of State Law

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Private Contractors, Immunity/Liability, Contractor Liability

Contract Physician Not Acting Under Color Of State Law by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that a part-time contract physician was not acting under color of state law for purposes of § 1983 when treating a prisoner. Plaintiff Quincy West, a North Carolina state prisoner, …

Tide Turns Against Prison Privatization

Article • February 15, 2001 • from PLN February, 2001

Filed under: Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Financing, Cornell Corrections, Contractor Misconduct, State Legislation

Tide Turns Against Prison Privatization by North Carolina, Georgia, Utah and Louisiana are among states that experimented with private prisons and because of problems encountered have ...

NC Prisoners Riot in Tennessee

Article • February 15, 1996 • from PLN February, 1996

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Prison Rebellion

NC Prisoners Riot in Tennessee by On October 28, 1995, more than 100 North Carolina prisoners at the Corrections Corporation of America owned private prison in Mason, TN rioted, demanding ...