3rd suicide rattles jail, Hernando (FL) officials

[soup]

The county was already considering terminating the prison company's $10-million contract.

By JONATHAN ABEL
Published January 28, 2006

BROOKSVILLE - Executives from Corrections Corp. of America were in town to calm concerns about two recent suicides at the Hernando County Jail.

At 6:33 a.m. Friday, it happened again.

Inmate Truoc Tran, 33, of St. Petersburg was found hanging by a noose he fashioned from his shirt. A short time later, Tran was pronounced dead in his cell, county officials said.

It was the third suicide at the jail since early November and came as Hernando County commissioners questioned whether they should terminate a $10-million contract with CCA.
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/01/28/Hernando/3rd_suicide_rattles_j.shtml

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Third inmate commits suicide at jail

>snip<
According to a preliminary report of the latest suicide provided by County Purchasing Director James Gantt, inmate Truoc Tran was housed with nearly 40 other federal inmates since November 2005.
>snip<
Inmates were locked into the cells only at night but allowed to move freely during the day from the cells to the commons area.

At 9:08 p.m., Tran left his cell he shared with another inmate and moved to another unoccupied cell. Guard's talked with Tran a few minutes but allowed him to remain alone and locked all the inmates into their cells for the night.

The next morning, guards found Tran hanging from a noose he fashioned with fabric and tied to an air vent built into his cell's wall.

Commissioner Chris Kingsley said there was little he thought CCA could do to stop such suicides.
http://www.hernandotoday.com/news/MGB1K6RAZIE.html

[hang a left]

1. The focus of this story seems to be that CCA

is not watching high risk prisoners. I suspect that these suicides are probably related to what is going on in the jail when the prisoners aren't locked down. A smaller Vietnamese man was most likely victimized regularly. That is sad.

[soup]

2. This bothered me enough to check further.

I've got about a 'brazilian' tabs open right now. Started with the 2 other very recent suicides at that particular jail - which led to trying to find out how widespread this is - which led to privatization of prisons and the two 'biggies', Correctional Corps of America and Wackenhut.

Articles on the two previous suicides:

Geoffrey Conley
The Sheriff's Office says jail guards didn't check on an inmate every half-hour, as required, before his suicide.
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/01/21/Hernando/Report__Inmate_unchec.shtml

Another inmate dies in jail
http://www.hernandotoday.com/MGB4RVR25IE.html

and

Daniel Ray Warren
Inmate autopsy indicates suicide
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/15/Hernando/Inmate_autopsy_indica.shtml

--

A blog from about a year ago:

Profiting Off Inmates
http://talkleft.com/new_archives/009621.html
--

and, finally,an interesting paper here raising broader questions:

privatization, prisoners and profit
prison's systematic failure to correct
by Kristy Heeren

paper abstract
Historically, prison systems have been plagued with problems including racism, violence, inadequate healthcare, arbitrary sentencing policies, and the amplification of mental health problems of the incarcerated. The Canadian and U.S. governments have increasingly relinquished their responsibility for institutionalized punishment, allowing private corporations the opportunity to profit from the prison system. This research explores the implications of privatization, tracing the history of corporate expansionism into the punishment industry, and the ensuing problems for the incarcerated. Mounting evidence suggests that private prisons exacerbate many of the systemic problems of prison life by undermining prisoners' quality of life, and consequently failing to correct and rehabilitate, while amassing profits for private corporate interests.
http://www.uberculture.org/resources/papers/prisonprivatization.html

[chat_noir]

3. research will no doubt uncover many more scandals

Here's one worth pursuing:

New National Study of Corrections Corporation of America Warns Investors and Legislators of 'Risky Investment'

The Grassroots Leadership report, entitled "Corrections Corporation of America: A Critical Look At Its First 20 Years," says CCA's record is an example of how the pursuit of profit stands in the way of carrying out a core public function such as corrections. Rather than fulfilling the company's original promise to raise standards in corrections, CCA has been marred by scandal and allegations of mismanagement, mistreatment of prisoners, poor training of employees and manipulation of public policy.

The report also says the public may not know the true extent of CCA's financial instability and organizational challenges and cites a concerted and extensive public relations campaign launched by the company in response to mounting negative media attention.

"States should think twice before signing any new contracts with CCA," said co-author Mafruza Khan, also from Good Jobs First. "This report shows that CCA has not undergone any significant transformation since being racked by scandals at its prisons in the late 1990s. It is still involved in numerous controversies and lawsuits involving conditions in its facilities."

The study also notes hefty campaign contributions by CCA to legislators to drive policies to maintain and grow the prisoner population. The report reviews cases in which CCA appeared to use its contributions and ties with public officials and legislators to help it win new contracts and influence public policy.

http://www.send2press.com/PRnetwire/pr_03_1209-grassroots.shtml

[soup]

5. Thank you for the link.

'hefty campaign contributions - to drive policies to maintain and grow the prisoner population'

Build a private prison, push for stiffer penalties, profit from being 'tough on crime'. Quite a racket, actually.

Oh, a bonus - a link at your link to the full report - again, thank you.

I'm getting quite an education this morning in something I'd not given a lot of thought until reading of Mr. Tran's death.

Another link with piles of info:

Private Corrections Institute
"Providing information to help make informed decisions about correctional privatization"
Welcome to the Private Corrections Institute. Here you will find the latest in news, reports and resources on correctional privatization from around the World. This service is provided to inform our members, legislators and the public about the problems with for-profit private corrections.

Hall of Shame
Search both the US and the World
Quotes
Words of wisdom from those who know!
News
The latest on the industry
Rap Sheets
Individual company troubles
Resources
Executive Salaries, Lawsuits, Letters, Links, Religious Statements and Reports
http://www.privateci.org/

[Dr.Phool]

4. Prison privatization is an abomination.

Public officials must be held accountable for the conditions inmates are housed in. Corporations should not profit from someone's misery.

In this state, the legislature is completely bought off by private companies. You can't even sue a dry cleaner for polluting your well with chemicals. Lobbyists write their own legislation, and green(term limited) legislators introduce, and pass it.

I'm meeting with my friend this morning, who is running for Congress in this district ( www.johnrussellforcongress.com ).

I promise you that we'll look into this.

[soup]

6. Thank you. And Mr. Russell.

I'll have to check out his site further.

A quick look wouldn't do it justice. Very well put together, and deserving more time and consideration than I have right now.

My best wishes to him. Is that area of FL staunchly and traditionally (R), or does he have a good chance of beating Brown-Waite?

[Dr.Phool]

7. We have a good chance of winning

The area is pretty evenly split, and we were one of 18 seats targeted by Nancy Pelosi's New House PAC, and the candidate to win it.

Most people in the district can't stand Ginny.

But, now it's time to head off to the Kumquat Festival, and get those petitions signed!