July 1, 2005 News OK
TULSA - It probably didn't take Tulsa County jail inmates long to know a new -- but familiar -- sheriff was in town. Sheriff Stanley Glanz said he planned to conduct a shakedown search shortly after regaining control of the jail, which was scheduled to happen at midnight Thursday. Glanz has waited six years for his department to regain control of the jail. The shakedown, conducted by 100 deputies, reserve deputies and jail staff, is an effort to improve safety and efficiency at the jail. "I had a lot of patience," he said. "I learned that a jail is a law enforcement function and it needs to be operated by government and not private companies. Of course, I've been saying that for 10 years, but it's been reinforced to me." Criminal Justice Trust Authority members voted 7-0 to privatize after reading reports that Corrections Corporation of America could save taxpayers as much as $10 million in five years. But the trust authority in March voted, 4-3, to give the jail back to Glanz.

May 7, 2005 Tulsa World
A Tulsa Jail corrections officer was fired Thursday after he was arrested in the armed robbery of a woman in a mall parking lot. Charles Courtney Wilson, 19, was arrested about 1:30 p.m. Thursday on an armed robbery complaint and booked into the the jail about 5 p.m., jail records show. Chris Howard, a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of America, which operates the jail, confirmed that Wilson was an officer there. He was fired after CCA officials learned of his felony arrest. The robbery took place about 1:15 p.m. in a parking lot outside Woodland Hills Mall at 71st Street and Memorial Drive, Sgt. Kim Presley said. A woman told police that she had just returned to her car, which was parked on the south side of the mall, when a man appeared "out of nowhere." He pointed a gun at her and told her to get out of her car. She got out, and he grabbed her purse, Presley said. The man then ran to a car where a getaway driver was waiting. Witnesses described the getaway car to police, and officers saw the vehicle a short time later. The car's two occupants were arrested in the 7400 block of East 29th Place, Presley said. The man who is the suspected driver, Bernard Ezechukwu, was arrested on complaints of armed robbery, eluding and traffic-related complaints.

May 6, 2005 KOTV
Good Samaritans helped Tulsa Police arrest two men stealing a woman's purse at gunpoint. One of the suspects works at the Tulsa County jail. Police say 19-year-old Charles Wilson ran up to the victim's car at Woodland Hills Mall, pointed a gun at her, and reached across her to grab her purse out of the passenger's seat. Corrections Corporation of America, the company that runs the jail, tells the News on 6, Wilson is a corrections officer.

April 23, 2005 Tulsa World
Outside oversight during the Tulsa Jail's management transition is likely, county leaders say. Officials are still pondering what kind of oversight they will put in place once the sheriff assumes operation of the Tulsa Jail on July 1. Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority Chairman and County Commissioner Bob Dick said most have agreed that the sheriff's operation of the jail will be a big change and that some form of outside oversight should be maintained for a period of time. Sheriff Stanley Glanz plans to generate a monthly report internally and said he doesn't mind oversight. Jail transition: About 270 applications for jail staff positions have been received so far. Some 230 to 240 of those have come from existing CCA employees, Chief Deputy Tim Albin said. The sheriff plans a staff of 304. Ninety-seven applicants have taken a standardized test, with more than 95 percent passing. "They've got some really good people working over there, and that's why we're trying real hard to latch on to that work force," he said.

March  30, 2005 Tulsa World
A former Tulsa Jail supervisor faces a three-year prison sentence upon being convicted Tuesday of raping a female inmate there. Tulsa County jurors found Eugene Pendleton, 48, guilty of second-degree rape. Pendleton was jailed after the verdict, ending a six-day trial in District Judge Tom Thornbrugh's court. Jurors also imposed a $3,000 fine. Pendleton managed an addiction treatment unit at the jail. His accuser, now 29, testified that she participated in a jail counseling program to address her drug problem. Jurors heard testimony that the woman -- who is no longer an inmate -- has said Pendleton had sex with her six or seven times between Christmas 2001 and May 2002. Pendleton denied the accusation. The rape charge did not require proof of force. It is illegal for a person in a "position of authority" to engage in sexual contact with an inmate, Assistant District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said.

March 30, 2005 Tulsa World
Police have ruled that an inmate's death at the Tulsa Jail on Monday is consistent with an intentional hanging. Corrections Corporation of America's spokesman Chris Howard said only that Felipe Gonzalez, 46, was pronounced dead at 3:15 p.m. The jail has had at least 18 inmate deaths since August 1999. At least five were suicides.

March 29, 2005 AP
Tulsa police are investigating the apparent suicide of an inmate at the Tulsa Jail. The man's name and how he died have not been released. EMSA paramedics were called to the jail about 3:00 yesterday afternoon and say when they arrived they were told the patient was dead from a traumatic injury. The jail is run by Corrections Corporation of America and spokesman Chris Howard says he can't release information about the death.

March 19, 2005 Tulsa World
All agreed it was a tough decision to make, but in the end the seven-member Criminal Justice Authority elected to turn the Tulsa Jail operation back over to the sheriff in a 4-3 vote Friday. Undersheriff Brian Edwards said he thought the sheriff's public accountability, local presence and community involvement were the key factors in the selection. "I think that we presented a solid plan," Edwards said. "I think the trust authority's going to give us an opportunity to prove ourselves. That's just what we intend to do." The Tulsa Jail has been under the management of Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America since August 1999. CCA's contract with the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority expires June 30, but officials are hoping the company will agree to stay an additional 180 days to allow the sheriff's transition team six months to prepare for the takeover. The authority decided to seek new proposals for running the jail after it struggled with a $2.9 million deficit this budget year. Sheriff Stanley Glanz, CCA, the GEO Group (formerly Wackenhut) of Boca Raton, Fla., and Correctional Services Corp. of Sarasota, Fla., responded with bids. The authority discussed the issue for about an hour Friday morning before a standing-room-only crowd of largely CCA employees before deciding it would give the sheriff as many as three years to see how well he performs. Commissioner Randi Miller made the motion in favor of the Sheriff's Office early in the discussion, and it was seconded by Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune, who made the most arguments in favor of Glanz. Commissioner Bob Dick said he came to the meeting prepared to vote for the GEO Group, but he ended up being the deciding vote in favor of the sheriff. Dick was part of a unanimous vote in 1997 to turn over the jail operation to CCA after its bid came in $2 million cheaper than the sheriff's. This time the sheriff was about $2 million cheaper than CCA.

March 18, 2005 KOTV
The Tulsa County jail's new operator is the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office. The jail is currently operated by Corrections Corporation of America. Last month, the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority ordered the re-bidding. CCA and the sheriff's office was two of four bidders who submitted bids. During a meeting Friday morning, the authority voted 4 to 3 in favor of returning the operation of the jail to the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.

February 6, 2005 Tulsa World
Tulsa County's sheriff and a Florida counterpart have differing viewpoints on public vs. privately run. Faced with rising costs at privately operated facilities, both Tulsa County and Hernando County, Fla., are trying to determine how their jails can be run for less money. But while Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz thinks he can run a jail cheaper than Corrections Corporation of America, Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent has no interest in running a jail and says he can't do it for less. Times have changed since sheriffs operated jails with budgets based on the number of prisoners they held, Nugent said. Glanz said the reason he is in the running to operate the jail again is because he believes his office can help the community. The sheriff never believed the Criminal Justice Authority should have turned over the operation to a private operator in 1999, when Tulsa's new jail opened. He blamed that decision on politics and fought it in court, but lost. "They have a company and they run a business for profit, where I'm a law enforcement official and I would run the facility in the best interest of the law enforcement community," Glanz said. Collin County (Texas) Sheriff Terry Box said that running a jail is about more than who has the lowest bid. Box's office operates the county jail in McKinney, which Glanz's office has used as a model for the direct supervision style of management used at the Tulsa Jail. "I would never want to have a private firm have someone behind bars for a county operation. Because in a county jail, there's a lot of innocent people in jail. It's kind of odd to me to give that kind of constitutional authority over to a private firm," Box said. In Tulsa County, the jail tab paid to CCA has increased to $22.1 million in 2004 from $15.6 million in 2001. Glanz submitted a proposal to run the jail in December that was at least $2 million less than what CCA is being paid, sparking a movement to seek formal proposals from potential jail operators.

January 25, 2005 Tulsa World
Efforts to reduce the jail budget have mainly focused on CCA's contract to operate the Tulsa Jail. But Corrections Corporation of America officials question why other jail-related costs funded by the quarter-penny sales tax are not part of the discussion along with some of the ideas they have suggested to help reduce costs and boost revenues. "I can understand their point of view," said County Commissioner Bob Dick, chairman of the county's Criminal Justice Authority. "We're looking at every way possible, but the obvious big dollars are in the contract." In the five years since CCA first won the jail contract, its per-inmate-day fee has risen 32 percent, while the total amount it has been paid has gone up 42 percent in four years. CCA was paid $15.6 million in its first full year of operations in 2000-01, and it received $22.1 million in 2003-04. The average daily jail population has gone up from 1,135 inmates in 2000 to 1,250 inmates in 2004. The Criminal Justice Authority is taking bids for a jail operator. The sheriff, CCA and an unknown number of private operators are expected to vie for the contract. Glanz maintains he can operate a better jail for less money because he doesn't have to earn a profit.

January 9, 2005 Tulsa World
At least 17 Tulsa Jail inmates have died since Corrections Corporation of America took over operations, four times the number who died in the jail the previous five years, a review by the Tulsa World has found. The deaths include three suicides in the jail's medical unit. Another inmate who died from a brain aneurysm displayed signs of a head injury for weeks following assaults in the jail, but prison medical staff claimed his problems were "all in his head," records show. Sheriff Stanley Glanz said private companies have an incentive to keep medical costs low, which can lead to poor care for inmates. Glanz has made a proposal to take over operations of the jail when CCA's current contract expires in June. The county's Criminal Justice Authority is considering whether to extend the contract and has requested proposals from Glanz and other private operators.  The Tulsa World reviewed all deaths in the jail since Jan. 1, 2000, the first full year that the Nashville-based company operated Tulsa's new 1,440-bed jail. During those five years, at least 17 people died in the jail or at medical facilities following illnesses or injuries at the jail. From 1995 through 1999, there were four deaths in the jail operated by the sheriff. Records show several Tulsa Jail inmates who died were suffering from cancer or other serious ailments and those deaths were likely little surprise to authorities. But even in those cases, records show an apparent indifference to inmates' medical problems among some CCA employees. Sondria Allen was jailed July 26, 2004, on larceny and other complaints and initially housed in the jail's medical unit. Three days later, on July 29, Allen was transferred out of the medical unit to a segregation unit. The officer states that the other officers told him Allen "was very dramatic and would probably try faking something. I was told that she was in medical on suicide watch at one point and if she left medical she would hurt herself." Allen was found unresponsive in her cell about four hours later. Other cases drew sharp criticism from jail inspectors. Jail staff failed to notice or document that inmate Merlin Lee Foster had not eaten for four days before his death on June 18, 2000, from a bowel infarction. "It is apparent in the medical file that Foster complained about his stomach hurting since May 16," states a report by jail inspector Loyd Bickel. "It is also apparent that prescribed treatment was not working." Bickel notes that medical staff were not responding to requests for treatment within the required 48 hours and medical files were in disarray. "I find it to be an enormous red flag of the inadequacy in rendering treatment as well as adequate charting of the inmate's condition that it is verified that his medical file was lost for a period of five days," his report states. Foster, 62, died at a hospital following surgery. His widow, Peggy Sue Foster, sued and a jury found in favor of CCA and other defendants. CCA's press release following the suicide of inmate Cory Adam Morris stated: "Although a loss of life did occur, CCA employees followed policies and procedures." In fact, the state jail inspector cited the company with numerous lapses in Morris' hanging death. Morris, 20, was found hanging in a cell from a sheet tied to his bed at 4:50 p.m. on Jan. 15, 2000. The company's initial statement said Morris was seen "acting normally" during a routine check at 4:25 p.m. According to an investigation by the Jail Inspection Division, Morris had apparently been dead for awhile before anyone noticed. "Hourly prisoner checks were not conducted or documented and shift change counts were not conducted or documented according to the state standards." The report notes that an inmate was "allowed to conduct security checks for the officer on duty and was allowed to have supervision over other inmates. CCA later reported that its press release was inaccurate and that pod officers had not actually seen Morris during the last check. Two correctional officers were fired. While Morris was held in the general population, three suicides have occurred in the jail's medical unit, records show. Among the jail's deaths from natural causes is a case in which CCA was cited for failing to seek appropriate medical attention for an inmate who was assaulted. For weeks after he was assaulted by inmates in the jail on Nov. 25, 2000, inmate Leonia Sanchez Arriaga displayed signs of a head injury. A jail inspector's report states that while he was in the medical unit, Arriaga complained of headaches, buzzing in his ears and was "crawling around on all 4s and climbing on top of the sinks and toilet within the facility. He is also reported as confused and to have an unsteady gait." Arriaga was taken to a hospital, where he reportedly refused treatment, and was returned to the jail's general population. The inmate attacked Arriaga, striking him numerous times in the head, the report states. Arriaga, 31, continued to display signs of a head injury and was transferred to the medical unit. On Dec. 8, records state he was confused, disoriented and "crawling on all fours." Jail staff, however, did not request that Arriaga be examined at a hospital but instead sent him to court for a hearing in his DUI case. Arriaga attended his court appointment in a wheelchair and "became incontinent," the jail inspector's report states. He was returned to the jail and transported to a hospital later that evening. Arriaga died at the hospital before surgery could be performed. Hospital tests showed Arriaga died Dec. 13, 2000, from a ruptured brain aneurysm and his body was returned to family in Mexico. The medical examiner ruled his death was due to natural causes. On the day following Arriaga's death, Masek, the contract monitor at the jail, said he would investigate the matter. He said at the time that Prison Health Services, the private company which CCA contracted with to provide medical care in the jail, "went to great lengths to take care of this guy." In its investigation, the jail inspector's office cited CCA with numerous failures, including failing to give Arriaga appropriate medical care, delaying transportation to a hospital, failure to accurately document the assaults and failure to contact the jail inspector's office until four days after his death. In April 2001, CCA ended its contract with Prison Health Services. At the time, CCA Director of Communications Steve Owen said the move "enables us to be more responsive to our customers." But according to a memo dated May 31, 2001, the company was also working hard to control medical costs. The memo on file at the state Jail Inspection Division states that a CCA nurse called that day to report that "med help must leave when they've put in 40 hours and stay gone." The nurse told the jail inspector's office she stayed one hour overtime to finish paperwork for the next shift "and was called at home and told 'she'd better watch out,' " states the memo to state Jail Inspector Don Garrison. "She has been a nurse for 33 years and states she has no desire to throw mud at her employer (CCA). However, proper medical care is not being administered. When their 40 hours are up, that's it," the memo states.

January 7, 2005 Tulsa World
Current access to the inmates is criticized, but Sheriff Glanz says he would improve conditions. Some Tulsa ministers say they would like to see a more "pastor-friendly" environment at the Tulsa Jail and believe that would happen if the sheriff were back in charge. The Rev. Melvin L. Bailey of Shiloh Baptist Church said personal contact with inmates is difficult when conversations must occur through glass and there is a fear of being overheard. "We'd like to be able to hold the hand of an inmate," he said. Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz said he would allow ministers free access, as he did before politics took the responsibility for the jail away from him. The news media was invited to a Thursday gathering of about two dozen pastors and members of the Sheriff's Office at St. Andrew Missionary Baptist Church. Glanz told the group that his father was a minister, "so I know what you guys do." St. Andrew's pastor, the Rev. Bertrand Bailey, said ministers in his area are not happy with the access that Corrections Corporation of America allows them to inmates. He said he hopes ministers would try to influence a decision to return the jail operation to the sheriff. The financially troubled Criminal Justice Authority, which governs the jail operation, is seeking proposals to run the jail from the sheriff and as many as seven private operators, including CCA, which has held the jail contract since August 1999.

January 2, 2005 AP
The number of potential private jail operators has more than tripled since officials shopped for someone to run the Tulsa Jail six years ago. In 1998, the choice of private operators was between Corrections Corporation of America, which won the contract, and Wackenhut Corp., now known as the GEO Group. Now the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office and as many as seven private companies could be submitting proposals to run the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center. CCA's contract expires at the end of June, and another deficit of about $5 million is projected for the next fiscal year. The Tulsa County sheriff enters the ring again as a potential jail operator after a five-year hiatus. Sheriff Stanley Glanz launched a court battle several years ago against the creation of the Criminal Justice Authority and its decision to turn the jail operation over to CCA. He lost that fight but has maintained that a jail is a sheriff's responsibility and should not be operated by a private company out to make a profit.

December 19, 2004 Tulsa World
The sheriff's department estimates its plan will save $2 million over current jail operator CCA. The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office believes it can operate the Tulsa Jail for less money than Corrections Corporation of America because of the management style it would implement. Interim Undersheriff George Haralson said that the sheriff's office would operate the jail as a "direct supervision" facility, which requires fewer employees because only one detention officer is assigned to supervise inmates in each housing pod. Haralson has also touted the sheriff's proposal because it is based on a fixed price of $19.2 million, while there is no ceiling on what CCA can be paid each year because its payment is based on jail population. The Tennessee-based company's compensation rate is based on a per-inmate, per-day rate that is estimated to cost about $23 million this year. The Criminal Justice Authority requested the sheriff's proposal so that a cost comparison could be conducted. Those results, in part, prompted the authority to decide it will take new bids on the jail contract. An operator is expected to be selected by the end of March. CCA is in its final year of a three-year contract, with two one-year renewal options. Haralson told the authority that the sheriff has agreed to pay for any startup costs out of his budget or cash fee accounts if he is chosen to run the jail.

December 17, 2004 Tulsa World
Tulsa County may have to rely more heavily on its cash funds and other tax streams to free up property tax dollars for the Criminal Justice Authority's lagging jail budget. The Criminal Justice Authority meets Friday to consider its budget and contract for jail operations. The Budget Board also meets Friday to take action on an expected request from the Criminal Justice Authority to help cover its projected $2.9 million budget deficit. Sheriff Stanley Glanz said he hasn't spent any of his cash funds this year in case the jail operation is returned to him. The sheriff has been asked to submit a cost proposal to run the jail so it can be compared to Corrections Corporation of America, the private operator at the jail since 1999.

December 14, 2004 Tulsa World
The jail trust authority discussed several solutions that may solve its short-term financial troubles by seeking assistance from Tulsa County authorities and the county Budget Board. The county's fiscal officer, Jim Smith, told the Criminal Justice Authority during a special meeting Monday that the $3.7 million deficit has been revised to $2.9 million. In addition, the sheriff has been asked to submit a cost proposal to run the jail. A report, prepared by commissioners' chief deputy Paul Wilkening, is supposed to be released this week that will compare the sheriff's costs to the Corrections Corporation of America, the private operator that runs the jail. Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune said the comparison needs to be done because CCA's current contract is a large component of the deficit. LaFortune was the only Criminal Justice Authority member who voted against the CCA contract two years ago. DOC officials have previously recommended that the Criminal Justice Authority look to other jurisdictions who could house state inmates cheaper than CCA, but the contract with CCA prevents it from doing that.

December 12, 2004 Tulsa World
Corrections Corporation of America could reduce its $48.60 per inmate daily compensation rate at the Tulsa Jail by nearly $12 if it no longer provided booking, transportation, holding and medical services. But the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority would have to look to other entities to provide those services more cheaply than CCA before it could see any savings. Records show that the Nashville, Tenn.-based company has outlined other potential cost reductions, including the removal of on-site monitoring of its operation by Criminal Justice Authority employees. The Criminal Justice Authority is facing a projected $3.7 million budget shortfall, but Chairman Randi Miller has said hiring other entities to perform some jail functions just seems like cost-shifting. A report is submitted to the authority each month that addresses staffing levels, maintenance, escapes/wrongful releases, inmate deaths and medical services. But an inmate release time survey is no longer included in Contract Monitor Joe Masek's monthly report to the authority. "Questions are being raised again that it's taking a long time to get out of jail, so I feel it's my duty," Masek said last month following a complaint from an inmate's father. Committee member Robert Breuning has complained that the county doesn't allow the committee to perform its role as a watch dog so members have lost interest. He asked the Criminal Justice Authority in March to appoint new members because the 14-member committee was down to seven members.

December 10, 2004 Tulsa World
Tulsa County bears no liability for the jail authority's projected $3.7 million budget deficit, but it could voluntarily transfer general funds to save the authority from indebtedness, according to a district attorney's opinion. The county's Budget Board in the past has approved transferring general funds to the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority, records show. Transfers from the authority to the general fund have also occurred. County officials have been hesitant to say what should be done about the Criminal Justice Authority's budget, which has a cash balance that has dwindled to $6,097 from $994,299 as jail costs continue to outpace incoming revenues. County employees could be affected by a cut or reduction in benefits. Property owners could also be affected if the deficit goes unchecked and the Criminal Justice Authority is sued for unpaid bills by jail operator Corrections Corporation of America or other entities.

December 9, 2004 Tulsa World
The proposal is being hampered by the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority's financial troubles. Corrections Corporation of America officials have confirmed that they are marketing available beds at the Tulsa Jail to the Kansas Department of Corrections. However, the effort to house out-of-state prisoners is being hampered by the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority's financial troubles, which have the Nashville, Tenn., company wondering whether it will be in Tulsa after its contract to run the jail expires in June. "We're holding back on who we're going after," said Jennifer Taylor, CCA's senior director of business development. "It's not good to be uprooted," which would happen to potential Kansas inmates if CCA's contract with the Criminal Justice Authority to run the jail is not renewed or if the company leaves because the authority can't pay its debt. Criminal Justice Authority Chairman Randi Miller has been in talks with CCA in an effort to lower jail costs, but she said she didn't know anything about the proposal to house Kansas inmates. She said CCA has mentioned the idea several times but the authority has had no discussions on it.

December 5, 2004 Tulsa World
Tulsa County taxpayers are paying 30 percent more to run the Tulsa Jail than the average amount that other jurisdictions pay Corrections Corporation of America at facilities it manages across the nation. In its latest financial report to investors, records show the Tennessee-based company's daily revenue per inmate averages $37.52 among the 26 facilities it manages but does not own. Locally, taxpayers are paying CCA $48.60 per inmate daily at the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center, owned by the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority. Oklahoma County's per diem rate has been $35 a day for the past three years, according to the sheriff's office, which operates the jail. Dick said CCA indicated to him that it makes a profit of about $1 million a year in Tulsa in its current contract. Based on the $22,179,438 CCA was paid in 2003-04 that would be about a 5 percent profit. In the five years since CCA first won the jail contract, its fee has risen 32 percent, while the total amount it has been paid has gone up 42 percent in four years. Ken Kopczynski, who operates a Florida-based watchdog group called the Private Corrections Institute, said Tulsa's jail problems are not unique. "You are basically getting the same issues everywhere. The prices are escalating. They (CCA) just walked away from a contract in Nevada because they low-balled it, and they came back begging for more money, particularly for medical costs." Kopczynski said private prison operators "say they can do it better and cheaper, but . . . they have to provide a profit to their shareholders. On top of that, they have to contribute thousands of dollars to politicians." In Florida, state law requires that use of private prisons results in a 7 percent cost savings. CCA runs six private correctional facilities in that state: three jails and three prisons. A review by the Florida Legislature found that only one in five private prisons operated by CCA and another company met the requirement.

December 2, 2004 Tulsa World
Four members of the county Budget Board have called for a special meeting Friday to discuss the use of general funds to compensate for the jail board's projected $3.7 million deficit. But Commissioners Randi Miller and Wilbert Collins say there may be no alternative. Miller has mentioned the possibility of reducing the county's contribution to certain employee benefit plans in an effort to help pay for the jail. She has also asked the sheriff to submit a proposal on running the jail in an effort to see if the it could be operated for less money. A contract with jail operator Corrections Corporation of America is up for renewal in July. In the five years since CCA first won the jail contract, its fee has risen 32 percent.

November 16, 2004 Tulsa World
Tulsa County's budget and jail boards scheduled and then canceled back-to-back Tuesday meetings to act on a critical state audit and deal with a $3.7 million hole in the county's jail budget. Tulsa County Commissioner Randi Miller said the meetings were called off because negotiations with Corrections Corporation of America -- the private contractor that operates the county's jail -- aren't finished. The county wants to reduce CCA's $48.50 per-inmate, per-day compensation rate. In the five years since CCA first won the jail contract, its fee has risen 32 percent.

October 30, 2004 Tulsa World
Two men wanted to ask the Criminal Justice Authority about jail procedures and funding. Al Nichols and Clifton Sartin say they would like to speak at a Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority meeting but that the board doesn't allow public comment. Asked why authority meetings don't have a public comment section, County Commissioner Bob Dick replied: "Why should there be? To give someone a platform to rant and rave to me isn't good policy." Both men attended Friday's authority meeting but didn't speak. Nichols sent a letter to the authority Oct. 13, asking to address the board regarding his son's having been held in the Tulsa Jail for eight hours despite efforts to pay his bail. But Nichols said his concerns can be answered only by the authority because it has oversight of the jail, which is operated by Corrections Corporation of America. "There are certain things CCA can't correct," he said. Sartin said he wants an explanation for the jail board's troubled finances. "Why are they going bankrupt, and how will they pay for the jail if it does?" he asked.

October 28, 2004 Tulsa World
A consultant's draft report commissioned by the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority suggests no specific solutions on how the governing body should combat a projected $6 million deficit in the jail budget, officials say. County Commissioner and authority Chairwoman Randi Miller said the draft report is too vague and doesn't really identify any specific cost savings. Michael A. O'Toole & Associates of Denver was paid $20,000 for an efficiency analysis of the jail, which is operated by Corrections Corporation of America. But Sheriff Stanley Glanz, who is nursing a broken leg after a lawn-mowing accident, said he has reviewed the report. "One of my concerns is the county's broke," he said. "I cut my budget 20 percent from what I requested. The county does not have the money to pick up funding of the jail." In the five years since CCA was given the jail contract, its fee has gone up 32 percent -- to $48.60 from $36.76 per inmate per day.

October 27, 2004 Oklahoman
Faced with an anticipated budget shortfall, the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority will consider new staffing recommendations for the county jail Friday. The authority pays Corrections Corporation of America on a per-inmate basis and expects the bill for this fiscal year to be $23 million. But based on experience in past years, the authority estimates a sales tax dedicated to the jail's operations will raise only $18 million during the fiscal year, which began July 1. That is why the authority hired a consultant to review the operation and its staffing levels. The authority would like to renegotiate the contract that allows Corrections Corporation of America to increase its fees. On July 1, for example, the corporation's charges for each prisoner went up from $47.18 a day to $48.60 a day. Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz, who is not a member of the authority, has reviewed the report, he said Tuesday. Glanz also wouldn't discuss specifics, but maintains that his department could run the jail for the same amount of money or less.

September 14, 2004 Tulsa World
The mother of an inmate who was found hanging by a ligature in his Tulsa Jail medical cell has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Corrections Corporation of America, the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority and the city of Tulsa. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Darla Lamb, alleges that authorities had reason to know that Scott Ray Dickens, 36, was suicidal but failed to monitor him properly.

September 2, 2004
A man who served only about 2 1/2 years of a 16-year state court prison sentence for college grade-altering offenses was arrested Wednesday after a paperwork problem allowed him to be free for weeks before serving a consecutive federal sentence.  After federal officials learned of his early release, Tarig Al-Taweel, 35, was arrested Wednesday afternoon by U.S. marshals at a residence where he had been staying in the 1400 block of East 38th Place, Deputy U.S. Marshal Rick Holden said.  Holden said Al-Taweel was arrested based on a one-year prison sentence U.S. District Judge James Payne imposed last September.  He was ordered to serve time in a federal prison for taking an English proficiency test for another foreign student and for mailing a threat to his former wife.  Payne said then that he was ordering the one-year term to run consecutively to the 16-year state sentence because a concurrent term would be the sort of "leniency" he does not support.  Tulsa County jurors convicted Al-Taweel in November 2002 of eight felonies linked to accusations that grades were changed for Middle Eastern students at Tulsa Community College.  Chris Howard, a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of America, which operates the Tulsa Jail, said Al-Taweel was in the jail from Nov. 5, 2001, until Oct. 7, 2003, when he was transferred to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.  Temporarily lost in the shuffle was the one-year prison sentence Payne had imposed.  Holden said Wednesday that a U.S. Marshals Service detainer -- as well as documents temporarily relinquishing federal custody of Al-Taweel -- were provided to Tulsa Jail officials Nov. 18.  That was a few weeks after Payne had issued a formal written order setting out the terms he imposed at the Sept. 26 sentencing hearing.  CCA's Howard said Wednesday evening that Al-Taweel was released into Department of Corrections custody more than a month prematurely last fall.  He said that meant that certain paperwork -- such as the Marshals Service detainer -- did not follow Al-Taweel into the state system.  Both Moore and Corrections Department Assistant District Supervisor Johnny Blevins said Wednesday that they did not see any reference to the Marshals Service detainer in Al-Taweel's DOC file.  Howard said the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office -- not CCA -- compiles the list of inmates who are supposed to be taken from the Tulsa Jail to state prison facilities.  "Ordinarily inmates are not to be moved to a DOC facility while they are still in our custody," Holden said Wednesday.  He said the Marshals Service is still in the "very early stages" of determining exactly how this happened.  (Tulsa World)

August 28, 2004
A Colorado-based consulting firm has been selected to perform an efficiency analysis of the Tulsa County criminal justice system.  Michael A. O'Toole & Associates of Denver was selected Friday from among five firms that expressed an interest to the county Criminal Justice Authority. The cost for the study will be confirmed once a contract is successfully negotiated.  Corrections Corporation of America operates the Tulsa Jail, and its fee has gone up in the five years it has held the contract by 32 percent -- to $48.60 from $36.76 per inmate per day.  Tulsa County Commissioner Randi Miller said O'Toole's firm definitely needs to study CCA's compensation rate. Miller said officials might have to make severe cuts to the county's general fund to counter a projected $3 million to $5 million deficit in the criminal justice budget.  (Tulsa World)

August 7, 2004
Five firms have expressed an interest in conducting an efficiency analysis of Tulsa County's criminal justice system.  Officials are looking for ways to cut costs amid a projected $3 million to $5 million deficit in the operating budget for the jail and other criminal justice-related divisions.  The jail has been operated by Corrections Corporation of America since it opened in 1999. CCA's fee has gone up 32 percent -- to $48.60 from $36.76 per inmate per day -- in the five years since it has had the jail contract.  (Tulsa World)

August 6, 2004
A Corrections Corporation of America employee was arrested Wednesday night in the staff parking lot of the Tulsa Jail after a gun and a bag of marijuana were discovered in his vehicle.  Dustin Holley, 22, resigned from his job as a corrections officer and was jailed on a misdemeanor complaint of marijuana possession. He was released early Thursday.  Chris Howard, spokesman for CCA, which operates the Tulsa Jail, said employees who were visually searching vehicles in the employee parking area noticed what appeared to be a gun under the seat of Holley's vehicle. Holley allowed them to search his vehicle, where they allegedly found a small bag of marijuana.  (Tulsa World)

July 25, 2004
The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority hopes to hire a consultant within the next month to audit the criminal justice system's efficiency in an effort to combat a projected $3 million to $5 million deficit this year. The authority will ask the firm to review the contract with Corrections Corporation of America, which operates the Tulsa Jail, and make recommendations on ways to reduce costs.  CCA's fee has gone up 32 percent -- to $48.60 from $36.76 per inmate per day -- in the five years it has had the contract. Some think that is an incredibly steep increase.  (Tulsa World)

July 21, 2004
The mother of a man who died May 13 while incarcerated at the Tulsa Jail has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Corrections Corporation of America.  Tulsa police reported previously that Michael Andrew Jones, 27, apparently had killed himself using a plastic trash bag while in the jail's medical unit, where he was being observed for seizures.  Mary Jane Jones alleges that the private jail operator was negligent in her son's death because it did not provide ade quate supervision. Jail officials previously reported that Michael Andrew Jones had not been on suicide watch, and police said he had not threatened suicide.  Mary Jane Jones alleges that CCA should have known of her son's medical and mental circumstances. She maintains in court documents that her son suffered from a brain injury and was unable to care for himself or function normally.  Michael Andrew Jones was jailed on a charge of violating.  (Tulsa World) 

June 15, 2004
County commissioners authorized a special state audit of their finance offices Monday because of recent management changes and budgeting problems.  Commissioners and the county's jail authority are bothered now by escalating costs to keep Corrections Corporation of America operating the Tulsa County lock-up. The contract calls for the private firm to operate the county jail for more than $23 million during the coming year.  The problem for county leaders is that a dedicated sales tax designed to pay for the operation is raising only about $18 million a year.  Commissioners can't cut the budget of the jail operations because the county jail authority's contract with Corrections Corporation of America can't be ended without a 180-day notice period.  Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz said he has remained a critic of the county's jail authority since it opted to use a private company to operate the facility.  The problem with the authority's current agreement with Corrections Corp. of America, Glanz said, is that it pays the private company a daily rate for each inmate it keeps. Now, the rate is $47.18. It is expected to climb to $48.60 on July 1.  That's a luxury his department never enjoyed when it operated a county jail, said Glanz, who is running for re-election.  "I don't know of any other budget in county government that's doubled in five years," Glanz said.  (The Daily Oklahoman)

June 11, 2004
The family of a man who died in the lobby of the Tulsa Jail has settled a federal lawsuit against the facility's operator.  Plaintiffs' attorney Joel LaCourse declined Thursday to disclose terms of a settlement with Corrections Corporation of America, a private company that operates the jail.  CCA spokesman Chris Howard said he couldn't disclose any details of the settlement.  The family of Shane M. Spencer also sued the city of Tulsa, which settled the claims against it for $200,000 but made no admission of wrongdoing. A complaint first filed in Seminole County District Court in October 2002 stated that Spencer was arrested in October 2001 after collapsing in an east Tulsa driveway while he was in "an obvious state of alcoholic stupor."  Two Tulsa police officers then dragged Spencer, 27, into the jail on his face and "dumped" him there, alleged the lawsuit, which was moved to federal court in Tulsa in February 2003.  The lawsuit alleges that CCA officials allowed Spencer to lie face-down for several minutes before checking on him and beginning efforts to save his life.  (AP)

May 14, 2004
A David L. Moss Correctional Center inmate died Thursday night in an apparent suicide. The 27-year-old inmate, jailed for an alleged violation of a protective order, apparently killed himself by placing a plastic bag over his head, Detective Demita Kinard said. The man was being held in the center's medical wing for psychiatric reasons. (Tulsa World)

November 18, 2003
A new state law that adds county sales taxes to residential energy bills is expected to raise more than $4.5 million a year for the Tulsa Jail and local capital improvement projects.  Electricity and natural gas bills were untaxed until the Legislature passed Senate Bill 708, which took effect on Nov. 1. The law was written by Sen. Angela Monson, D-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Clay Pope, D-Loyal.  Paula Ross, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Tax Commission, said the law attempts to clarify a 1999 commission ruling that lifted a tax exemption for residential customers.  A recent auditor's report shows that the current sales tax stream for the Tulsa Jail is insufficient to pay its operating costs.  The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority has tapped its reserve funds, which have shrunk from $11.9 million in 2002 to $5.8 million in 2003, the report shows.  The Corrections Corporation of America, which operates the jail, was paid close to $21.1 million in 2003, a 22.8 percent increase from 2002.  (Tulsa World)

November 22, 2003
A pay-to-stay plan is a welcome source of new revenue but probably won't solve all the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority's financial problems, officials said.   During a meeting Friday at which the plan officially was approved, County Commission Chief Deputy Paul Wilkening said the authority could earn about $1.06 million a year by charging inmates for one night of their jail stay.  "The good news is that it helps the shortfall," Commissioner Bob Dick said. "The bad news is that it sure doesn't make up for what the state's doing to us."  The number of state inmates at the Tulsa Jail has been growing as the Department of Corrections has accepted fewer inmates at its intake facility in Lexington. The DOC reduced the weekly number of Tulsa County inmates it will accept to 36 from 52 last year. County officials have watched the DOC-ready inmate population at the jail balloon from 48 in October 2002 to 336 this month.  In an interview Friday, DOC spokesman Jerry Massie said the weekly number was reduced because last year only an average of 36 inmates were actually transported to prison each week by the sheriff.  "The majority of the time, more often than not, they don't send the full complement," he said.  The authority is only partially compensated for housing state inmates. The authority pays private jail operator Corrections Corporation of America $47.18 a day for each inmate, but the DOC reimburses the authority only $24 per day per inmate.  "That story can't be told too much or too often. The state is giving us an unfunded mandate of about $4.8 million dollars a year right now," Dick said. "The voters were kind enough in 1995 to vote a permanent tax on sales, and I don't think they voted thinking that this is going to subsidize the state system. I think they did it to take care of the local jail problem."  Massie said rural jails are more satisfied with the $24 rate than Tulsa County.  "It sounds like what Tulsa County's problem is is (that) their per-diem rate is so high," he said. "They'd probably be happy if it covered their cost; it wouldn't be as big of issue for them."  Wilkening previously has mentioned that the authority might want to pursue legal action against the state for causing the authority to have financial problems. Jim Orbison, the authority's attorney, said before Friday's meeting that a lawsuit would be a last resort.  A recent auditor's report shows that the current sales tax stream is insufficient to pay jail operating costs. The Criminal Justice Authority has tapped its reserve funds, which have shrunk from $11.9 million in 2002 to $5.8 million in 2003, the report shows. CCA was paid nearly $21.1 million in 2003, a 22.8 percent increase from 2002.  Dick said instituting the pay-to-stay plan is the "right move" and that the authority might want to consider broadening the scope after monitoring the results for a period of time. Prisoners will pay $47.18 for one night's stay -- the amount paid to CCA by the authority.  Inmates will be charged for only one day, regardless of the length of their jail stay. Wilkening said judges recommended the one-day charge because they felt that it would be easier to collect.  "It's a start, and it will generate a substantial amount of money if collected," Wilkening said. "If we can get a million-six or a million dollars and it can go back into the operation of the jail, then that's something."  CCA Warden Don Stewart estimated that about 30 percent of inmates spend only one night in jail.  (Tulsa World)

June 18, 2003
A former Tulsa Jail corrections officer has been charged with participating in a mail fraud scheme that took $1.2 million from WorldCom.  Henry Darian Wilson, 25, is charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tulsa with participating in criminal activity with his sister, Alisha Nicole Johnson, from January 2001 to March 2002 while she worked at WorldCom.  Charges against Johnson, 31, are expected to be filed soon.  The charge against Wilson says Johnson was a senior accounting assistant who audited accounts payable and approved payment invoices.  Prosecutors allege that she submitted false invoices to WorldCom's check-writing center in Virginia in the name of an Oklahoma City company that was a legitimate supplier of goods and services to WorldCom. Wilson, who lists a Coweta home address, is accused of renting a mail box in Oklahoma City in the company's name, retrieving the checks as they came in and having them deposited in bank accounts in Oklahoma City and Oceanside, Calif.  Wilson was a corrections officer from July 2000 to February 2001 at the Tulsa Jail, which is operated by Corrections Corporation of America, CCA spokesman Chris Howard said.  He said Wilson resigned without notice.  (Tulsa World)

May 30, 2003
The Tulsa Jail will have a $6.3 million budget deficit by the end of June, the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority was told Thursday.  County Fiscal Officer Wayne Carr cited a litany of factors contributing to growing detention costs and made suggestions on how to reduce the jail's inmate population.  The authority has to pay jail operator Corrections Corporation of America for those inmates at the normal rate of $45.81 a day and is only reimbursed $24 per inmate by the state. Carr said the state frequently falls behind in its payments and currently owes the authority about $380,000.  (Tulsa World)

May 28, 2003
The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority decided Friday to allow a Texas-based company to charge the public to access inmate information from an Internet site. Some public records questions still need to be answered, however. Metric Technologies has been providing the service for free since Aug. 5 at http://tulsa.inmatecenter.com. Now the company is asking to be compensated for the service, starting June 5. The company gave the authority three options: paying $29,500 for the service for two years; paying $8,000 and passing off other charges to the public through a subscription-based system; or terminating the site. According to the Oklahoma Open Records Act, public documents should be open to inspection and public bodies can charge only for the direct cost of reproducing a document at 25 cents per page. Search fees are not allowed if a document is in the public interest. Calls to Metric Technologies on Friday were not returned. Trimble said the system has been a huge benefit and savings to jail operator Corrections Corporation of America, which doesn't have to answer as many public inquiries. (Tulsa World)

April 28, 2003
A clerical error has led to another mistaken release from the Tulsa Jail, officials said Friday.  Marvin Branham, a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of America, which operates the Tulsa Jail, said the jail released Dixon because workers received an "order of release from custody" for him from the court clerk's office.  Court Clerk employee Sonya Smith said it appears that when the bond was paid for Dickson, it was recorded as paid for Dixon's case number, not Dickson's.  In 2001, errors led to the mistaken releases of three inmates and two ere mistakenly released last year from the Tulsa Jail.  (AP)

March 27, 2003
A woman sues two corrections companies and an escapee who is accused of killing her husband.  A wrongful death suit was filed this week in connection with the Christmas Eve shooting of a Tulsa man that allegedly was carried out by an escapee from the Riverside Intermediate Sanction Unit.  Virginia Qureshi filed the suit on behalf of her late husband, Zubair Qureshi, previously referred to as Mohammad "James" Qureshi, 53, who was working behind the counter of the 24-hour U-Stop, 2520 E. Mohawk Blvd., when he was killed.  Defendants in the suit are the Corrections Corporation of America, which operates the Tulsa Jail; Avalon Correctional Services, which operates the Riverside facility; and Markis Daniels Rogers, who escaped from the Riverside facility Nov. 24.  Martin and Associates is representing Qureshi.  The law firm alleges that CCA employees transferred Rogers to the low-security Riverside facility operated by Avalon but continued to charge the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority to house him.  It alleges that CCA paid a Avalon a lower rate to house Rogers and pocketed the difference.  Attorney C. Rabon Martin, said that whether CCA made a profit by sending Rogers to the Riverside facility is irrelevant.  "The meat and potatoes is that they took a very dangerous guy to Avalon in low-security," he said.  Rogers was sent to the Riverside facility by mistake.  (Tulsa World).

January 20, 2003
A federal lawsuit filed by the estate of an inmate who died after becoming ill at the Tulsa Jail in July 1998 has been settled on confidential terms, attorneys said Wednesday.  Jeannie Edwards of Okmulgee County filed the suit in January 2000 after her brother, Gregory Allen Pope Sr., was pronounced dead at Tulsa Regional Medical Center on July 1, 1998.  The lawsuit originally listed both the city of Tulsa and Tulsa County among the defendants, but eventually only Wexford Health Sources, the jail's health services contractor at the time of Pope's death, remained.  The plaintiff claimed that Pope, 34, began vomiting and convulsing and that a trusty notified a nurse, who then allegedly chose to continue talking on a telephone instead of responding immediately to Pope's medical needs.  The estate alleged that 30 to 45 minutes passed before the nurse was brought to the scene by corrections officers.  Pope was taken by ambulance to TRMC, the lawsuit states. The estate claimed that Pope died of cardiac arrhythmia brought on by breathing in his vomit.  (Tulsa World)

December 27, 2002
A man who was critically injured when he was beaten by a fellow Tulsa Jail inmate has settled his lawsuit against the jail's operator under confidential terms, an attorney for the organization said Thursday. Brandon McKnight had sued Corrections Corporation of America, the private company that runs the jail, on May 31 in federal court. He claimed that CCA was negligent in placing him in the same cell as Joshua Cudjoe on Jan. 27, 2001. Cudjoe was found guilty in May 2001 of assaulting and battering McKnight wit