Annapolis, Maryland
February 5, 2009 AP
A private prison transportation company lost an attempted-murder suspect somewhere between Florida and Pennsylvania, leading to a search for the cuffed and shackled inmate and drawing complaints that such companies are poorly regulated. The discovery today was at least the second escape in six months involving an inmate being moved by Prisoner Transportation Services of America LLC. Still, industry critics said the major issue is not escapes, but mistreatment of inmates and poor traveling conditions. Authorities searched for the suspect who escaped late Wednesday or early Thursday while en route from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Sylvester Mitchell, 33, was being extradited to face attempted murder charges in Philadelphia, where he once lived. He was gone when the van arrived at 3 a.m. today at a police station. Authorities said it was unclear how or where Mitchell escaped. Other inmates and guards said they don't remember seeing him after the van's previous stop in Annapolis, Md. Prisoner Transportation Services, based in Nashville, Tenn., says it is the largest U.S. firm of its type, moving more than 100,000 inmates nationwide each year. The company states on its Web site that its agents are highly trained and "most have military and/or criminal justice backgrounds." A spokesman for Prisoner Transportation Services, who declined to identify himself before hanging up, said today that the company had no comment. A shackled inmate escaped in September at Philadelphia International Airport while in the custody of a Prisoner Transportation Services guard and was captured a week later in Elkton, Md. Taariq Ali, 43, formerly of Wilmington, Del., was serving a life sentence for attempted murder and a weapons charge. He was transferred in 1995 to California and was being returned to Delaware when he escaped Sept. 12. The Delaware Department of Corrections said at the time that Prisoner Transportation Services did not notify state officials until two days later. The state uses private contractors because it is not authorized to move prisoners across state lines. Corrections spokesman John Painter said today that the department is "no longer involved with Prisoner Transportation Services" but declined to say whether it was using a new contractor or had transferred any prisoners since the September escape. Though prisoner mistreatment appears to be more commonplace than escapes in transit, the lack of oversight and regulation of the industry makes it difficult to determine how widespread problems are, said Margaret Winter, associate director of the ACLU National Prison Project in Washington. Because they are privately owned, prison transportation companies are not required to release data on escapes, accidents and numbers of inmates they transfer. It's also unclear exactly how many such companies exist, because many are "thinly staffed, fly-by-night operations" that quickly close up shop when they're sued, Winter said. "One thing that's clear is that the goal with all these companies is to pick up as many bodies along the way as they can to squeeze out the most profits," she said. "We've had many reports of prisoners being taken on weeks-long odysseys and not getting food, water or medical attention." A phone message left for a spokesman of the Association of Private Correctional and Treatment Organizations, an industry group, was not immediately returned.

February 5, 2009 CBS3
Sylvester Mitchell, 33, escaped while being transported from Philadelphia to Florida on February 5. Police are searching for a prisoner who went missing while being transported from Florida to Philadelphia. Authorities said 33-year-old Sylvester Mitchell found missing from a private prison transportation company van when it arrived at 21st and Hamilton Streets at about 3 a.m. Thursday. Mitchell, who was wanted on attempted murder charges, was last seen by guards and fellow inmates during a stop in Annapolis, Maryland. He was last wearing a bright orange vest and slacks. A multi-state search is currently underway for the inmate. If you have any information, please contact Philadelphia Police.

Delaware Department of Corrections
September 17, 2008 AP
A shackled inmate serving a life term for attempted murder escaped from a private security guard while getting off a commercial flight at Philadelphia International Airport, police and corrections officials said. Delaware Department of Corrections officials said they were notified Sunday about Friday night's escape of Taariq Ali, 43, and the department has suspended all interstate transport of prisoners until it determines how the escape occurred. Philadelphia airport police said Ali was still at large Tuesday. Following the escape, Delaware's corrections commissioner, Carl Danberg, also activated an emergency response team to aid in search for Ali. Thor Catalogne, a spokesman for Prisoner Transportation Services of America, the Nashville, Tenn., company that was transporting Ali, referred all questions to Delaware corrections officials. Ali was able to escape despite being handcuffed to a waist chain and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and khaki pants, the Department of Corrections said. Ali was convicted of attempted murder in Delaware in 1995 and was sent to California under a prisoner exchange agreement. He was being transported back to Delaware when he escaped, the department said. Corrections spokesman John Painter said transfers have been stopped "because there's entirely too many unanswered questions about how this happened." Painter said the delay in reporting the escape was among the department's concerns. The corrections spokesman said there have only been 10 such transfers since 2004, all of which have gone without incident except for Friday's escape. The transfers are usually made because of "real or perceived security threats." Painter said he was not aware of any other problems with the company, adding the department uses outside contractors because it is not authorized to move prisoners across state lines. The company was also involved in a January 2007 escape in which an inmate later stole a tractor-trailer in an attempt to see his dying mother.