Tag Archives: prison

LTE: Tell the Industrial Authority No private prison —John S. Quarterman

My LTE in the VDT today. -jsq

Industrial Authority Executive Director Andrea Schruijer told me to expect
their board to say something at their 2PM Thursday board meeting about the
private prison Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) wants to build
on US 84 at Perimeter Road. If they don’t give CCA another extension,
the contract expires March 13th.


There’s still time to contact them, (229) 259-9972.
Or go to their board meeting at 101 North Ashley Street,
2PM Thursday February 23rd.



A private prison would not increase employment in Lowndes County. It
would not even save the state money. And it would have high risk
of closing after or even before it opened, because of escapes and
inmate disturbances, and most importantly because the state and federal
governments can no longer afford to incarcerate so many people. That would
leave us and the state holding the bag for any investment in building it.

Outsourcing public justice for private profit at taxpayer expense is
not only bad business, we the taxpayers can’t afford to pay for it while
public education is under increasing budgetary pressure.

As members of the local community, we do not wish to live in a private
prison colony, with the attendant risks of inmate violence and escape,
and the accompanying public opprobrium that would drive away the
knowledge-based workers we claim to be trying to attract.

Finally, public justice should not be a matter of private profit.

John S. Quarterman

lives in Lowndes County

You may recognize the wording from the

petition.
You can always write your own letter with your own reasons.

-jsq

An Industrial Authority agenda with content! Including VSEB and land acreage!

Yesterday Andrea Schruijer promised to get an agenda for
tomorrow’s 2PM Thursday 23 February 2012 Industrial Authority board meeting (101 N. Ashley Street)
online.
It’s
there,
and it has content!


What it does not have is any mention of

anything about Project Excel, or CCA, or the private prison,
even though Ms. Schruijer told me yesterday to expect the board
to say something about that.
You can still

express your opinion to them before then.
And since this agenda says

**TENTATIVE**

maybe that item will get added before tomorrow afternoon.

Also missing is

any item for the Strategic Planning RFP,
even though that RFP says the board will review any responses received by their February board meeting.

What this agenda does have is numerous specific items
under the usual broad headers such as
Existing Industry/Project Report.
So instead of listening to Col. Ricketts
and trying to figure out what he’s talking about,
you can see such things as
“e-Snychronist® Existing Industry Retention
and Expansion business information system (BIS)” in writing.
You still don’t see names of the
“five (5) Prospects”
or the “three (3) companies that are developing expansion plans”.
Maybe I buy the competitive information argument for the prospects,
but I’m not so sure about the three expanding companies, especially
if they’re already local.
And considering the things VLCIA has tried to sneak in under cover
of not mentioning competitive information, such as biomass and a private prison,
I’m not sure I buy that argument at all.

Also on the plus side, the agenda includes an actual schedule for bids

Continue reading →

“I’ve found that Minnesotans do not want their laws written by the lobbyists of big corporations” — MN Gov. Mark Dayton

Remember

American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC),
the

big corporate lobby group that

helps CCA push for private prisons?
The one that

lobbied 24 states
to pass “anti-immigration” laws that create new misdemeanors and felonies
to send more customers to CCA prisons?
One governor has decided he’s had enough of that.

Zaid Jilani wrote for Republic Report 15 February 2012,

Minnesota Governor Calls Out Corporate Front Group ALEC, Vetoes Its Bills

It has grown so powerful that it now has

nearly one-third
of all state legislators under its umbrella.

ALEC has worked with legislators to pass bills ranging from issues
as diverse as stripping unionized workers of their rights to

making it harder for low-income citizens to vote.
It is usually able to do so because it hands its corporate-written
template bills to state legislators and gets them passed without any
public scrutiny as to the origin of this legislation.

Late last week, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D)



decided that
corporate front groups like ALEC should not be able to write his
state’s laws. Dayton decided to veto a series of “tort
reform” bills that would’ve restricted the rights of citizens
to sue to hold big corporations responsible. In a press conference
discussing his vetoes, Dayton condemned ALEC for providing the
templates for the bills. “I’ve found that Minnesotans

do not want
their laws written by the lobbyists of big corporations,” said
Dayton.

Here’s
video:

Continue reading →

There are some things only government should do: FL Senate ends prison privatization

There are just some things that only government should do.
And jailing for profit is not the public good.
That’s what the Florida Senate decided Tuesday,
ending an attempt to legislate privatization of prisons.

David Royse in wctv.tv yesterday,

Florida Senate Kills Prison Privatization,

A bipartisan coalition of senators bucked the chamber’s Republican


leadership Tuesday and rejected a proposal to privatize several
prisons, but got warnings from leaders that it will have a cost in
further budget cuts.

In a dramatic showdown with Senate President Mike Haridopolos and
three other top leaders one of whom controls the Senate’s budget,
one who controls the calendar and one who will be the next president
opponents of the bill managed to kill it on a 19-21 vote.

The odd coalition that lined up against the bill included Republican
populists who have become occasional mavericks, Democrats and some
members of the GOP caucus that almost always vote with their party,
but come from areas laden with corrections officers who opposed the
idea.

Private prison proponents tried to sell it as cost savings.
If prison privatization really does save money, why did the
legislature previously try to hide it in a general budget bill,
which was

thrown out by a judge back in September?

This time, senators weren’t buying that baloney.

Continue reading →

CCA offers to buy prisons from 48 states

Desperation or disaster capitalism by CCA?
Trying to get as entrenched as possible before more people catch
on that private prisons

don’t save money for states?

Andrew Jones wrote for Raw Story yesterday,

Private prison company offers to buy 48 states’ prisons

In exchange for keeping at least a 90 percent occupancy rate, the
private prison company Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) has
sent a letter to 48 states offering to manage their prisons for the


low price of $250 million per year, according to a letter obtained
by the Huffington Post.

The company says it’s a way for states to help manage their current
budget crisis. “We believe this comes at a timely and helpful
juncture and hope you will share our belief in the benefits of the
purchase-and-manage model,” CCA chief corrections officer
Harley Lappin said in the letter.

What does CCA

want in return?

…a 20-year management contract, plus an assurance that the prison
would remain at least 90 percent full….

So if a state,
such as Georgia,

was thinking of sentencing reform,
or of getting on with decriminalizing drugs,
either would become quite difficult after signing such contracts.

Here’s
CCA’s offer letter, complete with a blank to fill in for the state.

Maybe CCA is realizing that it’s coming to the end of its rope
on its old tricks, such as these, pointed out by

Chris Kirkham in HufffintongPost yesterday,

Continue reading →

Save money by streamlining the state penal code

Even the Bainbridge and Decatur County Post-Searchlight publishes news about their very own
state legislator explaining one of the biggest reasont why prisons are
a bad bet for a local economy:
because we can’t afford to lock up so many people anymore.

Brennan Leathers wrote 6 January 2012,

Georgia legislature going back to work
State Senator John Bulloch (R-Ochlocknee):

“We’re still struggling to find revenue to pay for operation


of the state government and its services,” Bulloch said.
“We’re going to have to fill holes that we filled during
worse
economic times using federal stimulus money and other temporary
money.”

Bulloch said he also understands Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has
instructed Georgia’s department heads to include 2-percent cuts in
their budget requests for this year.

One way in which legislators might opt to save money is by
streamlining its criminal penal code. According to Bulloch, Georgia
has a very high number of people serving supervised probation or
parole.

“A lot of those people who are in prison or under close
supervision by state officers are serving sentences for non-violent
offenses or minor felonies,” Bulloch said. “We may look
at alternative means for dealing with them, such as creating drug
courts or setting up drug-testing centers that would monitor drug
offenders without imprisoning them.”

Which would mean fewer people in prison.
Which would mean no need for new prisons.
And some existing prisons might close.



Do we want a private prison in Lowndes County so more prisoners
can compete with local workers here, too?
If you don’t think so, remember

CCA says community opposition
can impede private prison site selection.
Here’s a

petition urging the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authorithy
to stop the CCA private prison.
Spend those tax dollars on rehabilitation and education instead.

-jsq

Decatur County newspaper wants more prisoners who compete with local wo rkers

The Decatur County newspaper brags about prisoners competing with free labor,
while

helping try to attract another prison.

Brennan Leathers wrote for the Post-Searchlight 3 January 2010,

Walls going up at new ag building,



Work on Decatur County’s new agricultural office building is quickly
progressing, with interior walls being put up and the installation
of a roof soon to follow.

Decatur County Prison inmates with carpentry and construction
experience were working hard last Friday, putting up the interior
walls inside the 9,724-square-foot building under construction near
the Cloud Agricultural Building off Vada Road.

Which means some local workers with carpentry and construction
experience were not working on that project.



Do we want a private prison in Lowndes County so more prisoners
can compete with local workers here, too?
If you don’t think so, remember

CCA says community opposition
can impede private prison site selection.
Here’s a

petition urging the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority
to stop the CCA private prison.

-jsq

Prison and retirement? —Jane Osborn

Received Friday on
Who are the “local leadership” who approved CCA’s private prison? -jsq

I wonder how the news of a private prison with its lowered expectations,
minimal guarding procedures and its adding to the prison population we
already have will sit with the folks being courted by the Chamber to
move here when they retire?

-Jane Osborn

Who are the “local leadership” who approved CCA’s private prison?

They’re even quieter about it than the Industrial Authority,
but the Valdosta City and Lowndes County governments are in the
private prison deal just as deep.

Jay Hollis, CCA’s Manager of Site Acquisition, in his

Valdosta-Lowndes County, GA / CCA Partnership: Prepared Remarks
of August 2010, wrote:



Our Valdosta/Lowndes County site quickly became our primary due to its
local and regional workforce, collaboration of local leadership, site
characteristics, proximity to necessary services and infrastructure,
and accessibility to name a few.

So who is this local leadership?

We look forward to working closely with Valdosta/Lowndes leadership as we move forward in the months to come.

Finally, I’d like to take a moment to recognize a few folks that have been essential to the project:

Continue reading →

Why did CCA pick Lowndes County for a private prison?

Apparently CCA picked Lowndes County for a private prison for reasons
that were

not what VLCIA’s consultant seemed to think would influence the selection.



According to

Valdosta-Lowndes County, GA / CCA Partnership: Talking Points
(undated, but it refers to

“The agreement formalized by the Industrial Authority on 8/17”),

The Valdosta/Lowndes site became the primary due to the local and
regional workforce, collaboration of local leadership,
site characteristics,
proximity to necessary services and infrastructure, accessibility, etc.

Nothing in there about

low poverty or high wages.
One could even read that the other way around,
as in a low-wage population looking for jobs.

Looks to me like our Industrial Authority didn’t do much due diligence
about private prisons.

Also note that the contract of 17 August 2010 between VLCIA and CCA
was signed after the announcement in July 2010 that CCA had selected
Decatur County.
More about that in another post.

-jsq