Utah Democrat Defeated for Party Post Defeated After "Outing" as Private Prison Official

By Derek Gilna

Her position as Vice-Chairman of Management and Training Corporation (MTC), third largest private prison operator in the United States, proved to be the undoing of Jane Marquardt, who was seeking the vice-chair of the Utah Democratic Party's Central Committee. Despite her political record showing support for the organization "Human Rights Campaign and Equality Utah," and public support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) causes, the documented abuses at MTC facilities derailed any chance she might have had to win that party position.

According to Counterpunch.org, "her company profits from the disproportionate caging and abuse of LGBT people, especially transgender women," citing studies that show that LGBT youth are more likely to be homeless, and therefore more likely to come onto law enforcement's radar. "Transgender people have their risk of incarceration further exacerbated by being profiled for prostitution charges and sometimes even locked up for using public restrooms," the organization stated.

It is well known that wherever private prisons make large donations to public officials, legislation to open new for-profit prisons generally soon follow. The recent debate surrounding Arizona's bill SB 1070 precipitated a spike in political donations with just that in mind. The Arizona law, and others like it, inevitably results in the increase in detentions for non-criminal immigration charges of persons accused of being undocumented persons, setting up new profit centers for companies like MTC.

In "one-size-fits-all" detention centers run by private prisons, the public presumption is generally that individuals will not be held under those conditions for long, but the reality is much different. Most immigration facilities and county jails have few amenities, and certainly none to accommodate LGBT prisoners. They are often place in the general population, where they can become targets for abuse.

Unfortunately for LGBT prisoners, according to a 2007 study, sexual assault is, "13 times more prevalent among transgender (prisoners), with 59 percent reporting being sexually assaulted." According to Counterpunch.org, "The same study found that 67% of LGBT (prisoners) reported being sexually assaulted. That's 15 time the rate for their straight and cisgender counterparts."

MTC currently operates private prisons in Arizona, California, Idaho, Ohio, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Texas, holding 29,534 prisoners, and has been the subject of an investigative report by PBS's FRONTLINE, which found that its Willacy Detention Center was rife with sexual abuse, and that prison officials were trying to cover it up. Jane Marquardt was presented with a copy of the FRONTLINE report at a meeting, and she professed shock, stating, "That would be terrible if that were happening in our facilities!"

Unfortunately for Marquardt, it did not end there. At the December 12, 2012 meeting of the Utah Democratic Party, a disturbance broke out, wherein Marquardt was repeatedly shouted down by activists when she tried to give her speech to delegates. The room was cleared and the election held, but the damage had been done. Marquardt lost the election to Josie Valdez. No charges were filed in connection with the incident.

Source: " 'Progressive' Prison Profiteer," by Nathan Goodman, www.counterpunch.org, December 12, 2012.

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