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.
Report: Incarcerated Population in Rural Jails and Prisons At Risk of Losing Hospital Access by Michael Thompson by Michael Thompson President Donald Trump (R) signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025. The tax spending bill was passed along party lines and is so massive, that it is …
Pennsylvania County Renews $8 Million Contract with PrimeCare Despite Settlements
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On December 30, 2025, Pennsylvania’s Centre County renewed its contract with PrimeCareMedical
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Georgia Grand Jury Dings Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman On January 16, 2025, a grand jury in Georgia’s Richmond County reported that its inspection of the County jail revealed serious overcrowding, with mattresses on the floor pressing many cells into …
Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On December 1, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that jailers could not be held liable for the death of a …
Almost $28.3 Million Awarded from NaphCare for Washington Jail Detainee Who Lost Leg to Untreated Gangrene
by Chuck Sharman
by Chuck Sharman
For letting a detainee’s infected leg go
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Ninth Circuit Hands Partial Victory to NaphCare, Remanding Much of $27 Million Jury Verdict in Washington Jail Death Case
by Chuck Sharman
by Chuck Sharman
On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Court
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nearly $300 million—all with the same healthcare contractor, VitalCore Health Strategies.
In July 2020, after the DOC’s former contractor, Centurion Health, opted to terminate its contract
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Oklahoma Supreme Court Kills One Jail Death Suit, Threatening Settlement of Another by In a case with enormous implications for Oklahoma jail detainees, the state Supreme Court ruled on March 11, 2025, that a jail’s subcontracted medical providers are “employees” for the purposes of the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act …
Wellpath and VitalCore Skip Paying Nearly $2 Million in Settlements in South Carolina by In October 2024, Wellpath—a private for-profit contractor that provides medical care in prisons and jails—was ordered to pay a $1.5 million settlement it entered in a lawsuit alleging that one of the company’s nurses performed “unnecessary …
Six Deaths in Eleven Months at Washington Jail by The South County Correctional Entity, a jail shared by six cities in Washington’s King County and located in the Seattle suburb of Des Moines, recorded its sixth death in 11 months on February 1, 2025. Known locally as SCORE, the lockup …
Wellpath Sanctioned for Discovery Violation in Suit Over Kentucky Prisoner’s Death
by Douglas Ankney
by Douglas Ankney
Privateprison and jail medical provider Wellpath, LLC has announced
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Wellpath Prepares Plan to Exit Bankruptcy by Prison healthcare giant Wellpath took a step closer toward exiting bankruptcy proceedings on April 15, 2025, when it announced a settlement reached with a group a notch below those senior creditors first in line for repayment. That group of junior creditors includes prisoners …
ForensicMedicalGroup (CFMG) was first contracted to provide healthcare at MCJ in 1984. As far back as 2007, a consulting firm warned that detainee healthcare was “inadequate and result[ed
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Wellpath Declares Bankruptcy by On November 11, 2024, Wellpath Holdings, Inc., and its affiliated corporate entities filed for bankruptcy protection in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Wellpath is a private, for-profit medical and mental health care provider at approximately 420 detention facilities in 39 states; …
Turn Key Health Walks Away From Oklahoma County Jail by On October 9, 2024, Turn Key Health Clinics ended its contract to provide healthcare at the Oklahoma County Jail in Oklahoma City. The firm gave notice 30 days earlier, after winning just a one-year $7.4 million extension to the contract …
Mentally Incompetent Maine Defendants Sent to South Carolina Wellpath Lockup Called “Essentially Prison” by Pre-trial detainees found not criminally responsible in Maine are being quietly transferred from the state’s Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta to Columbia Regional Care Center, a South Carolina psychiatric lockup owned by Wellpath, Inc. Wellpath has …
release from prison. On November 3, 2022, Centurion settled the case for $75,000. Unusually, the settlement agreement specifically did not resolve claims against individual NMCD defendants or privateprison
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In Failure-to-Treat Claims, Wellpath Denied Dismissal in Virginia, Settles in Pennsylvania
by David Reutter
by David M. Reutter
On November 11, 2024, privateprison and jail healthcare
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privateprison and jail medical contractor Wellpath, LLC for destroying evidence in a suit filed over a detainee death at the Josephine County Jail (JCJ). It was the second time in just over a year
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Maryland Extends Contract with YesCare Despite Bankruptcy of Predecessor Corizon Health
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For-profit prison healthcare contractor Corizon Health had a sordid reputation even before
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