The US government is already quietly backing out of its promise to phase out private prisons

[n2doc]

Critics have long denounced private prisons in the US as unsafe, inefficient and at times, inhumane. Those critics, who include inmates and activists, seemed to find a powerful ally earlier this year when the Department of Justice announced it would phase out its use of private prisons for federal prisoners. This wouldn’t mean the end of privately-run incarceration facilities (they’re also used by immigration authorities and states), but it was seen as a step forward. Except, that when the first contracts came up for re-negotiation this fall, the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) quietly decided to renew them anyway. That decision, along with the election of Donald Trump, mean that the US is unlikely to see the use of private prison operators diminish any time soon.

Last week, CoreCivic (CCA), one of the country’s two largest prison operators, announced that the BOP had renewed its contract for two years to run the McRae Correctional Facility in Georgia. According to the company, the new agreement was barely changed, with only an 8% reduction in inmate beds. This despite an August memo from the deputy attorney general Sally Yates that stated that the Department of Justice, which oversees BOP, would either nix the contracts, or “substantially” reduce them when they came up for renewal.


Curiously, the BOP said the new contract, reduced the number of beds by 24%, and saved $6 million in costs, and followed DOJ instructions. The reason for the discrepancy? BOP initially provided Quartz only the maximum capacity of the facility as a basis for the calculation. CoreCivic presented the minimum number of beds it would get paid for—the fixed amount it is guaranteed by the contract.

Either way the contract renewal is spun, activists are disappointed. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the McRae facility neglected the medical care of some inmates, and unduly punished inmates with solitary confinement. In 2011, the group asked the BOP to shut the prison down.

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http://qz.com/840337/the-us-government-is-already-quietly-backing-out-of-its-promise-to-phase-out-private-prisons/

[SHRED]

1. Get ready for more privatization of our government

On steroids

[Calculating]

2. This

Trump is gonna find ways to benefit all of his best buddies and acquaintances.

[Solly Mack]

3. Sick, sick, sick.

K&R

[kimbutgar]

4. Watched the last episode of orange is the new black

The prison was privatized and conditions became horrible and the prisoners revolted. This is what we have in store under orange hitler.

I remind my 24 year old autistic son that he is going to have to find some strength inside himself and not get aggressive towards others or steal because in orange hitlers America he will end up in jail the rest of his life and there is nothing mom and dad can do to help him if he ends up there. Because you know there is not one damn thing his adminstration will do to help those with disabilities and mental illness but throw them in jail.