PRIVATE CORRECTIONS INDUSTRY

NEWS BULLETIN
Vol. 1 - No.3

Reporting on Prison Privatization and Related Issues

August 1998

Youngstown Break-Out Leads to Political, Financial Fallout
On July 25, 1998 a half-dozen
prisoners, including four convicted
murderers, cut through two fences
and escaped from the CCA-operated
Northeast Ohio Correctional Center
in Youngsto"n, Ohio. According to
Warden Jimmy Turner the successful
break-out was due to errors by prison
employees, including guards leaving
their posts, not watching their designated areas and not promptly responding to motion senso.r alanns.
The escape was the latest in a
series of embarrassing incidents at
the problem-plagued iacility, which
houses approximately 1,500 inmates
from Washington, D.C.; CCA previously had been under a court order
to remove maximum-security inmates
from the medium-security prison.
Michael J. Quinlan, the company's
director of planning, promised that
CCA would learn from its mistakes
and would improve staff training at
the facility.
Ohio la\'rmakers, however, were
not interested in apologies or excuses. State Senator Jeff Johnson
observed that the escape highlighted

a major distinction between public
and privately-operated prisons. "I've
been to Ohio prisons, and we have
some problems," he said. "The difference is if the manager screws up
and lets six people escape in broad
daylight, we have the authority to get
him out of there."
Also of concern was CCA's
response to the break-out. Prison
records indicate the first motion detector alarms went off at 1:06 p.m.,
though it was not until 3:09 p.m.
that the escape was reported to local
law enforcement officials. According
to Youngstown police captain Robert
Kane, when officers arrived at the
facility they initially were told there
was no problem even though armed
prison guards were searching the
surrounding fields and woods. Said
Kane, "In my opinion the escape was
not reported promptly or properly."
Youngsto\'ffi Mayor George
McKelvey was more blunt, stating,
"The facts lead one to believe there
was an attempt to deceive the police
or cover up the event." CCA tenned
the idea of a cover-up "ridiculous."

Following the escape Ohio Gov.
George Voinovich announced he was
seeking a way to close the facility,
but a legal analysis by the Attorney
General's office concluded that the
state did not have authority to do
so. Ironically the governor's brother,
Paul Voinovich, a prison architect,
had lobbied the city of Youngsto\\n
for the facility and served as a consultant to CCA.
U.S. Rep. James Traficant (DOH) quickly pushed through the
House an amendment calling for a
federal study on prison privatization
that would examine security procedures. "The on-going problems
at the Northeast Ohio Correctional
Center in Youngstown should serve
as a wake-up call to the nation,"
Traficant said. "We need to identify
possible security and persoMel shortfalls at private prisons and effectively address them." Further, U.S. Sen.
Mike DeWine (R-OH), a member of
the Senate Judiciary Committee, said
that he would seek a hearing in regard to classification problems at the
Youngstown facility. [continued ¢ 1

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

p.e.l. News Bulletin

Wall Street reacted negatively
to news of the escape: CCA's stock
slid 20% to a 52-week low within ten
days of the incident. Brian Ruttenbur
of Suntrust Equitable Securities, a
fmance fmn that encourages investment in private prison companies,
tenned the Ohio situation a "public
relations problem." CCA spokeswoman Peggy Lawrence called criticism of the company "very unfair"
and "very frustrating."
Meanwhile, agents with the U.S.
Attorney's Office and the U.S.
Marshals Service began an investigation into whether a CCA guard had
assisted with the break-out. While
company officials declined to comment publicly, Doctor R. Crants.
CCA's C.E.O., admitted in a letter
to Governor Voinovich that they
suspected "a single female employee
collaborated with inmates to plan
the escape."
Five of the six escapees were
caught within two days. Under an
Ohio law enacted last March, CCA
will have to reimburse city, state and
federal authorities for the cost of
the search.
On August 3, 1998 CCA announced it would transfer about 200
close security inmates from Youngstown to other facilities within one
month; U.S. Attorney General Janet
Reno said they would be moved to
federal prisons or a state facility in
Virginia. Federal and D.C. authorities are also establishing a full-time
monitor at Youngstown. 0
Sources: The Tennessean, July 29,
Aug. 6. Aug. 12,1998; Commercial
Appeal (TN), July 26, Aug. 5. 1998;
Wall Street Journal, Aug. 5, 1998;
The Columbus Dispatch, July 30,
July 31, 1998; The Alliance Review
(OH), July 27, 1998.

2

August 1998

Abuse Cited at Private Juvenile Facility
Last year an investigation by
the U.S. Justice Department found
that guards at the privately-operated
Tallulah Correctional Center for
Youth in Madison Parish, Louisiana
routinely beat juvenile offenders at
the facility. A more recent report
indicates modest improvements: The
main threat is no longer from the
guards but from other adolescent
inmates - especially for mentally ill
juveniles whom, investigators say,
are dumped into the general prison
population where they are frequently victimized.
In a one-week period last May,
70 of the 620 boys at Tallulah were
sent to the infmnary after being involved in fights. Many had cuts and
bruises; one had been raped. Another
youth pleaded not to be returned to
a dormitory where he said another
inmate had been sexually abusing
him for weeks. And a former juvenile
offender, a 16-year-old who spent 18
months at the facility for stealing a
bike, said inmates often fought each
other over food and clothes.
"It's utterly perverse," said David
Utter, director of the Juvenile Justice
Project. "They have this place that
creates all these injuries and they
have all these kids with mental disorders, and then they save money by
not treating them."
Federal investigators condemned
the excessive amount of violence and
reported the facility had the highest
injury rate among Louisiana's four
juvenile prisons. They also found
abusive and inhumane conditions, including children as young as twelve
being kept in cramped solitary confinement cells for up to 20 hours a
day, for weeks at a time.

A federal prosecutor cited the
report when he asked a U,S. District
Court judge to block a proposed
80-bed expansion at Tallulah. "The
facility continues to fail to provide
adequate protection from harm, adequate mental health and medical
care, and adequate educational services," said United States Attorney
L.J. Hymel. The expansion was also
opposed by John Whitley, a former
warden of Louisiana's Angola prison
who is acting as a consultant to the
federal court.
State corrections officials disputed many of the report's fmdings and
said they were working to address
existing problems. but conceded that
mentally ill juveniles were improperly housed with general population
inmates. Investigators say the warden
is hying to improve conditions at
the center but is failing due to a high
staff turnover rate and a facility in a
"serious state of breakdown." Guards
at Tallulah are paid $5.77 an hour,
which has led to a 100% staff turnover in the past year.
U.S. Senator Paul Wells tone (DMN) visited the Tallulah facility on
July I, hearing from juveniles who
complained about bad food, inadequate clothing, deficient educational
services, and the constant threat of
physical and sexual assaults. At one
point five youths climbed onto the
roof of a prison building to voice
their concerns.
Louisiana pays TransAmerican
Development Associates, Inc. $71.00
a day per juvenile inmate to operate
the Tallulah facility - $16 million a
year when the prison is at capacity.
The company's principal directors include George Fischer, who headed
the state's highway [continued¢]

P.C.I. News Bulletin

department under fanner Governor
Edwin Edwards; Verdi Adams, a
fonner state highway engineer who
has had other business dealings with
Fischer; and James Brown, the son of
late state senator Charles Brown.
On July 22 Louisiana officials
took control of the Tallulah center
following a disturbance by 15 juveniles and the resignation of Warden
David Bonnette, sending in a team of
35 guards from the state's adult corrections system. Earlier that month
a class-action lawsuit had been filed
by the Juvenile Justice Project on
behalf of twelve adolescent inmates
housed at the facility. 0
Sources: The Jackson Sun (TN), July
5, 1998; Corrections Digest, July
10,1998; The New fork Times, July
15, July 24, 1998; U.S.A. Today,
iuly 29, 1998.

NOTE: In addition to the reported
abuses at Tallulah and the recent
death of a youth at a privately-nm
juvenile camp in Arizona (see pA),
a youth facility in Bnlsh, Colorado
operated by Rebound, Inc. closed
last April amid complaints of mismanagement and misconduct.

WANTED
Articles, clippings and news reports
regarding the private corrections industry - please include the source
and date of all materials submitted.
Send to:
P.C.I. News Bulletin
3193-A Parthenon Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203

3

Inmate Alleges Abuse,
Accident During
Trans Cor Trip
Last May, convicted murderer
and prison escapee James Michael
Douglas was extradited from Florida
to Ohio by TransCor America, a
private inmate transportation service
and subsidiary of CCA. According to
Douglas he was among 11 prisoners
in a TransCor van that crashed in
southern Indiana after the driver fell
asleep at the wheel.
Although several inmates suffered minor injuries, the transport officers were primarily concerned with
changing vehicles and making up for
lost time, Douglas said. A county
sheriff who noticed the accident ordered that the prisoners be taken to
a local hospital.
Davey Tucker, TransCor's Chief
Operating Officer, refused to verify
that an accident had occurred; however, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation spokeswoman Andrea Dean
acknowledged that Douglas was involved in the crash. Further, Saint
Mary's Hospital in Warrick County,
Indiana conftrmed that Douglas was
treated and released on May 2.
Douglas also stated that during
the six-day trip he and other inmates
were given little food and water and
were pepper-sprayed without justiftcation, and that he was chained in
hog-tie fashion and threatened by
Transeor officers. Tucker said his
company follows acceptable law enforcment standards: "Our business is
based upon the fact that these are
high flight-risk individuals." 0
Source: The Other Paper (OH), July
3, 1998.

August 1998

In the News
CCA has signed an agreement with
Tulsa County, Oklahoma to manage
a 1,440-bedjail for adult and juvenile
offenders. At capacity, annual revenues from the contract will exceed
$17 million; the county is building
and ftnancing the facility, which is
scheduled to open in April '99. The
private jail was opposed by the Tulsa
County Sherifrs Dept., which had
sued to block the project. Source:
The Tennessean, July 28, 1998.

Montana has signed a contract with
CCA to build and operate the state's
first private prison; the $25 million
SOD-bed facility \\ill be located in
Shelby. The contract was fmalized
after corrections officials asked a
district court to dissolve a temporary
restraining order blocking construction of the prison. Sources: U.S.A.
Today, July 15, July 23, 1998.

After five years of unsuccessful contract bids, U.K. Detention Services
(UKDS), a subsidiary of CCA, has
signed an agreement to design, build
and manage an 800-bed mediumsecurity prison in Agecroft, Salford.
England. The 25-year contract is expected to generate $13 million in
annual revenues; the facility is scheduled to open in January 2000. UKDS
also operates HM Prison Blakenhurst
in Worcestershire, England. Source:
The Tennessean, july 8, 1998.

p.e.I. News BuiJetin

4

Youth Dies at Private Juvenile Camp
On March 2, 1998, Nicholaus
Contreraz, 16, collapsed and died
after being forced to do physical exercise at the Arizona Boys Ranch
(ABR) in Oracle, Arizona. The Pima
Co. Medical Examiner determined
that Nick's death was a result of
empyema, a build-up of fluid in the
lining between the lW1gs and the
chest cavity; he also suffered from
strep and staph infections, chronic
bronchitis and pnewnonia.
In the days prior to his death
Nick had complained to ABR employees about being sick, and had
been defecating and urinating on
himself and vomiting. ABR staff responded by forcing him to do pushups and subjecting him to hwniliation; one staff member told him he
should receive an Academy Award
for faking. Although Nick was examined by the camp nurse and doctor,
both failed to diagnose his condition
despite his obvious symptoms and
20-poW1d weight loss.
Nick Contreraz was one of more
than 1,000 California juvenile offenders sent to privately-operated outof-stale facilities. Following Nick's
death several Arizona and California
agencies began investigations into
conditions at ABR, which has had
about 100 child abuse claims lodged
against it within the past five years.
California authorities fOW1d mistreatment and abuse, and said they
would no longer pay to send youths
there. According to a summary of a
600-page report by the California
Social Services Dept., "Nicholaus'
death was caused by prolonged and
serious medical neglect and openly
conducted abusive treatment. He sur-

fered physical and psychological
abuse and his personal rights were
continually violated."
About 220 California juveniles
remain at the facility. Said Social
Services Department Director Eloise
Anderson, "If I had the authority to
remove these kids, I would bring
them home or place them in a safe
facility today."
ABR officials, who temporarily
closed the ranch to improve staff
training and medical services, placed
the blame on several employees who
"totally disregarded established disciplinary policies." Two staff members were fired and four were put on
administrative leave, including the
camp director. The county attorney
is considering criminal prosecution.
ABR, based in Queen Creek,
Arizona, operates seven \\ildernessl
boot camp-type facilities for juvenile
offenders - the company recruits
nationally and charges $3,600 per
month for each youth. The operating
license for the Oracle youth camp
has been extended until September 1
while the Arizona Dept. of Economic
Security finishes an investigation into
whether a pattern of systemic abuse
exists at the facility.
Nick Contreraz had been sent to
the Arizona Boys Ranch for stealing a
car and failing drug rehab programs.
According to Joe Contreraz, Nick's
uncle, ABR officials initially told the
family that Nick committed suicide
by going on a hunger strike. 0
Sources: The Boston Sunday Globe,
July 5, 1998; The New York Times,
July 9, 1998; Corrections Digest,
July 10, 1998.

August 1998

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: prisonrefonn@prisonreform.demon.co.uk.

CONFERENCE
A national conference and strategy
session on the "Prison Industrial
Complex," which includes the forprofit corrections industry, will be
held at V.C. Berkeley from Sept. 25
to 27, 1998. There is no registration
fee for individuals though donations,
which are tax deductible, are appreciated. Representatives from universities or other major institutions are
requested to pay $75.00. Contact:
Critical Resistance, P.O. Box 339,
Berkeley, CA 94701 (510) 6432094; e-mail: critresist@aol.com;
web site: 'M'w.igc.orgljusticelcritical.