In These Times: Divesting From Private Prisons

[marmar]

Divesting From Private Prisons
A new coalition of immigrant and labor groups tries to shame the nation’s largest investment firms.

By Joel Handley


On May 16, just four days after demonstrations against the private prison industry in cities across the country—part of the National Prison Industry Divestment Campaign—Pershing Square Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund, sold its remaining shares of Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) stock. After selling 3.4 million shares earlier in the year, the fund unloaded another 4.4 million. Altogether, the shares were worth nearly $200 million.

Pershing didn’t say it was reacting to the new campaign, but Enlace, an umbrella group of 21 worker centers, unions and community groups in the United States and Mexico that is leading the divestment campaign, took credit in a statement later that month.

On May 12, the first day of the campaign, Enlace and other groups organized protests in New York City, Los Angeles, Tucson, Nashville and Miami to pressure Wells Fargo, General Electric, Fidelity, Wellington Management Company and other firms to divest from private prison corporations including CCA, GEO Group (GEO) and Management and Training Corporation (MTC).

CCA, the private prison industry’s largest company, which has contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Marshal Service, is also the nation’s largest detainer of undocumented immigrants. Since the company began to receive ICE contracts in 2000, immigrant rights groups have been targeting CCA for prisoner abuse, poor working conditions for guards and the company’s connections to anti-immigrant legislation. Now Enlace is trying to force reform by targeting firms that financially support CCA’s entire industry. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/11623/divesting_from_private_prisons

[Tippy]

1. Suprise ALEC at it again

"Detainment is a lucrative trade. Prisons can earn $90-$200 per inmate per night, which translates into nearly $5 billion in revenues each year. The industry has lobbied diligently to secure profits, supporting and even writing laws to increase prison sentences and populations, especially among undocumented immigrants. Between 2003 and 2010, private prison companies spent more than $20 million lobbying legislators and the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, GEO has given $790,000 to lobbying firms HighGround and Podesta Group, while CCA has given $680,000 to the Washington, D.C. lobbying firm Akin Gump."

Arizona state senator Russell Pearce, the purported writer of SB1070, Arizona’s anti-immigrant law passed in 2010, met with CCA representatives at an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference in December 2009, where together they reportedly drafted the legislation. When Pearce introduced the bill in January 2010, 36 senators signed on as co-sponsors. Over the next six months, 30 of them received donations from CCA, GEO or MTC.

“Criminal justice law is supposed to protect citizens, not purposely put them away for financial gain,” Cervantes-Gautschi said."

Well well....very telling piece, I became inerested because in our local paper there was an article yesterday, about our jail needing new locks, amazing...first of all there is now way this should be going on but at least now I understand why it is going on...Remember which party want to privatise everything..

1. Prisons can earn $90-$200 per inmate per night, which translates into nearly $5 billion in revenues each year.

2. The industry has lobbied diligently to secure profits, supporting and even writing laws to increase prison sentences

3. Here in our county our jail is regulated by a group called the Corrections Institute.
CCA is also in charge of Probation Services.

4. Faulty locks are the main culprit, officials say. It could cost the county up to $165,000 to replace 48 of those door fixtures in two medium security areas.


5. Our county is being screwed by CCA....big time. These maggots are draining us dry

6, CCA representatives at an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference in December 2009. "When Pearce introduced the bill in January 2010, 36 senators signed on as co-sponsors. Over the next six months, 30 of them received donations from CCA, GEO or MTC."

[bvar22]

2. If this is indeed the reason for the Sell Off of Private Prison shares,

then I applaud the decision makers at Pershing Square Capital Management.

In a democracy, there are some things that should NEVER receive a fu**ing nickle of Public (Tax Payer) Money:

*Private Prisons

*Armed Defense "Contractors" (Mercenaries)

*Private Police

*Private Information Collection Agencies (Secret Police)

*Private (Charter) Schools

*Private Health Insurance Corporations

*"Private" Vote Counting & Reporting Corporations

*Faith Based anything

ALL of the above responsibilities are in the Commons in a "democracy",
and ALL of the above should be Non-Profit, State Supported, completely transparent, & Accountable to the Public.
Democracy is threatened In ANY society where ANY of the above are "private" or For Profit.

[BiggJawn]

3. Get the Private Sector out of the prison business

or else we'll all wind up in prison someday.

Or maybe CCA will lobby for a law where we're all considered to be on a really loose form of "work release" and "Home detention" and just tell the states "you got X number of convicts (residents) living in your state. you owe us $150 per day per head for them."

I don't know what kind of law, maybe something like "Failure to maintain a $400,000 bank balance" or something equally crappy.