PRIVATE CORRECTIONS INDUSTRY

NEWS BULLETIN
Vol. 2 - No.6

Reporting on Prison Privatization and Related Issues

June 1999

Double Escape from CCA Facility in Tennessee
Two Montana inmates escaped
from the CCA-operated West Tenn.
Detention Facility in Mason on May
20, 1999 during an afternoon exercise period. Two other inmates were
caught while attempting to escape.
Massive Manhunt
Prisoners Anthony Lankford,
30, and Christopher McKeon, 43,
successfully fled into the surrounding
woods. Lankford was serving 220
years for charges that included murder and wounding a Montana State
Trooper; McKeon was serving a 50year sentence for robbery.
The Mason facility holds 177
Montana prisoners as well as inmates
from Hawaii and the federal prison
system. Tennessee has no jurisdiction
or authority over private prisons that
exclusively house out-of-state prisoners. According to Montana officials
who investigated the breakout, the inmates had loosened fencing around a
gate frame, which gave them access
to the perimeter fence.
More than 200 state and local
law enforcement officers, three dog
teams and a helicopter participated in

a week-long manhunt for the elusive
escapees that included a door-to-door
search of more than 300 buildings.
Lankford and McKeon were captured
without incident on May 27 at a golf
course just outside of Memphis.
CCA officials have been invited
to appear at a July 8 hearing before
the legislative Select Oversight Committee on Corrections to discuss the
breakout from the Mason prison.
Footing the Bill
Following the capture of the
two escapees, attention turned to who
would pay the bill for the enormous
search effort. "[T]here's no law, federal or state, that gives us any kind
of guideline. We don't really know
the procedure," said Dana Keeton, a
spokeswoman for the Tenn. Dept. of
Safety. The cost of the seven-day
search was estimated at $67,000 to
$72,000, including $35,000 for the
Tenn. Highway Patrol and $17,000
for the Shelby County Sheriff's Department.
CCA officials said they would
consider reimbursing law enforcement
agencies on a case-by-case basis, al-

though the company is under no obligation to do so.
Oassification Criticized
Some Tennessee officials have
questioned why dangerous prisoners
such as Lankford were incarcerated
at the medium-security CCA prison.
Fifty-two of the Montana inmates at
the facility have murder convictions;
16 have escape records. "I think any
time you bring in high-risk prisoners
- murderers, rapists - you are
asking for problems that you don't
need to have," said Tennessee state
senator Pete Springer.
The classification of prisoners
sent to the Mason facility was conducted by Montana authorities with
no input from Tennessee. "Obviously,
mistakes are possible," stated Mike
Cronin, a spokesman for the Montana Department of Corrections. "But
we had a major review of our classification procedures two years ago,
and we feel confident that we have
a reliable system," he added. He declined to divulge the classification
levels of the two escapees, citing privacy concerns.
[continued ¢]

© 1999 - p.e.!. News Bulletin, 3193-A Parthenon Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203

p.e.I. News Bulletin

ADMINISTRIVIA
The p.e.!. News Bulletin (peINB) is
a monthly publication that reports on
prison privatization and related issues,
primarily within the United States.

Copyright
pelNB is copyright @ 1999. Non-profit
organizations and individuals acting on
their behalf are granted permission to
reprint or copy any materials included
in pelNB 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.
pelNB 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 pelNB.

2

When CCA opened the West
Teno. Detention Facility in 1990, city
officials were under the impression
that the prison would hold federal
inmates awaiting trial. The company
later entered into contracts to house
North Carolina and Hawaii prisoners
at the facility and added a maximumsecurity unit with little public input.
"They totally misled the board members of the town as far as what kind
of a prison it would be," stated former
Mason alderman Bill Martin.
CCA spokesman Steve Owens
said the prison remains a mediumsecurity facility, but acknowledged
that it housed high security District
of Columbia prisoners last year.
"I'm greatly disappointed in CCA,
that they have brought in maximumsecurity prisoners," remarked Rep.
Jimmy Naifeh, Speaker of the House
in Tennessee's General Assembly.
Local Politics

WANTED

Mason Mayor Joe Ward, who
serves part-time with the city, has
disclosed that he owns 4,300 shares
of CCA stock. Also, until recently, he
owned an auto maintenance and repair shop, now operated by his son
David, where CCA company vehicles
are serviced. Mason alderman Maude
Seay is employed as personnel director at the CCA facility.
Mayor Ward said he doesn't
believe there is a conflict of interest
because the private prison is not regulated by the city. Walker Tipton, the
city attorney, stated he was not familiar with possible conflicts of interest
between CCA and Mason public officials, and would not comment. 0

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

Sources: Commercial Appeal (TN),
June 21,13,5, May 30, 28, 21, 1999;
The Tennessean, May 28, 21, 1999;
The Jackson Sun, May 27,22,1999.

Address
P.C.l. 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 pelNB disclaim any liability, 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.

June 1999

eMS Settles Wrongful
Death Suit
Last year Correctional Medical
Services (CMS) settled a lawsuit filed
by the estate of Mark Murphy, a former prisoner at the Delaware Corr.
Center in Smyrna, Delaware.
In June 1992, Murphy had requested medical treatment from CMS
staff for abdominal pain and blood in
his urine. Almost a year later he was
diagnosed with painless hematuria by
Jason Walther, a contract physician
for CMS, who recommended further
tests. A series of additional tests was
canceled without explanation; when
Murphy was again tested in August
1993, he was found to have cancer of
the liver. He died April 4, 1994.
Murphy's estate, represented
by attorney Bruce Hudson, filed suit.
Hudson said an expert witness had
presented testimony that Murphy
could have had a normal life expectancy if the cancer had been diagnosed earlier. "In summary, because
of the negligence of both CMS and
the specialist [Walther]. Mr. Murphy
lost his life," Hudson stated.
CMS agreed to settle the lawsuit for $75,000, with the company
paying $50,000 and Dr. Walther paying the remainder. 0
Source: Prison Legal News, June 1999.

RECOMMENDED READING
Transcript of 60 Minutes broadcast,
aired May 2, 1999, about problems
at the CCA-operated Northeast Ohio
Correctional Center in Youngstown.
Available from: Sixty Minutes Transcript, P.O. Box 248, South Burlington, VT 05407 (800) 848-3256.

p.e.!. News Bulletin

3

June 1999

Federal, State Legislation Targets Private Prisons
Other Private Corrections
Industry Resources
Corrections and Criminal Justice
Coalition (CCJC), Route 2, Box
1144, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
(888) 315-8784; www.ccjc.com.
A consortium of anti-privatization
corrections employees' unions.
Corrections USA (CUSA), P.O.
Box 394, Newton, NH 03858
(603) 382-9707; www.cusa.org.
A professional association of public corrections employees opposed
to prison privatization.
Prison Reform Trust, 15 Northburgh Street, 2nd Floor, London,
EC 1V OJR England; phone: 01144-171-251-5070; e-mail: prt@
prisonrefonn. demon. co. uk. Publishes
the Prison Privattsatton Report lnt'l
(PPRl), which covers news about
the private corrections industry in
the U.S. and abroad.
Private Corrections Project, Center
for Studies in Criminology and
Law, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville,
FL 32611 (352) 392-1025; web
site: web.crim.uf1.edIpcp. Conducts
research into prison privatization.
Note that the Project receives funding from the private corrections industry, including Correctional Services Corp., the Bobby Ross Group
and Securicor New Century.
Reason Foundation, 3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd. #400, Los Angeles,
CA 90034 (310) 391-2245; www.
reason.org. A libertarian-oriented
think-tank that favors prison privatization. Note that the Foundation
has received funds from Securicor,
Wackenhut and U.S. Corrections.

Last March, U.S. Rep. Ted
Strickland (D-OH) introduced a bill
that would bar the future incarceration of federal inmates in privately
operated prisons. The proposed legislation, the Public Safety Act, also
would curtail federal funds for prison
construction to states that contract
with private prison operators.
"Private prisons have a primaI)'
motive, and that is profit. EveI)' company that makes a profit seeks to cut
costs. And in a prison, those costs
can be cut by hiring rookie staffs,
training those staff poorly and decreasing staff levels," observed Rep.
Strickland. His bill has more than 50
co-sponsors.
Several states also are considering legislation that restricts or regulates privately-run prisons. In New
Mexico, the legislature passed a bill
that would mandate improved training for private prison guards and re-,
quire private prison operators to provide additional information about
out-of-state inmates housed in their
facilities. Governor Gary E. Johnson
vetoed the legislation last April.
In California, a proposed Sen-

ate Constitutional Amendment (SCA
10) would bar private prison companies from contracting with local
governments. Senate Bill 1313 would
ban privately-operated prisons in the
state, and Assembly Bill 1222, recently approved by the legislative
Public Safety Committee, would preclude CCA from filling its almostcompleted prison in California City
with out-of-state inmates.
The Montana legislature has
passed a bill that bans out-of-state
inmates from being housed in private
prisons; similar legislation that was
introduced in Colorado was defeated
last April. In Ohio, House Bill 63
would authorize the state corrections
department to contract with private
prison operators while House Bill 229
would prohibit such contracts. And
in Tennessee, seven bills to regulate
privately-operated prisons were rejected by a senate committee in May
(PCINB, May 1999, pg. 3). 0
Sources: CUSANews, May 12, 1999;
Nattonal Journal, May I, 1999; New
York Times, April IS, 1999; PPRl,
April-May 1999.

Yet Another CCA Escape
Officers from several local law
enforcement agencies are taking part
in a search for an escapee from the
CCA-operated Hardeman Co. Corr.
Facility near Whiteville, Tennessee.
On June 7, 1999, Jonathan
Cardwell, 20, stole a city pickup truck
from a recycling site where he was
assigned to a work release detail. He
was one of eight inmates being supervised by one guard; it was his first
day on the job. He later wrecked the

vehicle and escaped into a wooded
area.
This most recent escape brings
to nine the number of inmates who
have absconded from CCA-operated
prisons in Tennessee within the past
nine months, including the May 20
breakout from the West Tennessee
Detention Facility (see pg. 1). 0
Sources: The Jackson Sun, June 9, 8,
1999.

p.e.!. News Bulletin

4

Iune 1999

Prison Realty Stock Plummets; Shareholders File Suit

In the News
On April 16, 1999 a male guard at

a Cornell Corrections-operated jail
in Santa Fe COWlty, New Mexico
was arrested on charges of sexually
assaulting a male prisoner. Source:
PPRl, April-May 1999.
A Transeor America Inc. van transporting ten inmates collided with a
car in Kingston, Tenn., seriously injuring a teen-age driver in the other
vehicle. The prisoners were treated
for minor injuries at a local hospital; police said fault in the accident
had not yet been determined. TransCor, based in Nashville, is a subsidiary of CCA. Source: Commercial Appeal (TN), May 5, 1999.
Montana's first private prison, a
500-bed facility near Shelby operated by CCA, is scheduled to open
September l. Source: USA Today,
JWle 7, 1999.
Prison Realty Trust has purchased
the 1,225-bed Eden Detention Center in Eden, Texas for $28 million.
The facility, which is operated by
Correctional Management Services
Corp. (CCA), houses prisoners for
federal agencies. Source: Corrections Forum, May-JWle 1999.
Legislation that would have permitted privatization of medical services in the Nevada Department of
Corrections has been defeated in
committee. The bill was opposed
by the Nevada Corr. Association.
Source: CUSA News, May 12, 1999.

The price of shares in Prison
Realty Trust Inc., the parent company
of CCA, fell almost 35% within a
week after Prison Realty annoWlced it
would pay increased costs for building and marketing private prisons.
At least one investment fmn downgraded Prison Realty's stock, which
dropped to a 52-week low from a high
of about $22 per share.
On May 14 company officials
said Prison Realty will pay an additional $4,000 per bed in startup
expenses to CCA, its main tenant,
retroactive to January 1. The increase
will cost Prison Realty shareholders
an estimated $70 million in 1999.
Prison Realty, a real estate investment trust (REIT), distributes almost all of its profits to shareholders
through dividend payments; thus, the
cost increase will have a direct impact on investors' returns. Rank-andftle CCA employees receive company
stock in lieu of a pension plan, and
the falling stock value reduces their
retirement savings.
"It caught everyone a little off
guard," said Gary Boston, an analyst
with Paine Webber who downgraded
Prison Realty's stock from attractive
to neutral.
According to Prison Realty
chairman and CEO Doctor R. Crants,
the company also is paying 4.5% of
the cost of each facility to CCA in
marketing expenses. Prison Realty
officials did not mention the elevated
costs in a May 5 first quarter earnings statement even though the company's board had approved the increase the day before.
On May 21, in an attempt to
reassure investors and stem the stock
price slide, Prison Realty released occupancy rate infonnation for CCA

facilities. The average occupancy rate
fell to as low as 80% at year-end '98
but reboWlded to 88% as of May
1999. Including CCA-operated facilities not owned by Prison Realty, the
average occupancy rate was 93%.
Also, on May 25, Crants purchased SO,OOO shares in Prison Realty
to promote ccmdidence in the stock;
he now owns over 2 million shares in
the company.
But Prison Realty's stock fell
an additional 14% on JWle 4, to less
than $11 per share, amid concerns that
the company was paying higher interest rates to acquire capital. Prison
Realty annoWlced plans for a $100
million bond sale at 12% interest well above the 9 to 9.5% interest rate
that had been anticipated. The higher
rate will result in a smaller amoWlt of
revenue for the company.
At least eleven Prison Realty
investors have filed lawsuits against
the company in Nashville courts,
seeking to represent shareholders in
class-actions. Two shareholders accuse the company in a federal suit
of withholding information from investors in order to secure approval
for Prison Realty Trust's January 1,
1999 merger with CCA (see PCINB,
Dec. 1998, pg. 7).
According to court documents,
the shareholders claim the company
"waited Wltil after release of its first
quarter results to retroactively alter"
the fees it pays to CCA. They are
seeking damages for losses caused by
the decline in Prison Realty's stock
price; Prison Realty chairman Crants
is named as a defendant 0
Sources: Commercial Appeal (TN),
JWle 9, 1999; The Tennessean, JWle
15,5, May 28, 22, 19, 18, 1999.

P. C.I. News Bulletin

5

June 1999

Prison Realty Changes Name, Leadership

In the News
Montana officials have filed a complaint against Children's Comprehensive Services (CCS) following
an investigation into two suicides at
a company-owned facility in 1998.
The state can impose a fme of up
to $1,000 if the complaint is substantiated; CCS also risks losing its
eligibility to receive Medicaid payments in Montana. The company
provides services for at-risk youths
and juvenile offenders. Source: The
Tennessean, June 10, 1999.
The first of several lawsuits filed
on behalf of 25 youthful offenders
at the Columbia Training Center, a
juvenile facility in Columbia, South
Carolina formerly managed by
CCA, is scheduled to go to trial on
November 1, 1999. The youths say
they were subjected to abuse by
CCA staff, including excessive use
of force and denial of food, medical
care and access to toilets. CCA declined to renew its contract to operate the center in June 1997. Source:
PPRI, April-May 1999.
Following a five-month delay, commissioners in Val Verde Co., Texas
have approved a $24 million contract with Wackenhut to build and
manage a 600-bed detention center
at Del Rio. The county will continue
to operate its 180-bed jail, though
Wackenhut has the option to purchase the jail after the detention
center is complete. The facility is
expected to open by October 2000.
Sources: The San Antonio ExpressNews, May 25, 23 1999.

At Prison Realty Corp.'s first
annual meeting, held May 11, 1999,
shareholders voted to change the
company's name to Prison Realty
Trust, Inc. Shareholders also elected
former Tennessee governor Ned McWherter to a three-year term on the
company's board of directors. It was
under McWherter's tenure as governor that a Tennessee statute was enacted permitting the state to contract
with private prison companies.
On June 15, CCA announced
that J. Michael Quinlan was being
named president and chief operating

officer of the company, positions that
previously had been held by Prison
Realty chairman Doctor R Crants.
Quinlan, a former director of
the Federal Bureau of Prisons during the Bush administration, resigned
as vice chairman of Prison Realty,
CCA's parent company, to assume
the new positions. He was formerly
CCA's director of strategic planning
and CEO of Prison Realty before the
company merged with CCA. 0
Sources: The Tennessean, June 16,
May 12,1999.

WI Approves Increase in Inmate Transfer Budget
On May 27 the Wisconsin Joint
Finance Committee approved an additional $55.8 million in funding to
transfer inmates to out-of-state contract facilities.
Wisconsin has been sending
prisoners to other jurisdictions since
1996 due to prison overcrowding;
3,857 inmates are currently housed in
public and privately-operated facilities in other states, including CCA

prisons in Tennessee and Oklahoma.
The out-of-state contracts cost Wisconsin over $61 million a year.
The governor initially had proposed an increase of $101 million in
the budget for out-of-state transfers,
which the finance committee reduced
to $55.8 million. 0
Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 28, 1999.

Private Medical Prisons Questioned
PCINB reported in Feb. 1999
that Just Care, Inc. had opened a
private medical prison and that Corrections National Corp. was building
a similar facility in Pennsylvania.
Some inmate advocates have
expressed concern about the lack of
oversight and quality of health care.
"There is the added need to generate
profit, and that could potentially interfere with care and security," stated
Prof. Jonathan Turley, founder of the

Project for Older Prisoners.
Julia Glover Hall, president of
the Pennsylvania Prison Society, expressed reservations about the private medical prison being built in her
state. "I'm troubled about it because
our secretary of corrections has absolutely no authority, no oversight,
was not consulted," she said 0
Source: The Seattle Times, June 7,
1999.

P.C.I. News Bulletin

6

Cor~ell

In the News
Georgia corrections commissioner
Wayne Garner promised an "orderly
and fair" bidding process when the
state contracted with private prison
companies in 1997 to build and operate three facilities (see peINB, July'
1998, pg. 3). However, last March it
was revealed that Garner used his
state car phone to call CCA lobb·yist
Jim Hammock four dozen times in
the 63 days after the Request for
Proposal was issued. CCA subsequently won two of the three private.
prison contracts. Comm. Garner has
since resigned for unrelated reasons.
Source's: Augusta Chronicle, April
16, 1999; Atlanta Journal Constitution, March 22, 1999.
The Arkansas Dept. of Human Services has rejected two proposals submitted by private prison companies
to run the Alexander Youth Services
Center, a state juvenile facility. The
department determined that it would
cost less if the state operated the
facility. Source: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 23, 1999.
Cornell Corrections announced on
May 11 that it will acquire assets in
Interventions, a non-profit Chicago
based company that provides correctional and behavioral health services. Cornell will acquire 45 Interventions programs in IUinois. Source:
The New Mexican, June 2, 1999.
Joaquin Aguila Echenique, a Cuban
felon housed at the CCA-operated
Houston Processing Center, an INS
detention facility, overpowered a
guard and escaped on February 27.
He was captured by INS agents two
weeks later. Sources: Dallas Morning
Ne\vs. March 14, 1999; The Houston
Chronicle. March 2. 1999.
The city council in EI Centro. California has rejected a proposal by
Correctional Systems. Inc. to build
an INS detention center near the.
town. Source: Imperial Valley Press
(CA). April 22. 1999.

June 1999

Lands Utah Prison Contract

Houston-based Cornell Corrections
has made the winning bid to build and
operate Utah's first private prison. Last
March the state. legislature passed
House Bill 131. which allows private
prisons to operate in Utah but bars
them from housing inmates from other
states. The Cornell facility. located in
Grantsville, will hold Utah prisoners.
"We want to move very slowly and
carefully and we don't want to start off
with more than a third or fourth of the
inmate population in a private facility,"
said Department of Corrections spokesman Jack Ford. DOC director Pete Haun
wants to ensure that the state can reabsorb prisoners into public facilities in
case problems arise.
Grantsville Mayor Merle Cole said
city leaders support the private prison.
"I think the majority of the people will
be pleased with it. It's a clean industry
and it should be pretty stable. These
prisons don't seem to be going away

anytime soon," he stated.
Cornell will receive $62.84 per
prisoner per diem to house 500 inmates at the Grantsville facility. which
includes $15.56 to offset construction
expenses. It cdsts the state around $54
per prisoner per day to keep inmates in
state facilities. "It's a good savings for
government and it ensures we can run
good programs, n said Cornell senior
vice president Marvin Wiebe. However,
the per diem rate is higher than the $38
per prisoner per day the state pays to
house inmates at county jails.
Cornell prevailed over Wackenhut,
CCA and the Management and Training
Corp. to win the contract; Cornell's
lobbying group in Utah is headed by
Doug Foxley, a former deputy secretary
.of state. 0

•

~ources: The Tyler Morning T~legraph

(TX), June 29, 1999; The Salt Lake
Tribune, March 3, 1999.

Cornell Stops Prison Construction in PA
On June 14 Cornell Corrections,
which is building a I,OOO-bed facility
in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, received a
stop work order from the Federal
Bureau of Prisons. Cornell was awarded
the $342 million. 10-year prison contract last April.
Community members and local officials have been vocal in their opposition to the private prison. "I was
told last October there would be public
meetings, and that didn't happen. All of
a sudden I see it's here. We didn't know
anything about it," complained Morris

Township supervisor John Saggrese.
A group of Philipsburg residents
ftled suit against the Bureau of Prisons
to halt construction of the Cornell facility, claiming the agency was in violation of the National· Environmental
Policy Act because it did not conduct
an environmental impact study.
The lawsuit resulted in the stop
work order while the Bureau of Prisons
reviews the issue. 0
Sources: PRNews\Vire, June 14, 1999;
Privatization Update. Jan.-June 1999.

Brazoria County Approves Settlement
On June 18 Brazoria Co., Texas
officials approved a $2.22 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by Missouri
inmates who were brutalized during a
1996 videotaped incident at the Brazoria
Co. Detention Center. then operated by
Capital Correctional Resources. Inc.
The prisoners were shocked with
stun guns, bitten by guard dogs and
forced to crawl on the ground; three
Brazoria County deputies and one CCRI
guard were indicted in connection with

the incident (PCINB. July 1998. pg. 1;
Oct. 1998, pg. 6).
Approximately S2.1 million of the
settlement will come from insurance
policies held by Brazoria Co. and CCRI.
About $20.000 will be paid by the
company that transported the Missouri
prisoners to Texas. 0
Sources: St. Louis Post Dispatch, June
22, 1999; The Longview News Journal
(TX). June 20, 1999.

P.C.I. News Bulletin

7

June 1999

esc Settles Public Records Lawsuit
UPDATES
Dick Marr, a deputy warden at the
Correctional Services Corp. operated
Crowley County Corr. Facility in
Olney Springs, Colorado °has been
replaced. Marr was the CSC official
who requested assistance from state
emergency response teams when a
riot broke out at the Olney Springs
prison on March 5 (PCINB. May
1999, pg. 7). Source: The Denver
Post, April 3, 1999.

o

On June 14 the District of Columbia
Zoning Commission unanimously rejected CCA's application to rezone
property the company owns in Ward
8. CCA had hoped to build a prison
on the site to house D.C. inmates
under a contract with the Federal
Bureau of "Prisons (see PCINB, April
1999, pg. 4). Source: The Washington Times, June IS, 1999.
Last month PCINB reported that
Prof. Charles W. Thomas, director
of the Private Corrections Project at
the Univ. of Florida, had agreed to
settle ethics charges related to his
financial involvement with private
prison companjes (see PCINB, May
1999, pg. 5). On June 3 Florida's
Commission on Ethics rejected the
proposed settlement. The commission
reportedly is considering harsher
punishment; Thomas faces up to a
$50.000 fine and loss of his job at
the university. Source: Privatization
Update, Jan.-June 1999.
Five former Arizona Boys Ranch
employees face first-degree murder
charges re the March 2, 1998 death
of Nicholaus Contreraz, a California
juvenile, at an ABR facUity (PClNB,
Aug. 1998, pg. 4). Prosecutors claim
that Michael Moreno. Montgomery
Hoover. Geoffrey S. Lewis, Linda
Babb and Troy M. Jones killed
Nicholaus as they committed. or attempted to commit, felony child
abuse. Manslaughter charges previously filed against the former ABR
employees were dismissed due to
a technicality. Source: Los Angeles
Times, March 30, 1999.

Correctional Services Corp. agreed
on May 20, 1999 to settle a lawsuit
filed by the Florida ACLU over the
company's refusal to release records
related to the CSC-operated Pahokee
Youth Development Center, a state juvenile facility.
In November 1998 it was revealed
that esc had held ten juvenile offenders
past their release dates to increase the
company's per diem payments (PCINa,
Jan. 1999, pg. ]). The ACLU requested
documents concerning that and other
incidents at the detention center.
In settling the lawsuit, esc agreed
to release thousands of pages of records; esc attorney Debra Dawn pre-

viously had contended the records were
not public documents because they were
maintained by a private company.
In an unrelated incident the Florida ACLU filed a similar lawsuit against
Wackenhut Corrections on June 4 after
the company refused to release internal
documents critical of management at a
Wackenhut-operated South Bay prison.
The lawsuit alleges that the company is
trying to cover up reports of sexual
harassment and physical abuse, among
other complaints at the facility. 0
Sources: Port St. Lucie News, June 5,
1999; The Sun Sentinel (FL), May 21,
1999.

\

Indiana Residents Sue Over Private Prison .I
A group of community members in
Shoals, Indiana who own property near
the site of a 750-bed prison being built
by CCA have filed a lawsuit and are
seeking an injunction to stop construction of the facUity.
Named as defendants in the suit
are CCA, Shoals Town Board members,
Martin Co. commissioners, and Martin
County Circuit Judge Joseph Howell.
Howell, a former classmate and personal friend of CCA attorney William
Moreau, Jr., has voiced support for

CCA and moderated meetings on the
company's behalf.
The lawsuit claims that Howell
"has engaged in numerous actions designed to intimidate and discourage persons from enforcing their legal rights"
to oppose the private prison.
Ironically, CCA chose to locate the
facUity in Shoals after facing opposition
elsewhere in Indiana. 0
Sources: The Washington Times-Herald,
April 28, 23, 1999.

Former Warden Indicted on Abuse Charges
On May 18 former Lafayette police
chief Gary Copes, 50, was indicted by a
federal grand jury on twelve counts of
aiding and abetting physical abuse of
inmates when he was a warden at the
privately-operated Tensas Parish Detention Center in Newellton, Louisiana.
The Tensas facility is one of five
jails owned and operated by Louisiana
Correction Services, Inc.
Copes is accused of conspiring
with former Tensas Parish Sheriff Jeff
Britt to "injure, oppress, threaten and
intimidate" prisoners at the detention
center in connection with an Oct. 1996
disturbance at the facility. According to
the indictment Copes told Britt, "If you
want me to kick ass, 1 will"; he then
watched as deputies beat inmates with
batons.

Copes also was charged with witness tampering for allegedly trying to
persuade a grand jury witness "to deny
everything" in regard to the beatings.
Britt pleaded guilty to malfeasance
on May 17 in exchange for the dismissal
of federal charges. As part of a plea
bargain he agreed to make restitution
and to never work in law enforcement
again.
Copes, who has pleaded innocent,
was released on a $75,000 unsecured
bond and is scheduled to go to trial on
November 1. He is presently employed
as a warden at another Louisiana Correction Services, Inc. detention center,
located in Basile. D
Sources: The Advocate (LA), May 19,
20, June 9, 1999.

0