PRIVATE CORRECTIONS INDUSTRY

NEWS BULLETIN
f

Vol. 1- No.4

Reporting on Prison Privatization and Related Issues

September 1998

Former Employees Criticize CCA
Intense media attention following the escape of six inmates from
CCA's Northeast Ohio Correctional
Center in Youngstown has led former prison employees to speak out
against the company.
One common theme was inadequate training. Former officer Linda
Carnahan said she was assigned to
armed perimeter guard duty despite
her lack of firearms training. "I told
my captain that if we had an escape,
I didn't know how to pick up a gun
and shoot it," she stated. "He said go
out there anyway."
Former employees claimed the
company didn't train many officers
to use firearms because state certification can cost up to $3,000 per
person. According to Mahoning Co.
Sheriff Philip Chance, CCA allowed
untrained guards to carry firearms at
least 13 times while transporting inmates to a local hospital.
Other former prison workers
complained about CCA' s emphasis on
the bottom-line. "They don't care
about the corrections officers and
they don't care about the inmates,"
remarked Daniel Eshenbaugh, who

left the Youngstown facility to work
at a state prison. "Everything there
is about money," he concluded.
Said Robert Oliver, who quit in
July, "They gave us a rundown saying two slices of bread per inmate
costs this much. If you can cut corners here, it would mean a possible
raise for us." Oliver and other former
employees said toilet paper was rationed and basic materials such as
pencils and paper for education programs were often in short supply.
CCA's Youngstown prison also
has been hit by eight discrimination
claims filed by former staff members, seven of which are pending.
Youngstown workers have criticized the CCA facility previously.
Last April, following two murders at
the prison, former and current guards
described serious management deficiencies, including inadequate staff
training and a high employee turnover rate. "The training we received
was pitiful" said Don Lane, a former
patrolman and chief of police who
used to work at the prison. "If I was
just off the street and didn't have my
past training, I would have been in

trouble. They taught you just enough
self-defense to get you killed"
Security issues are still a concern
at Youngstown. Victoria Wheeler, a
former employee at the CCA facility, was quoted in an August 30
article in Cleveland's Plain Dealer
as saying, ''There was no control there.
They are very lucky that a staff
member didn't get murdered."
Former CCA prison employees
in Tennessee have expressed similar
concerns, particularly regarding the
company's penny-pinching policies.
Larry Adkisson, chief of security
at the CCA-operated South Central
Correctional Center in Clifton, said
he wanted to buy a $15 metal rod to
probe a dumpster to ensure inmates
weren't tIying to escape. The warden
said no. Two days later a prisoner
hid under garbage in the Dumpster,
leading to the facility's first breakout, in 1992.
Adkisson and other ex-staff said
CCA officials left guard posts unmanned to avoid paying overtime,
refused to buy a sufficient number of
batteries for two-way radios, and cut
comers in other [continued¢]

© 1998 - p.e.!. News Bulletin, 3193-A Parthenon Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203

p.e.!. News Bulletin

ADMINISTRIVIA
The P.C.I. News Bulletin (PCINB) is
a monthly publication that reports on
prison privatization and related issues,
primarily within the United States.

Copyright
PCINB is copyright © 1998. Non-profit
organizations and individuals acting on
their behalf are granted pennission to
reprint or copy any materials included
in PCINB provided that source credit is
given and that such copies are for noncommercial purposes only - all other
persons are required to obtain written
permission from PCINB before any reprints or copies legally can be made.
PCINB will happily and enthusiastically
pursue legal action against copyright
violators, and will provide a reward to
persons who report copyright violations
that result in successful litigation or
settlements, as determined by PCINB.

Address
P.C.I. News Bulletin, 3193-A Parthenon
Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37203.

Legal Stuff
The information presented in this publication is not intended to supplant the
services I advice of legal or correctionsrelated professionals. The editors of and
contributors to PCINB disclaim any Jiability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise,
incurred as a direct or indirect consequence of the use and application of any of
the contents of this newsletter. So there.

WANTED
Articles, clippings and news reports
regarding the private corrections industry - please include the source
and date of all materials submitted.

2

September 1998

ways that presented security risks.
They also said the company hired
young, inexperienced guards, many
just out of high school. and did not
provide sufficient training.
Other fonner CCA staffers complained that the company skimped on
daily supplies. "We kept hearing,
'we've got to save money. We've
got to make money.' They rationed
everything from toilet paper to paper
clips," said James Bevis, who supervised counseling services at South
Central before quitting in 1993.
According to Mike Jones, who
worked as a correctional officer at
CCA's Mason facility, companyofficials discontinued paying to use
firing ranges for firearm training and
by last May had stopped all firearm
training for new guards. "Like I tell
evel)'body, CCA is not out to spend
money; they're out to make their
money," said Jones.
Fonner employees further complained that CCA provided less attractive job benefits than the state,
ran an unprofessional operation and
in other ways contributed to low
morale that resulted in a high staff
turnover rate. They said that CCA's
health insurance was inferior and
cost more, sick and vacation time
were less generous, and employees
were not fully vested in the company's stock plan for five years (the
plan is solely invested in CCA stock,
which has dropped almost 50% in
recent months).
CCA refused to comment on the
complaints and criticisms made by
fonner employees; the company previously had said it would decline all
interview requests indefinitely. 0

Five correctional officers were
attacked by prisoners at the CCArun Torrance Co. Detention Center
in Estancia, New Mexico on August
5; one was hospitalized in what CCA
spokeswoman Susan Hart described
as an "unprovoked assault." Some of
the inmates involved in the attack
had been transferred from CCA's
violence-plagued Youngstown, Ohio
prison earlier this year.
New Mexico Corrections Secretary Rob Perry said the incident
may have involved a breach of security by prison staff, and officials
questioned why the state police was
not immediately notified of the incident. Eight days later, on August
13, five prisoners and two officers
were injured in a gang fight at the
detention center; afterwards, SS inmates were locked in the gym where
they started a fire.
State officials said CCA properly
handled the latter altercation, though
they intend to charge the company
for the cost of responding to both
disturbances. Perry estimated the reimbursement will be "somewhere in
the thousands of dollars."
CCA agreed to the reimbursement, said they would notify state
authorities of any future incidents in
a timely manner, and agreed to let
New Mexico officials review records
of prisoners transferred into the state
from other jurisdictions (though they
can not disallow transfers).
The Estancia facility holds 825
federal, state and county inmates. 0

Sources: The Plain Dealer (OH),
April 27, 1998; The Tennessean,
Aug. 31, Sept. 6, 1998.

Sources: U.S.A. Today, August 7,
1998; The Jackson Sun (TN), Aug.
IS, Aug. 22, 1998.

Assault, Gang Fight
at CCA Facility

P.C.I. News Bulletin

In the News
A development council in Daviess
County, Indiana has decided not to
support CCA's proposal to build a
privately-run prison in their area.
Said Bob Barron, chairman of the
county council, "We must establish
priorities in using our limited resources for the best local benefits."
Source: The Tennessean, August
14, 1998.
In late July CCA opened a new
prison in Whiteville, Tennessee adjacent to the company's Hardeman
Co. Corr. Facility. The I,500-bed
facility will house out-of-state inmates from Hawaii and Wisconsin.
The opening of the new prison was
attended by Gov. Don Sundquist,
Lt. Gov. John S. Wilder and House
Speaker Jimmy Naifeh. Source: The
Tennessean, August 2, 1998.
Hawaiian taxpayers will have to foot
the bill for an error that resulted in
several inmates being transferred to
CCA-operated prisons in Tennessee
and Oklahoma while they still had
charges pending. They will have to be
flown back to attend court hearings. Source: U.S.A. Today, Sept.
3,1998.
According to a U.S. District Court,
a privately-operated juvenile prison
in Jena, Louisiana has too many
problems to open - including an
inadequate number of guards, doctors and teachers. Wackenhut had
planned to open the facility just
three weeks later. Source: U.S.A.
Today, August 11, 1998.

3

September 1998

Mother Sues CCA Over Son's Death
Anthony David Bowman, 28, an
inmate at the CCA-operated South
Central Correctional Center in Clifton, Tennessee, died on January 5,
1996 due to complications resulting
from sickle cell anemia. Bowman
suffered from frequent sickle cell
"crises" - prison medical personnel
had seen him over 120 times during
the 21 months he was incarcerated
at South Central.
From November to December
1996 he was examined seven times
by Dr. Robert Coble, a physician at
South Central under contract with
CCA. Dr. Coble treated him for an
infection and ordered blood tests
and an X-ray.
According to prison medical records, on Jan. 1, 1996 Bowman was
taken to the infirmary in a wheelchair with a temperature of 102.4
degrees. Dr. Coble ordered an antibiotic, pain medication and an X-ray
but did not send him to a hospital.
The X-ray revealed an "infiltration"
in the right lung.
Two days later Dr. Coble received a "panic" call from the laboratory that had examined Bowman's
blood, reporting an extremely high
white blood cell count and an extremely low red blood cell count.
He did not consider it an emergency
requiring hospitalization. Bowman
was transferred to a Nashville hospital the next day after his condition
worsened, where he died less than
24 hours later. An autopsy indicated
his death was due to acute pneumonia, an enlarged liver and a nonfunctioning spleen.
Anthony's mother, Patricia, had
visited her son on New Year's Day
and found him in pain and having

trouble breathing. "He said, 'Mama,
f thought I was going to die .... I've
never been this sick before,'" she
stated. Mrs. Bowman also said her
son believed that prison authorities
thought he was 'joking" about being
sick to obtain pain medication.
Patricia Bowman sued CCA,
claiming the company's efforts to
increase profits by reducing medical
expenses contributed to her son's
death. Information uncovered in the
lawsuit revealed that CCA spent an
average of $3.07 on medical care per
prisoner per day before hiring Dr.
Coble in October 1994.
According to court documents,
CCA entered into a contract with
Coble that gave him a financial incentive to keep expenses down: The
company withheld 20% of the doctor's payments if he did not reduce
inmate medical expenses below an
average of $3.07 per day, and gave
him a 5% bonus if he kept costs
under $2.46 per day.
Dr. Coble reduced average medical expenses to $1. 99 per prisoner
per day in 1995, $1.78 in 1996 and
$1.68 in 1997, said Bowman's attorneys. They also stated that although
the inmate population at South Central grew from 1,000 to 1,500 from
1994 to 1997, CCA' s total medical
expenses remained about the same,
at approximately $1 million a year.
Patricia Bowman claimed that
"CCA has adopted a policy of providing a financial incentive to its
contract physicians to deny or delay
medical care to prison inmates in
order to increase the physician's income and also CCA' s profits," wrote
U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell,
who is overseeing [continued¢}

p.e.!. News Bulletin

UPDATES
The sixth inmate who escaped from
CCA's Youngstown. Ohio facility
on July 25 (see PCINB, Aug. 1998)
was captured in Buffalo, New York
more than a month following the
break-out. U.S. Marshals and Erie
Co. deputies apprehended escapee
Ronald Holmes on August 27 after
being tipped by an informant. CCA
spokeswoman Susan Hart said the
company was pleased to learn that
Holmes had been caught, but declined to comment further. Sources:
Commercial Appeal (TN), August
28, 1998; The Jackson Sun (TN),
August 28, 1998.

Arizona officials have announced
the state will not renew the operating license of the Arizona Boys
Ranch following an investigation
into the death of a California youth
at the facility (see PCINB, August
1998). Investigators found that abuse and neglect by 17 employees
contributed to the March 2 death
of Nick Contreraz. ABR President
Bob Thomas said he would appeal
the decision by the state's Dept. of
Economic Security. Source: U.S.A.
Today, August 27,1998.
u.S. District Judge Sam Kent, who
is overseeing a lawsuit brought by
Missouri inmates against CCRI and
Brazoria Co., Texas (see PC/NB,
July 1998), ordered the parties to
engage in settlement discussions.
The plaintiffs say they are willing
to settle for $2.9 million. Source:
U.S.A. Today, Sept. 3, 1998.

4

the suit. Dr. Coble and CCA denied
that fiscal incentives influence the
medical care that inmates receive.
Judge Campbell determined that
Bowman had set forth sufficient evidence about the financial motives of
CCA and Dr. Coble to present the
case to a jury, where she will argue
that the company and doctor were
deliberately indifferent to her son's
medical needs by failing to send him
to a hospital in time enough to save
his life.
The case presents an iMovative
question of law as to whether private
prison contractors can reduce inmate
medical expenses - sometimes to
dangerously low levels - in order to
increase profits. "I think the judge
is recognizing this sort of policy
can be a motivating force behind
constitutional violations, [and] that
the policies and incentives that the
institution sets up can lead to people's rights being violated," stated
University of Memphis law professor
Barbara Kritchevsky. 0
Source: The Tennessean, September
6, 1998.

Inmate Dies at
CCA Facility
Ralph Carpenter, a 48-year-old
convict incarcerated at the CCAoperated South Central Correctional
Center in Clifton, TeMessee, died of
a heart attack on Friday, September
II, 1998.
According to an inmate source
at South Central, Carpenter had
complained of chest pains earlier that
day; he went to the infmnary but

September 1998

was told to sign up on sick call the
following Monday. The prison does
not offer weekend sick calls. When
he insisted on seeing a doctor or
nurse he reportedly was ordered to
leave or face disciplinmy sanctions
for "creating a disturbanee."
Also according to a first-hand
source at South Central, Carpenter
informed security staff that he was
having chest pains while they were
conducting the I 0:30 p.m. count, and
was told they would check on him
after they had finished. When the
officers returned at around 11 :00
p.m. he was dead. Carpenter was only
a few months away from completing
his sentence. 0
Source: Inmate correspondence.

Other Private Corrections
Industry Resources
The Corrections and Criminal Justice
Coalition (CCJC), which represents
unionized government corrections
employees, strongly opposes prison
privatization. Address: 7700 Leesburg Pike #421, Falls Church, VA
22043; web site: www.ccjc.com.
The Prison Privatisation Report
International, a publication of the
non-profit Prison Reform Trust, is
published ten times a year. Highly
recommended! Subscription rates are
£25 for individuals, £50 for public
or non-profit agencies and £ 100 for
corporations or businesses. Address:
Prison Reform Trust, 15 Northburgh
Street, London EC 1V OAH. Phone:
++44-171-251-5070; e-mail: prisonreform@prisonreform.demon.co.uk.

p.e.I. News Bulletin

5

September 1998

Land Swap, Proposed Prison Anger Community
Two years ago CCA approached
Prince George's County, Maryland
officials about building a privatelyoperated prison in their area. After
the company faced opposition to the
proposal it struck a deal with federal
lawmakers to trade its 84-acre parcel
in Maryland for 42 acres of national
park land just over the border in the
District of Columbia.
The land exchange was attached
to a lengthy 1997 appropriations bill
for the Dept. of the Interior in an
amendment made during conference
committee negotiations. Officials are
unsure which Congressman added the
amendment.
The land swap has angered D.C.
residents, who say they have been
excluded from commenting on the
arrangement; Prince George's County
residents are concerned that a prison

they didn't want in their community
may be built next door across the
county line. "Here is a company
that has been able to affect federal
legislation . . . and almost put in a
prison in a community without anyone's say," said Eugene Kinlow, a
D.C. activist.
CCA has submitted a proposal
to construct a 2,200-bed minimumsecurity prison and rehabilitation
center on the D.C. site. The Federal
Bureau of Prisons has solicited bids
for a private prison to house 1,900
male and 300 female D.C. offenders,
many of them juveniles. No bids
have been awarded yet. The D.C.
Zoning Commission is expected to
schedule hearings on CCA's prisonbuilding proposal when it convenes
on September 14.
Despite support for the private

prison project from Mayor Marion
Barry, concern among community
members is growing. Opposition to
the proposed CCA prison has been
voiced by the Prince George's Co.
Planning Director, Forest Heights
Mayor Warren Adams, and a D.C.
citizens' group called the Ward 8
Coalition.
Before CCA can build the facility the Zoning Commission must
approve zoning changes, the Dept.
of the Interior must conduct a land
inspection and the Bureau of Prisons
must award the company the contract bid Wackenhut is offering a
competing plan to house D.C. prisoners in North Carolina. 0
Sources: Prince George's County
Journal (MD), Aug. 28, 1998; u.s.
News, September 14, 1998.

CCA Attempts to Silence Inmates, Attorney
On August 21 lawyers for CCA
asked U.S. District Court Judge Sam
H. Bell to prohibit inmate plaintiffs
at the company's Youngstown. Ohio
prison and their attorney from commenting publicly about the problemplagued facility. Judge Bell is overseeing a class-action lawsuit filed by
prisoners at Youngstown who allege
unsafe conditions, mistreatment, inadequate staff training and insufficient
medical care.
CCA filed for a restraining order
after six prisoners escaped from the
Youngstown facility on July 25 and
the plaintiffs attorney, Alphonse Gerhardstein, agreed to be interviewed by

Dateline. Sixty Minutes and Hard
Copy. The company argued that
"further dissemination of information by the plaintiffs and their attorney through these television news
magazine programs will seriously
threaten" its right to a fair trial.
CCA's attorneys presented a
collection of newspaper articles in
which they claimed Gerhardstein
made comments that were "untrue,
unfair, prejudicial and inflammatory." As one example they said he
had cited an exhibit filed in the
court case indicating that 19 stabbings had occurred at the Youngstown prison. CCA contends that just

13 stabbings - including two homicides - have occurred.
Gerhardstein responded by saying he has only released information
that was publicly available. "The
attention CCA has received in this
case is more attributable to the inmates who have been murdered and
escaped than plaintiffs counsel's behavior," he informed the court.
Judge Bell evidently agreed, as
he denied the company's motion for
a restraining order. 0
Sources: The Plain Dealer (OH),
Aug. 22, 1998; U.S.A. Today, Aug.
26, 28, 1998.

p.e.I. News Bulletin

6

September 1998

Christian Group Seeks to
Usurp Private Prison

CCA Not in Compliance
With State Law

Oregon Inmates to
Return Home

A Fort Worth-based religious
coalition is bidding to turn a privately-run prison in Venus, Texas
into a faith-oriented operation that
would provide job training. counseling and educational programs to
participating inmates.
The Restorative Justice Ministries Network, a group of evangelical ministers, educators and prison
employees, is sponsoring the idea.
"These are programs that the state
can't provide, only the faith-based
community can provide," said Executive Director Ladd Holton. The
religion-themed prison concept has
been endorsed by state Representative Ray Allen.
The Venus prison, a pre-release
center for inmates within two years
of their expected release date, has
been operated by CCA since 1989.
Laurie Shanblum, CCA' s director of
special projects, said the company
will bid to continue managing the
prison and is closely watching efforts to turn it into a faith-based
facility. CCA offers education, life
skills, vocational and substance abuse programs at Venus.
The Texas Dept. of Criminal
Justice is accepting contract bids to
manage the Venus prison and three
other privately-run facilities until
August 31, and will likely make a
fmal decision by November.
Critics of the Christian-oriented
prison concept cite problems involving the separation of church and
state. Several other religious programs operate in Texas prisons. 0

Secretary of State Mike Clooney
has concluded that CCA was in violation of a Montana statute when it
contracted to build a $25 million
prison in the state. Montana law requires all companies to be licensed
and to have a certificate of authority,
Clooney said. Almost a month after
CCA signed the contract the company still was not licensed or registered with his office.
Montana Corrections Director
Rick Day acknowledged that CCA
had an obligation to comply with the
law, and stated the company's effort
to do so was "probably not as timely
as it should have been." CCA wants
to construct and operate a 500-bed
facility near Shelby.
Clooney further questioned the
legality of CCA's contract to build a
private prison, claiming it was invalid
because the company did not have a
certificate of authority to do business
in Montana. Said Clooney, "If you're
going to ask all businesses to comply
with the law, I don't know why this
company should not be required to
do the same."
Day disagreed with Clooney's
interpretation of the licensing statute
and maintained that the state's contract with CCA is valid.
CCA's failure to comply with the
state law also violates conditions imposed on all of the companies that
bid for the private prison contract
earlier this year. According to state
records, three of the other four bidding companies were properly registered and licensed. 0

The Oregon Dept. of Corrections
has announced that all 119 women
prisoners housed at a Corrections
Services Corp. facility in Gallup,
New Mexico will be returned to the
state by the end of November. The
state had recently moved its female
offenders from a CCA facility in
Arizona to the CSC New Mexico
prison (see PCINB, July 1998).
According to Oregon Corrections Director Dave Cook, continuing
to house the female prisoners at
the privately-operated facility would
have cost about the same amount
as incarcerating them in-state. "The
money will be a wash," he said. "For
us, it's a concern for the long-term
performance of our inmates." 0

Source: The Tennessean, August 6,
1998.

Source: The Tennessean, August 19,
1998.

Source: Oregonian, Aug. 13, 1998.

Late Prison Opening
The opening of Georgia's first
privately-operated prison, a 750-bed
facility in Charlton County built by
Cornell Corrections, has been delayed due to incomplete construction. Cells had no furniture, wiring
was unfmished, electronic locks were
uncovered, and control panels had
not been installed.
Cornell missed another opening
date for the facility in September;
company officials blamed the delay
on weather-related problems. 0
Sources: Atlanta Journal Constitution, Aug. 19, 1998; U.S.A. Today,
September 16, 1998.

p.e.I. News Bulletin

7

September 1998

Problems' Plague CCA Prisons in Tennessee
CCA has experienced a series of
adverse incidents at a trio of the
company's Tennessee facilities, including an escape, assaults and inmate disturbances.
Among other prisons in the
VolWlteer State CCA operates the
Whiteville Correctional Facility and
Hardeman Co. Correctional Facility
in Whiteville, and the West Tenn.
Detention Facility in Mason.
Attack on Officer
On August 5 a CCA guard was
assaulted at the company's newlyopened Whiteville Correctional Facility. Jerry Reeves, 26, was airlifted
to the Regional Medical Center in
Memphis, where he was listed in
critical but stable condition with
mUltiple skull fractures. Authorities
believe he was beaten with weightlifting equipment.
The prison was placed on lockdown and both the local police and
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
are reviewing the incident. Reeves
reportedly was not discovered by
CCA staffers Wltil almost an hour
after he was attacked and knocked
Wlconscious. According to Reeves'
family he had worked at the facility
only three or four weeks, and was left
alone with inmates in a recreation
area even though he had received relatively little training and had no way
to defend himself.
Prisoner Stabbed to Death
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is also reviewing the stabbing
death of an inmate at a CCA prison in
Mason. Company officials confirmed
that Corey Smith, 29, a Washington,
D.C. prisoner, was killed on August

27 by another D.C. inmate at the
West Tenn. Detention Facility.
The 30-year-old assailant, whom
authorities refused to identity, is expected to be charged with murder;
he reportedly refused to be placed in
restraints when he left his cell for
a shower, attacked two correctional
officers, and then stabbed inmate
Smith with a homemade knife. The
weapon has not been recovered.
Both Smith and his attacker
had been transferred to the Mason
facility from CCA's YOWlgstown,
Ohio prison last April. The TBI investigation was requested by District
Attorney Elizabeth Rice.
CCA Loses One
Pete Jenkins, a convicted rapist
serving a 34-year sentence at the
CCA-operated Hardeman COWlty
Correctional Facility, escaped from
the prison on September 4. Prison
officials were unsure how he managed the break-out as there was no
apparent breach of the facility's two
12-foot razor wire-wrapped fences.
Jenkins, 31, who was discovered
missing during an afternoon COWlt,
had a history of escape. Some local
community members expressed concern while others didn't consider
the break-out exceptional. "They
usually catch them, so I'm not
scared," stated Whiteville resident
Shirley Bartling.
Jenkins was captured one day
later about 150 miles outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was stopped by police who observed that
children in his car weren't wearing
seat belts. CCA' s Hardeman COWlty
facility has experienced other escapes, the frrst occurring in July

1997, just two months after the
prison opened.
Inmate Disturbance
Ten ddys after Jenkins' escape
the Hardeman COWlty facility was
placed on lockdown status following a disturbance among inmates on
the recreation yard. CCA spokeswoman Susan Hart said about 100
prisoners were involved, with one
being treated for a stab wOWld. "It
did not develop into what we would
consider a serious situation," she
stated.
Authorities believe the incident
involved rival gang members. The
Hardeman COWlty facility houses
approximately 1,500 Tennessee and
out-of-state prisoners; Wlder CCA's
contract the company must notity
the state of security problems that
involve Tennessee inmates. [J
Sources: The Jackson Sun (TN),
Aug. 7, Sept. 3, 5, 15, 16, 1998;
Commercial Appeal (TN), Sept. 1,
5, 7, 15, 1998; The Tennessean,
September 2, 5, 1998.

VIDEO AVAILABLE
The American Federation of State,
COWlty and Municipal Employees
can provide a video entitled "What
CCA doesn't want you to know
about private prisons." Appearing
in the video is Tennessee Rep. John
M. Windle and YOWlgstOwn, Ohio
Mayor George McKelvey. Contact:
AFSCME, Attn: Joshua Miller, 1625
L Street N.W., Washington, D.C.
20036 (202) 429-1215.

p.e.I. News Bulletin

September 1998

8

Ohio Legislative Hearings Condemn CCA
Public hearings by the Ohio
Correctional Institution Inspection
Committee into events surrounding
the July 25 escape of six prisoners
from a CCA facility in Youngstown
turned into a CCA-bashing event.
Said state Sen. Jeffrey Johnson to
Youngstown Warden Jimmy Turner,
"Don't even try to defend your corporation. In many ways they are indefensible." Besides the escape lawmakers were incised that maximumand close-security inmates had been
housed at the facility despite CCA' s
assurances to the contrmy. "The old
warden lies. The new warden lies.
CCA's public relations flak lies. The
company president lies," fumed Sen.
Robert Hagan.
Other committee discussions centered on jurisdictional issues concerning the Youngstown prison. Although
federal officials have indicted the escapees in connection with the breakout, the U.S. Attorney's office has

said it lacks authority to prosecute
crimes such as assault and murder
committed at the facility.
When two inmates were stabbed
to death at the prison earlier this
year county prosecutors handled the
case. The Youngstown facility was
criticized by Mahoning Co. District
Attorney Paul Gains last April.
CCA has refused requests by
law enforcement officials to release
information about assaults, murders
and near-riots at the prison, claiming it was under no legal obligation
to do so. The company argued it is
only accountable to its contractor,
Washington, D.C. "Private prisons
have been around for a good period
of time, but there is very little on the
books as far as laws," stated Rep.
Mark Mallory.
TestifYing before the committee
was Tennessee Sen. Pete Springer,
who described recent incidents at
CCA-operated facilities in his and

other states - including a stabbing
death and an attack on a correctional
officer (see pg. 7). Earlier this year
the Tennessee legislature considered
and eventually rejected a bill that
would have permitted privatization
of up to 70% of the state's corrections system.
To counter the negative slant of
the hearings CCA packed the committee meetings with more than 50
company employees and published
a full-page ad in the Youngstown
newspaper saying they were working
to restore public confidence in the
prison. Warden Turner also took
reporters on a tour of the Youngstown facility to showcase new security features. CCA' s Youngstown
prison is presently the subject of a
federal investigation. 0
Sources: The Plain Dealer (OH),
Aug. 13, 14, 1998; The Tennessean,
September 2, 1998.

Private Prison Panned in Iowa
Mildred Elliott, chairwoman of
the Iowa Board of Corrections, has
announced that discussion about
building a privately-operated prison
in the state is likely over for this
year. Elliott removed the issue from
the board's agenda on September
11 because there was only one prospective contract bid, which likely
would have been defeated.
The bid, from CCA, was to construct a $40 million medium-security
facility on the grounds of the Wood-

ward State Hospital and School,
located about 30 miles northwest
of Des Moines.
The vice chair of the Board of
Corrections, Jim Schweisow, indicated that he probably would have
voted against the proposal. "I don't
see a big advantage for the state," he
said. "We would have all the liability for the staff and the inmates at
a private-run prison and none of the
control."
Local critics claimed that cor-

rections contractors are more interested in maximizing profit margins
than in maintaining safe and secure
facilities, which has led to escapes,
riots and other adverse incidents at
private prisons. The proposed 750bed CCA facility would have been
Iowa's frrst privately-operated adult
prison. 0
Sources: The Jackson Sun (TN),
Sept. 13, 1998; The Tennessean,
September 13, 1998.